Taliban

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This article has been nominated to be = checked for=20 its neu= trality.
Discussion=20 of this nomination can be found on the talk = page.=20 (May 2008)

Taliban
=D8=B7=D8=A7=D9=84=D8=A8=D8=A7=D9=86
Participant in the Civil war = in=20 Afghanistan (1992-2001), the War=20 in Afghanistan (2001-present), and the Waziristan=20 War
Flag flown by the = Taliban.

Active	September 1994=E2=80=93present
Ideology	Islamic=20 Fundamentalism and Pashtun=20 Nationalism
Leaders	Mullah Mohammed=20 Omar Mullah Obaidullah = Akhund (captured)
Area of operations	Afghanistan = and Pakistan=20 ^[1]
Strength	12,000 claimed by Taliban^{[citation = needed]}
Originated as	Mujahideen = groups in=20 the Soviet = war=20 in Afghanistan
Allies	al-Qaeda Hezb-e-Isla= mi=20 Gulbuddin Islam= ic=20 Emirate of Waziristan Isla= mic=20 Movement of Uzbekistan
Opponents	Iran Afghanistan Northern=20 Alliance ISAF=20 (led by NATO) Operation=20 Enduring Freedom Allies

v =E2=80=A2 d =E2=80=A2 e Civil=20 war in Afghanistan

Soviet=20 involvement =E2=80=93 Go= vernment=20 collapse =E2=80=93 An= archy=20 =E2=80=93 Ta= liban=20 control =E2=80=93 US/NATO=20 = involvement

The Taliban (Pashto: =D8=B7=D8=A7=D9=84=D8=A8=D8=A7=D9=86 - = =E1=B9=AD=C4=81lib=C4=81n, also = anglicised as Taleban) are a=20 Sunni=20 Islamist and Pashtun nationalist = movement[2] = that ruled=20 most of Afghanistan from = 1996 until=20 2001, when their leaders were removed from power by a cooperative = military=20 effort between the Northern=20 Alliance and NATO=20 countries. Committed fundamentalist = insurgents, often = described as=20 "Taliban" in the media, originating^[3]=20 in the Frontier=20 Tribal Areas of Pakistan, are = currently engaged=20 in a protracted guerrilla = war against=20 the current=20 government of Afghanistan, allied NATO forces participating = in Operatio= n=20 Enduring Freedom, and the NATO-led International=20 Security Assistance Force.^[4]

The Taliban movement was headed by Mullah Mohammed Omar. = Beneath=20 Mullah Omar were "a mixture of former small-unit military commanders and = Madrasah = teachers"[5] = and then a=20 rank and file most of whom had studied in Islamic = religious=20 schools in Pakistan. The = overwhelming=20 majority of Taliban movement were ethnic Pashtuns from southern = Afghanistan and=20 western Pakistan, along with a smaller number of volunteers from = elsewhere, for=20 example Europe or=20 China. = The Taliban=20 received valuable training, supplies and arms from the Pakistani = government,=20 particularly the Inter-S= ervices=20 Intelligence (ISI)[23], and many recruits from Madrasahs for Afghan = refugees in=20 Pakistan, primarily ones established by the Jamiat=20 Ulema-e-Islam JUI.

Although in control of Afghanistan's capital (Kabul) and much or most = of the=20 country for five years, the Taliban regime, or "Isla= mic=20 Emirate of Afghanistan," gained diplomatic=20 recognition from only three states: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and = the United Arab=20 Emirates. Human rights abuses denied it United Nations recognition = and most=20 of the world's states, including Iran, India, Turkey, Russia, USA and = most=20 Central Asian republics opposed the Taliban and aided its rival (Afghan = Northern=20 Alliance).

While in power, the Taliban implemented the "strictest interpretation = of Sharia = law ever seen=20 in the Muslim = world,"[6] = and became=20 notorious internationally for their mistreat= ment of=20 women.^{[7]=20
Women were forced to wear the burqa in public.[8]<=
/SUP>=20
They were allowed neither to work nor to be educated after the age of =
eight,[7] and=20
until then were permitted only to study the Qur'an.^{[7]=20
Women seeking an education were forced to attend underground schools, =
where they=20
and their teachers risked execution if caught.^{[7] They=20
were not allowed to be treated by male doctors unless accompanied by a =
male=20
family member or husband chaperone, which led =
to=20
illnesses remaining untreated. They faced public flogging in the =
street,[9]} =
and both=20
men and women faced public execution for violations of the Taliban's =
laws.[10]=}[11]}=

