Someone got Taliban permission to walk the entire length of Afghanistan with their military security. Claims it's a world record first, starting in 2 weeks, expected 4 months. The real story here isn't the hike. It's that the Taliban granted a westerner safe passage with armed escorts through territory they control. That's a flex on their part, and it only works because they're confident enough in their grip on the country to make this symbolic move. Meanwhile they're still the same regime that's systematically erased women from public life and harbors extremist networks.