That was compounded by the adverse optics of a ragtag "resistance" in the Panjshir Valley that is still not subdued. The "resistance" is de facto led by a CIA asset, former vice president Amrullah Saleh.

The Taliban maintain they have captured several districts and at least four checkpoints at the Panjshir, controlling 20% of its territory. Still, there's no endgame in sight.

Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, a Kandahar religious scholar, is expected to be the new power of the Islamic Emirate when it's finally formed. Mullah Baradar will likely preside just below him as a presidential figure along with a 12-member governing council known as a "shura."

If that's the case, there would be certain similarities between the institutional role of Akhundzada and Ayatollah Khamenei in Iran, even though the theocratic frameworks, Sunni and Shiite, are completely different.