1 Etymology=20
2 Origin=20
3 Taliban = ideology and its=20 application=20
- 3.1 Governance=20
- 3.2 Consistency=20
- 3.3 Criticism = of=20 ideology=20
- 3.4 Explanation = of=20 ideology
4 Life under the = Taliban=20 regime=20
- 4.1 Treatment = of=20 women=20
- 4.2 Prohibitions on=20 culture=20
- 4.3 Ethnic = massacres and=20 persecution=20
- 4.4 Economy=20
- 4.5 Conscription=20
5 War with the = Northern=20 Alliance=20
6 International=20 relations=20
- 6.1 Relations = with the=20 United Nations and aid agencies=20
- 6.2 Relationship with Osama=20 bin Laden=20
- 6.3 Taliban in=20 Pakistan
7 Buddhas of=20 Bamiyan=20
8 Opium=20
9 U.S.-led = invasion and=20 displacement of the Taliban=20
- 9.1 Prelude to=20 invasion=20
- 9.2 American=20 attack
10 Resurgence of=20 Taliban=20
- 10.1 Human = rights=20 violations=20
- 10.2 Timeline=20
  
  10.2.1 2006=20
  10.2.2 2007=20
  10.2.3 2008=20
11 References=20
12 Further = reading=20
13 See = also=20
14 External = links=20

[edit]=20 Etymology

The word Taliban is from the Arabic =D8=B7=D8=A7=D9=84=D8=A8=D8=A7=D9=86 =E1=B9=AD=C4=81lib=C4=81n, " students", = loaned from Arabic, =D8=B7=D8=A7=D9=84=D8=A8 =E1=B9=AD=C4=81lib, the Arabic plural = being =D8=B7=D9=84=D8=A7=D8=A8=E2=80=8E =E1=B9=ADull=C4=81b. Since becoming a loanword in English,=20 Taliban besides a plural noun referring to the group is also used = as a=20 singular noun referring to an individual. For example, John Walker = Lindh has=20 been referred to as "an American Taliban" besides the more correct "an = American=20 Talib".^[12]

[edit]=20 Origin

The Taliban initially had enormous goodwill from Afghans weary of the = corruption, brutality and incessant fighting of Mujahideen = warlords. Two=20 contrasting narratives of the beginnings of the Taliban^[13]= are that=20 the rape and murder of boys and girls from a family traveling to = Kandahar or a=20 similar outrage by Mujahideen bandits sparked Mullah Omar and his = students to=20 vow to rid Afghanistan of these criminals.^[14]= =20 The other is that the Pakistan-based truck shipping mafia known as the=20 "Afghanistan Transit Trade" and their allies in the Pakistan government, = trained, armed and financed the Taliban to clear the southern road = across=20 Afghanistan to the Central Asian Republics of extortionate bandit = gangs.[15]=

Though there is no evidence that the CIA= directly=20 supported the Taliban or Al Qaeda, some basis = for=20 military support of the Taliban was provided when, in the early 1980s, = the CIA=20 and the ISI (Pakistan's Interservices Intelligence Agency) provided arms = to=20 Afghans resisting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the ISI = assisted the=20 process of gathering radical Muslims from around the world to fight = against the=20 Soviets. Osama Bin = Laden was one=20 of the key players in organizing training camps for the foreign Muslim=20 volunteers. The U.S. poured funds and arms into Afghanistan and "by = 1987, 65,000=20 tons of U.S.-made weapons and ammunition a year were entering the = war".[16]=

The Taliban were based in the Helmand, Kandahar and = Uruzgan = regions, and=20 were overwhelmingly ethnic Pashtuns and predominantly Durrani Pashtuns. They = received=20 training and arms from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia as well as other Middle = Eastern=20 countries who had been recruited by the U.S. to thwart the Soviet = invasion of=20 this region.

The first major military activity of the Taliban was in = October-November 1994=20 when they marched from Maiwand in = southern=20 Afghanistan to capture Kandahar City and the = surrounding provinces, losing only a few dozen men.^[17]= Starting=20 with the capture of a border crossing and a huge ammunition dump from = warlord Gulbuddin = Hekmatyar,=20 a few weeks later they freed "a convoy trying to open a trade route from = Pakistan to Central Asia" from another group of warlords attempting to = extort=20 money.^[18]= In the=20 next three months this hitherto "unknown force" took control of twelve = of=20 Afghanistan's 34 provinces<= /A>, with=20 Mujahideen warlords often surrendering to them without a fight and the = "heavily=20 armed population" giving up their weapons.^[19]= =20 By September 1996 they captured Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.

[edit]=20 Taliban ideology and its = application

The Taliban's extremely strict and "anti-modern" ideology has been = described=20 as an "innovative form of sharia combining = Pashtun tribal=20 codes",^[20]= or Pashtunwali, with = radical Deobandi=20 interpretations of Islam favored by members of the Pakistani = fundamentalist Jamiat=20 Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) organization and its splinter groups. Also = contributing=20 to the admixture was the Wahhabism of their = Saudi=20 financial benefactors, and the jihadism and pan-Islamism of = sometime=20 comrade-in-arms Osama bin = Laden.[21]= Their=20 ideology was a departure from the Islamism of the = anti-Soviet=20 mujahideen rulers they replaced who tended to be mystical Sufis, traditionalists, = or=20 radical Islamicists inspired by the Ikhwan.^[22]=

