Afghanistan II

1. Afghanistan II The Taliban and September 11

2. Where We Left Off In 1989 the Soviets finally left Afghanistan, but the radical Muslims of the Mujahideen and all of the arms from the war remained. What little infrastructure Afghanistan had was pretty much destroyed, and no government was able to control the situation. The world quickly lost interest in Afghanistan.

3. Descent Right Back Into War With no popular government, fighting broke out all over Afghanistan—especially around the capital Kabul—between rival groups of Mujahideen, the different ethnic and language groups, and greedy warlords. Between 1992 and 1995 the country was in chaos.

4. Rise of the Taliban Many of those who had fought against the Soviets returned to their villages and, egged on by foreign-funded religious schools called madrassas, came to believe that Afghanistan’s problems could best be solved by uniting the country under a strict version of Islamic law (Sharia). They formed an armed group called the Taliban.

5. Why the Taliban? The Taliban were seen by many Afghans as the one group that could stop the civil wars, challenge the warlords, and use Islamic law to create a just and moral society that would protect its citizens. Funded by Pakistan’s version to the CIA (the ISI) wanting both stability on its Western border and the Pashtun ethic group in charge, and by Saudi Arabia wanting strict Islam to spread, the Taliban had no shortage of arms and money. In some cases they even paid off rival groups not to oppose them.

6. The Taliban Takes Power Pashtuns seeking power, Islamic extremists from around the Middle East, and young men educated only to seek jihad by the extremist madrassas funded (mainly) by Pakistan rushed to Join the Taliban. After fighting for control of the capital Kabul claimed as many as 100,000 lives, the Taliban took control of (most of) Afghanistan by 1998.

7. The Taliban in Power A book burning in Kabul. One of the two giant Buddhist statues destroyed by the Taliban. Once in power, the Taliban took away the power of the warlords and brought an end to lawlessness, but their ultra-strict interpretation of Islam shocked many. Public executions were common, all “non-Islamic” activities were banned, and any books or cultural artifacts deemed hostile to Islam were destroyed.

8. Women under the Taliban Women would be severely punished for appearing in public without her husband or father or wearing anything except the burqua. All girls’ schools were closed, and they were not allowed to work outside the home.

9. More “New Rules” under the Taliban http://www.rawa.org/rules.htm

10. The Taliban and Osama bin Laden The Taliban welcomed Saudi Arabian terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda terrorist group (which had been kicked out of Sudan under US pressure following attacks on American targets in Africa) because: • 25 years earlier bin Laden had been a successful US-backed Mujahideen fighting the Soviets, • Bin Laden supported the Taliban financially, • He shared their goals of spreading Sharia law and eventually reestablishing a caliphate.

11. Why do they hate us? Al Qaeda wished to reestablish a “caliphate’ in which the entire Muslim world would be united under one leader and strict religious law. They believed the USA was preventing this from happening for four main reasons: • The US supported Israel and its Jewish government on Islamic lands, • The US had military troops since its first war against Iraq in 1991 in the holiest of Islamic lands (Saudi Arabia…home of Mecca), • The US supported secular governments such Egypt’s in the Middle East which were opposed to strict Islam, • Western values and culture was the polar opposite of the strict Islam favored by Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

12. September 11, 2001 The world was shocked by the brutality and backwards-thinking of the Taliban, but left it alone until Al Qaeda carried out the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon (and possibly the Capitol) in Washington.