 Now the Taliban says they have forgiven all the Afghan forces that were previously at war with them. A member of the Taliban political office Shahabuddin Delawar said the group will work with other Afghans to run the new government. Not recently, the Taliban has sought to present a more moderate face but had ruled with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001 before being toppled by U.S.-led forces for sheltering al-Qaeda militants behind the September 11 attacks.