Sharia law was interpreted to ban a wide variety of activities = hitherto=20 lawful in Afghanistan, see below. Critics complained that most Afghans = were=20 non-Pashtuns who followed a different, less strict and less intrusive=20 interpretation of Islam. Despite their similarity to the Wahhabis, the = Taliban=20 did not eschew all traditional popular practices. They did not destroy = the=20 graves of pirs (holy = men) and=20 emphasized dreams as a means of revelation.^[23]=

Taliban relationship with ethnicity was mixed. Following Deobandi and Islamist = anti-nationalist=20 belief, they opposed "tribal and feudal structures," and eliminated from = "leadership roles" traditional tribal or feudal leaders.^[24]= On the=20 other hand, since they were very reluctant to share power and their = ranks were=20 overwhelmingly Pashtuns, their rule meant ethnic Pashtuns controlled=20 multi-ethnic Afghanistan, where Pashtuns made up only 42% of the = population.[25]= At the=20 national level, "all senior Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara = bureaucrats" were=20 replaced "with Pashtuns, whether qualified or not. As a result of this = loss of=20 expertise, the ministries by and large ceased to function."^[26]= In local=20 units of government like city councils of Kabul^[27]= or=20 Herat,^[2=
8]=20 Taliban loyalists, not locals, dominated, even when the Pashto-speaking= Taliban=20 could not communicate with the local Persian-speaking Afghans (roughly = half of=20 the population of Afghanistan spoke Dari or other non-Pashtun = tongues.)[2= 8]=20 Critics complained this "lack of local representation in urban = administration=20 made the Taliban appear as an occupying force."^[29]=

Like Wahhabi and other Deobandis, the Taliban strongly opposed the = Shia=20 branch of Islam. The Taliban declared the Hazara ethnic = group, which=20 totaled almost 10% of Afghanistan's population, "not Muslims."= [30]

Along with being very strict, the Taliban were adverse to debate on = doctrine=20 with other Muslims. "The Taliban did not allow even Muslim reporters to = question=20 [their] edicts or to discuss interpretations of the Qur'an."^[3=
1]

As they established their power the Taliban created a new form of = Islamic=20 radicalism that spread beyond the borders of Afghanistan, mostly to = Pakistan. By=20 1998-1999 Taliban-style groups in the Pashtun belt, and to an extent in=20 Pakistan-administered Kashmir, "were banning TV and videos .... and = forcing=20 people, particularly women to adapt to the Taliban dress code and way of = life."^[32]=

[edit]=20 Governance

The Taliban did not hold elections, as their spokesman explained:

The Sharia=20 does not allow politics or political parties. That is why we give no = salaries=20 to officials or soldiers, just food, clothes, shoes and weapons. We = want to=20 live a life like the Prophet lived 1400 years ago and jihad is our right. We = want to=20 recreate the time of the Prophet and we are only carrying out what the = Afghan=20 people have wanted for the past 14 years.^[33]=

Instead of an election, their leader's legitimacy came from "Bay'ah" or oath=20 of allegiance in imitation of the Prophet and early Muslims. On 4 = April 1996, Mullah = Omar had=20 the "the Cloak of the Prophet Mohammed", taken from its shrine "for the = first=20 time in 60 years." Wrapping himself in the relic, he appeared on the = roof of a=20 building in the centre of Kandahar while hundreds of Pashtun mullahs = below=20 shouted `Amir = al-Mu'minin`!=20 (Commander of the Faithful), in a defacto pledge of support.

Also in keeping with the governance of early Muslims was a lack of = state=20 institutions or "a methodology for command and control," standard today=20 internationally even among non-Westernized states. The Taliban didn't = issue=20 "press releases, policy statements or hold regular press conferences," = and of=20 course the outside world and most Afghans didn't even know what they = looked like=20 since photography was banned.^[34]= Their=20 regular army resembled "a lashkar or traditional tribal militia force" = with only=20 25,000 to 30,000 men, these being added to as the need arose. Cabinet = ministers=20 and deputies were mullahs with a "madrassa education." = Several of=20 them, such as the Minister of Health and Governor of the State bank, = were=20 primarily military commanders who left their administrative posts to = fight when=20 needed. If and when military reverses trapped them behind lines or led = to their=20 deaths, this created "even greater chaos" in the national = administration.[35]= In the=20 Ministry of Finance there was no budget or "qualified economist or = banker." Cash=20 to finance Taliban war effort was collected and dispersed by Mullah Omar = without=20 book-keeping.

[edit]=20 Consistency

The Taliban ideology was not static. Before its capture of Kabul = members of=20 the Taliban talked about stepping aside once a government of "good = Muslims" took=20 power and law and order were restored. The decision making process of = the=20 Taliban in Kandahar was modeled on the Pashtun tribal council (jirga), together = with what was=20 believed to be the early Islamic model. Discussion was followed by a = building of=20 a consensus by the believers.^[36]=

However, as the Taliban's power grew, decisions were made by Mullah = Omar=20 without consulting the jirga, and without Omar's visiting other = parts of=20 the country. He visited the capital, Kabul, only twice while in = power.

