Paying the Taliban

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Politics is not for the squeamish. You need to make [unpleasant]( trade-offs. The European Union, Turkey, Iran, China, Russia, the U.S. and others have a common goal when it comes to Afghanistan — whatever happens there should stay within its borders. The last thing any of them want is a fresh [exodus]( of refugees or spreading militancy. For [containment]( purposes, as well as humanitarian reasons, these countries will need to work together to avoid Afghanistan’s economic collapse, [Marc Champion](, [Eric Martin]( and [Anthony Halpin]( write. Already a poor state, with a reliance on foreign aid, drug money and an informal workforce, a combination of price rises and vaporizing jobs could spur people to leave for good. Think of it as the Turkey solution. Europe has sought to stop refugees from Syria and elsewhere crossing over by paying the Turkish government billions to house them. That’s more straightforward than [handing]( money to the Taliban, a group whose historical repression of women and support for al-Qaeda make it unpalatable to many if not most governments. Countries are still dancing around even formally recognizing the Taliban government. And whether it’s lifting [sanctions](, unfreezing funds, or [plowing]( in fresh aid, a good amount of money would end up being [funneled]( through Taliban hands. But if European nations and others want to ward off an economic collapse that spreads rapidly outward, they will need to consider it. That’s the trade-off. — [Rosalind Mathieson]( An Afghan refugee camp at the U.S. military base in Ramstein, Germany, on Sept. 6. Photographer: Oliver Douliery/AFP/Getty Images Click [here]( to follow Bloomberg Politics on Twitter and tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. 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