Decisions are based on the advice of the Amir-ul Momineen. For us=20 consultation is not necessary. We believe that this is in line with = the=20 Sharia. We abide by the Amir's view even if he alone takes this view. = There=20 will not be a head of state. Instead there will be an Amir = al-Mu'minin. Mullah=20 Omar will be the highest authority and the government will not be able = to=20 implement any decision to which he does not agree. General elections = are=20 incompatible with Sharia and therefore we reject them.^[37]=

In 1999, Omar issued a decree stating the Buddha statues = at=20 Bamyan would be protected because Afghanistan had no Buddhists, implying = idolatry would=20 not be a problem. But in March 2001 they were destroyed after the = previous=20 decision was reversed with a decree stating "all the statues around = Afghanistan=20 must be destroyed."^[38]=

[edit]=20 Criticism of ideology

The Taliban were criticized for their strictness toward those who = disobeyed=20 the (Bid=E2=80=98ah) = rule. Some=20 Muslims complained that many Taliban prohibitions - such as bans on = clapping=20 during sports events; kite flying; beard trimming; or sports for women - = had no=20 validity in the Qur'an or sharia. Another source = of=20 objection was that the Taliban called their 20% tax on truckloads of = opium "zakat," = when zakat is=20 limited to 2.5% of the zakat-payers' disposable income.^[39=
]

The bestowing of the title of Amir = al-Mu'minin on=20 Muhammad Omar was criticized on the grounds that he lacked scholarly = learning,=20 tribal pedigree, or connections to the Prophet's family. Sanction for = the title=20 required the support of all of the country's ulema, whereas only some = 1200=20 Pashtun Taliban-supporting Mullahs had declared Omar the Amir.[39= ]=20 "No Afghan had adopted the title since 1834, when King Dost Mohammed = Khan=20 assumed the title before he declared jihad against the Sikh kingdom in Peshawar. = But Dost=20 Mohammed was fighting foreigners, while Omar had declared jihad against = other=20 Afghans."^[40]=

[edit]=20 Explanation of ideology

Jamiat=20 Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) was important to the Taliban because the "vast = majority"=20 of its rank and file and most of the leadership, (though not Mullah = Omar), were=20 Koranic students who had studied at madrassas set up for Afghan = refugees, usually=20 by the JUI. The leader of JUI, Maulana Fazl ur-Rahman, = was a=20 political ally of Benazir Bhutto. After Bhutto became prime minister, = Rehman=20 "had access to the government, the army and the ISI" whom he influenced = to help=20 the Taliban.^[41]=

Journalist Ahmed Rashid = suggests that=20 the devastation and hardship of the war against the Soviet Union and = the civil=20 war that followed, was another factor influencing the ideology of the=20 Taliban.^[42]<=
/A>=20 The young rank and file Taliban were Koranic students in Afghan refugee = camps=20 whose teachers were often "barely literate," let alone scholars learned = in the=20 finer points of Islamic law and history. The refugee students brought up = in a=20 totally male society, not only had no education in mathematics, science, = history=20 or geography, they had no traditional skills of farming, herding or=20 handicraft-making, nor even knowledge of their tribal and clan = lineages.[42]<= /A>

In such an environment peace meant unemployment, and domination of = women was=20 an affirmation of manhood. Rigid fundamentalism was a matter of = political=20 survival, not just principle, Taliban leaders "repeatedly told" Rashid = "that if=20 they gave women greater freedom or a chance to go to school, they would = lose the=20 support of their rank and file."[43]=

[edit]=20 Life under the Taliban regime

Sharia law was interpreted to ban a wide variety of activities = hitherto=20 lawful in Afghanistan: employment and education for women, movies, = television,=20 videos, music, dancing, hanging pictures in homes, clapping during = sports=20 events. One Taliban list of prohibitions included:

pork, pig, pig oil, anything made from human hair, satellite = dishes,=20 cinematography, and equipment that produces the joy of music, pool = tables,=20 chess, masks, alcohol, tapes, computers, VCRs, television, anything = that=20 propagates sex and is full of music, wine, lobster, nail polish, = firecrackers,=20 statues, sewing catalogs, pictures, Christmas cards."^[44]=

Wikiquote has a = collection of=20 quotations related to:=20

religious=20 police

Men were required to have a beard extending farther than a fist = clamped at=20 the base of the chin. On the other hand, they had to wear their head = hair short.=20 Men were also required to wear a head covering.^[45]

Possession was forbidden of depictions of living things, including=20 photographs of them, stuffed animals, and dolls.^[45]

Rules which according to some Muslims had no validity in the Qur'an or sharia = included a=20 ban on clapping during sports events, kite flying, beard trimming, and = sports for=20 women.

These rules were issued by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue = and=20 Suppression of Vice (PVSV) and enforced by its "religious = police", a=20 concept thought to be borrowed from the Wahhabis. In newly conquered = towns=20 hundreds of religious police beat offenders =E2=80=94 typically men who = shaved and women=20 who were not wearing their burqa properly =E2=80=94 with long = sticks.[46]=

Theft was punished by the amputation of a hand, rape and murder by = public=20 execution. Married adulterers were stoned to death. In Kabul, = punishments were=20 carried out in front of crowds in the city's former soccer=20 stadium.

[edit]=20 Treatment of women

Main article: Taliban = treatment of women

=20

A member of the Taliban's religious = police=20 beating a woman in Kabul on September 13, 2001. The footage, which = was filmed=20 by RAWA,=20 can be seen here.

Women in particular were targets of the Taliban's restrictions. They = were=20 prohibited from working; from wearing clothing regarded as "stimulating = and=20 attractive," including the "Iranian chador," (viewed as=20 insufficiently complete in its covering); from taking a taxi without a = "close=20 male relative"; washing clothes in streams; or having their measurements = taken=20 by tailors.^[47]=

Employment for women was restricted to the medical sector, since male = medical=20 personnel were not allowed to examine women. One result of the banning = of=20 employment of women by the Taliban was the closing down in places like = Kabul of=20 primary schools not only for girls but for boys, because almost all the = teachers=20 there were women.^[48]=

Women were also not permitted to attend co-educational schools; in = practice,=20 this prevented the vast majority of young women and girls in Afghanistan = from=20 receiving even a primary = education.

Women were made to wear the burqa, a traditional = dress=20 covering the entire body except for a small screen to see out of. = Taliban=20 restrictions became more severe after they took control of the capital. = In=20 February 1998, religious police forced all women off the streets of = Kabul and=20 issued new regulations ordering "householders to blacken their windows, = so women=20 would not be visible from the outside."^[49]= =20 Home schools for girls, which had been allowed to continue, were = forbidden.[50]= In June=20 1998, the Taliban stopped all women from attending general = hospitals,[51]= =20 leaving the use of one all-women hospital in Kabul. There were many = reports of=20 Muslim women being beaten by the Taliban for violating the Sharia.

[edit]=20 Prohibitions on culture

Movie theaters = were closed=20 and music banned. Hundreds of cultural artifacts that were deemed polytheistic were = also=20 destroyed including major museum and countless private art = collections.

A sample Taliban edict issued after their capture of Kabul is one = decreed in=20 December 1996 by the "General Presidency of Amr Bil Maruf and Nahi Anil = Munkar"=20 (or Religious Police) banning a variety of things and activities: music, = shaving=20 of beards, keeping of pigeons, flying kites, displaying of pictures or=20 portraits, western hairstyles, music and dancing at weddings, gambling,=20 "sorcery," and not praying at prayer times.^[47]==20 In February 2001, = Taliban=20 used sledgehammers to destroy representational works of art at the = National=20 Museum of Afghanistan.^[52]

Non-Western festivities were not exempt from bannings. The Taliban = banned the=20 traditional Afghan New Year's celebration of Nowruz as anti-Islamic, = and "for=20 a time they also banned Ashura, the Shia = Islamic month of=20 mourning and even restricted any show of festivity at Eid."^[53]==20 The Afghan people were not allowed to have any cultural celebrations if = the=20 women were there. If there were only men at the celebration it would be = allowed=20 to go forth, so long as it did not go over the curfew time of 9:00 = pm.

Taliban official Mullah Mohammed Hassan explained that "of course we = realize=20 that people need some entertainment but they can go to the parks and see = the=20 flowers, and from this they will learn about Islam." The Education = Minister=20 Mullahs Abdul Hanifi told questioners that the Taliban "oppose music = because it=20 creates a strain in the mind and hampers study of Islam."^[53]=

[edit]=20 Ethnic massacres and persecution

The worst attack on civilians came in summer of 1998 when the Taliban = swept=20 north from Herat to=20 the predominantly Hazara and Uzbek city of Mazar-i-Sharif, = the=20 largest city in the north. Entering at 10 am on 8 August 1998, for the = next two=20 days the Taliban drove their pickup trucks "up and down the narrow = streets of=20 Mazar-i-Sharif shooting to the left and right and killing everything = that moved=20 =E2=80=94 shop owners, cart pullers, women and children shoppers and = even goats and=20 donkeys."^[54]= More=20 than 8000 noncombatants were reported killed in Mazar-i-Sharif and later = in=20 Bamiyan.^[55]= Contrary=20 to the injunctions of Islam, which demands immediate burial, the Taliban = forbade=20 anyone to bury the corpses for the first six days while they rotted in = the=20 summer heat and were eaten by dogs.^[56]= =20 In addition to this indiscriminate slaughter, the Taliban sought out and = massacred members of the Hazara, a mostly = Shia=20 ethnic group, while in control of Mazar.

While the slaughter can be attributed to several factors =E2=80=94 = ethnic difference,=20 suspicions of Hazaras loyalty to their co-religionists in Iran, fury at = the loss=20 of life suffered in an earlier unsuccessful Taliban takeover of Mazar = =E2=80=94 takfir = by the=20 puritanical Sunni Taliban toward the = Shia=20 Hazaras was instrumental. It was expressed by Mullah Niazi, the = commander of the=20 attack and governor of Mazar after the attack, in his declaration from = Mazar's=20 central mosque:

"Last year you rebelled against us and killed us. From all your = homes you=20 shot at us. Now we are here to deal with you. The Hazaras are not = Muslims and=20 now have to kill Hazaras. You either accept to be Muslims or leave=20 Afghanistan. Wherever you go we will catch you. If you go up we will = pull you=20 down by your feet; if you hide below, we will pull you up by your = hair.";= [30]

Hazara also suffered from a siege by the Taliban of their Hazarajat = homeland=20 in central Afghanistan and the refusal of the Taliban to allow the UN to = supply=20 food to Hazara to the provinces of Bamiyan, Ghor, Wardak and Ghazni.^[57]= A month=20 after the Mazar slaughter, Taliban broke through Hazar lines and took = over=20 Hazarajat. The killing of civilians was much less common there than in = Mazar,=20 but occurred nevertheless.^[58]=

During the years that followed, rapes and massacres of Hazara by = Taliban=20 forces were documented by groups such as Human Rights=20 Watch.^[59]=

[edit]=20 Economy

Peace did bring economic development to Afghanistan. The so-called=20 "transportation mafia" operating out of Pakistan "cut down millions of = acres of=20 timber in Afghanistan for the Pakistani market, denuding the countryside = as=20 there was no reforestation. They stripped down rusting factories, ... = even=20 electricity and telephone poles for their steel and sold the scrap to = steel=20 mills in Lahore."^[60]=

[edit]=20 Conscription

Main article: Taliban=20 conscription

According to the testimony of Guantanamo = captives=20 before their Co= mbatant=20 Status Review Tribunals, the Taliban, in addition to conscripting = men to=20 serve as soldiers, also conscripted literate and numerate men to staff = its civil=20 service. Ironically, given the derivation of their name for = themselves, some=20 of the Taliban leaders were illiterate.

[edit]=20 War with the Northern Alliance

Main article: Af= ghan=20 Civil War (1996-2001)

=20

Taliban in Herat, July 2001.

Taliban's strict policies and condescending behavior toward their = local=20 allied troops caused an uprising in which thousands of the Taliban's = best troops=20 were killed.

In 1997, Ahmad Shah = Massoud=20 devised a plan to utilize guerrilla tactics in = the Shamali=20 plains to defeat the Taliban advances. In collaboration with the locals, = Masoud=20 had deployed his forces to be stationed at civilian dwellings = and other=20 hidden places. Upon the arrival of the Taliban, some locals, who had = vowed pacts=20 of peace with the Taliban, as well as Masoud's forces came out of hiding = and in=20 a surprise attack captured the north of Kabul. Soon after, the Taliban = put a=20 major effort into taking control of the Shamali plains, indiscriminately = killing=20 young men, uprooting and expelling the population. Kamal=20 Hossein, a special reporter for the UN, had written a full = report on=20 these and other war crimes that = further=20 insinuated and inflamed the issue of ethnicity.

In August=20 8, 1998 the=20 Taliban again took Mazar-i-Sharif = this time=20 avenging their earlier defeat and creating more international = controversy with=20 mass killings of thousands of civilians and several Iranian diplomats. = This=20 offensive left the Northern Alliance in control of only a small part of=20 Afghanistan (10-15%) in the north. The Taliban retained control of most = of the=20 country until the 2001 9/11 attacks. On September 9, 2001, a suicide bomber, = posing as=20 an interviewer and widely thought to be connected to Al-Qaeda, assassinat= ed=20 the Northern Alliance mujahideen military = leader Ahmad Shah = Massoud.=20 Despite his removal, the Taliban were driven from most of Afghanistan by = American bombing and Northern Alliance ground troops a couple of months = later in=20 the 2001=20 War.

Main article: War=20 in Afghanistan (2001=E2=80=93present)

[edit]=20 International relations

During its time in power, the Taliban regime, or "Isla= mic=20 Emirate of Afghanistan," gained diplomatic=20 recognition from only three states: the United Arab=20 Emirates, Pakistan, and Saudi=20 Arabia all of whom also provided aid. Most states in the world, = including Russia, = Iran, India, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan,=20 and Tajikistan, and = later the USA,=20 opposed the Taliban and aided their enemy the Northern=20 Alliance.

Officially Pakistan denied it was supporting the Taliban, but its = support was=20 substantial -- one year's aid (1997/1998) was an estimated US$30 million = in=20 wheat, diesel, petroleum and kerosene fuel, and other supplies.[61]= The=20 Taliban's influence in its neighbour Pakistan was deep. Its = "unprecedented=20 access" among Pakistan's lobbies and interest groups enabled it "to play = off one=20 lobby against another and extend their influence in Pakistan even = further. At=20 times they would defy" even the powerful ISI.^[62]=

Foreign powers, including the United States, = were at=20 first supportive of the Taliban in hopes it would serve as a force to = restore=20 order in Afghanistan after years of division into corrupt, lawless = warlord=20 fiefdoms. The U.S. government, for example, made no comment when the = Taliban=20 captured Herat in 1995 and expelled thousands of girls from schools.^[63]= These=20 hopes faded as it began to be engaged in warlord practices of rocketing = unarmed=20 civilians, targeting ethnic groups (primarily Hazaras) and restricting = the=20 rights of women.^[64]= In late=20 1997, American Secretary of State Madeleine = Albright=20 began to distance the U.S. from the Taliban and the next year the = American-based=20 Unocal oil company = withdrew from=20 a major deal with the Taliban regime concerning an oil pipeline.

In early August of 1998 the Taliban's difficulties in relations with = foreign=20 groups became much more serious. After attacking the city of Mazar, = Taliban=20 forces killed several thousand civilians and 10 Iranian diplomats and=20 intelligence officers in the Iranian consulate. Alleged radio intercepts = indicate Mullah Omar personally approved the killings.^[65]= The=20 Iranian government was incensed and a "full-blown regional crisis" = ensued with=20 Iran mobilizing 200,000 regular troops,^[66]= =20 though war was averted.

A day before the capture of Mazar, affiliates of Taliban guest Osama bin = Laden bombed=20 two U.S. embassies in Africa killing 224 and wounding 4500 mostly = African=20 victims. The United States = responded by=20 launching cruise missiles attacks on suspected terrorists camps in = Afghanistan=20 killing over 20 though failing to kill bin Laden or even many al-Qaeda. = Mullah=20 Omar condemned the missile attack and American President Bill Clinton.^[67]= Saudi=20 Arabia expelled the Taliban envoy in Saudi Arabia in protest over the = Taliban's=20 refusal to turn over bin Laden and after Mullah Omar allegedly insulted = the=20 Saudi royal family.^[68]= In=20 mid-October the UN Security Council voted unanimously to ban commercial = aircraft=20 flights to and from Afghanistan and freeze its bank accounts world = wide.[69]=

The regime's isolation grew in March 2001 with the destruction of=20 Afghanistan's most significant archeological treasures, the = 1500-year-old giant=20 Buddha = statues, (the=20 two largest were 55 and 37 meters high) in Bamiyan. That month the = Taliban also=20 issued a decree ordering non-Muslims to wear distinctive yellow = patches.

[edit]=20 Relations with the United Nations and aid=20 agencies

A major issue during the Taliban's reign was its relations with the = United=20 Nations (UN) and non-g= overnmental=20 organizations (NGOs). Twenty years of continuous warfare, first with = the=20 Soviets and then between mujahideen, had devastated Afghanistan's infrastructure = and=20 economy. There was no running water, little electricity, few telephones, = motorable roads or regular energy supplies. Basic necessities like = water, food=20 and housing and others were in desperately short supply. In addition, = the clan and = family=20 structure that provided Afghans with a social/economic safety net was = also badly=20 damaged.^[3=
1][70]= =20 Afghanistan's infant mortality was the highest in the world. A full = quarter of=20 all children died before they reached their fifth birthday, a rate = several times=20 higher than most other developing countries.^[71]=

Consequently international charitable and/or development = organisations (NGOs)=20 were extremely important to the supply of food, employment, = reconstruction, and=20 other services in Afghanistan. With one million plus deaths during the = years of=20 war, the number of families headed by widows had reached 98,000 by = 1998.[72]= Thus=20 Taliban restrictions on women were sometime a matter not only of human=20 rights, but of life and death. In Kabul, where vast portions of the = city had=20 been devastated from rocket attacks, more than half of its 1.2 million = people=20 benefited in some way from NGO charity, even for water to drink.[73]= The=20 civil war and its refugee-creation processes continued during the entire = time=20 the Taliban were in power. During that time, more than three-quarters of = a=20 million civilians were displaced by new Taliban offensives in the north = around=20 Mazar, on the Herat front, and in the fertile Shomali=20 valley around Kabul. The offensives used "scorched-earth" tactics to = prevent=20 civilians from supplying the enemy with aid.^[74]=

Despite the receipt of UN and NGO aid, the Taliban's attitude toward = the UN=20 and NGOs was often one of suspicion, not gratitude or even tolerance. = The UN=20 operates on the basis of international = law, not=20 Islamic Sharia,=20 and the UN did not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of = Afghanistan. Additionally, most of the foreign donors and aid workers, = who had=20 tried to persuade the Taliban to change its strict policies and allow = women more=20 freedom, were non-Muslims.

As the Taliban's Attorney General Maulvi Jalil-ullah Maulvizada = expressed=20 it:

Let us state what sort of education the UN wants. This is a big = infidel=20 policy which gives such obscene freedom to women which would lead to = adultery=20 and herald the destruction of Islam. In any Islamic country where = adultery=20 becomes common, that country is destroyed and enters the domination of = the=20 infidels because their men become like women and women cannot defend=20 themselves. Anyone who talks to us should do so within Islam's = framework. The=20 Holy Koran cannot adjust itself to other people's requirements, people = should=20 adjust themselves to the requirements of the Holy Koran.^[75]=

Frustrations of aid agencies were numerous. Taliban decision-makers,=20 particularly Mullah Omar, seldom if ever talked directly to non-Muslim=20 foreigners, so aid providers had to deal with intermediaries whose = approvals and=20 agreements were often reversed by Taliban higher-ups.^[76]= In=20 September 1997, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Emma = Bonino,=20 and 19 Western journalists and aid workers were arrested and held for = three=20 hours by the Taliban religious police in Kabul when photographs were = taken of=20 women patients.^[77]= Around=20 the same time the heads of three UN agencies in Kandahar were expelled = from the=20 country after protesting that a female lawyer for the UN High = Commissioner for=20 Refugees (UNHCR) was forced to talk to Taliban officials from behind a = curtain=20 so her face would not be visible.^[78]=

When the UN increased the number of Muslim women staff to satisfy = Taliban=20 demands for Muslim staff, the Taliban then insisted "all female Muslim = UN staff=20 traveling to Afghanistan to be chaperoned by a mahram or a blood = relative."[51]= =20 In July 20,=20 1998, the = Taliban=20 closed "down all NGO offices by force" after those organization refused = to move=20 to a bombed out former Polytechnic College as ordered.^[79]= One=20 month later the UN offices were also shut down.^[80]=

As food prices rose and conditions deteriorated, the Taliban Planning = Minister Qari Din Mohammed explained the Taliban's indifference to the = loss of=20 humanitarian aid:

We Muslims believe God the Almighty will feed everybody one way or = another.=20 If the foreign NGOs leave then it is their decision. We have not = expelled=20 them.^[81]=

[edit]=20 Relationship with Osama bin Laden

In 1996, Osama bin = Laden moved to=20 Afghanistan from Sudan. He came without = any=20 invitation from the Taliban, and sometimes irritated Mullah Omar with = his=20 declaration of war and fatwa to murder citizens of third-party = countries, and=20 follow-up interviews,^[82]= but=20 relations between the two groups became closer over time, and eventually = bonded=20 to the point where Mullah Omar rebuffed its patron Saudi Arabia, = insulting Saudi=20 minister Prince = Turki=20 and refusing to turn over bin Laden to the Saudis as Omar had reportedly = promised to earlier.^[83]=

Bin Laden was able to forge an alliance = between the=20 Taliban and his Al-Qaeda = organization. It is=20 understood that al-Qaeda-trained fighters known as the 055 Brigade were = integrated=20 with the Taliban army between 1997 and 2001. Several hundred Arab Afghan = fighters sent by bin Laden assisted the Taliban in the slaughter at=20 Mazar-e-Sharif.^[84]= =20 Taliban-al-Qaeda connections, were also strengthened by the reported = marriage of=20 one of bin Laden's sons to Omar's daughter. During Osama bin Laden's = stay in=20 Afghanistan, he may have helped finance the Taliban.^[85]= [86]= Perhaps=20 the biggest favor al-Qaeda did for the Taliban was the assassination by = suicide=20 bombing^[52]=20 of the Taliban's most effective military opponent mujahideen = commander and=20 Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah = Massoud=20 shortly before September 9, 2001. This came at a time when Taliban human = rights=20 violations and extremism seemed likely to create international support = for=20 Massoud's group as the legitimate representatives of Afghanistan.[52]=20 The killing, reportedly handled by Ayman Zawahiri = and the Egyptian = Islamic=20 Jihad wing of al-Qaeda, left the Northern Alliance leaderless, and = removed=20 "the last obstacle to the Taliban=E2=80=99s total control of the country = ..."[87]=

After the 1998=20 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa, Osama=20 bin Laden and several al Qaeda members were indicted in U.S. = criminal=20 court.^[88]= The=20 Taliban protected Osama bin Laden from extradition = requests by the=20 U.S., variously claiming that bin Laden had "gone missing" in = Afghanistan,[89]= or that=20 Washington "cannot provide any evidence or any = proof" that bin=20 Laden is involved in terrorist activities = and that=20 "without any evidence, bin Laden is a man without sin... he is a free = man."[90]= [91= ]=20 Evidence against bin Laden included courtroom testimony and satellite = phone=20 records.^[92]= [93]= Bin=20 Laden in turn, praised the Taliban as the "only Islamic government" in=20 existence, and lauded Mullah Omar for his destruction of idols like the = Buddhas of=20 Bamiyan.^[94]=

[edit]=20 Taliban in Pakistan

Main article: Islam= ic=20 Emirate of Waziristan

See also: 2004-= 2006=20 Waziristan conflict and Wana = conflict=20

Closely tied with JUI party in Pakistan, the Taliban received = manpower from=20 Madrasahs in Pakistan=E2=80=99s border region. After a request for help = from Mullah Omar=20 in 1997, Maulana Samiul Haq shut down his 2500+ student madrassa and = "sent his=20 entire student" body hundreds of miles away to fight alongside the = Taliban. The=20 next year, the same religious leader helped persuade 12 madrassas in = Pakistan's=20 North-= West=20 Frontier Province to shut down for one month and send 8000 students = to=20 provide reinforcements for the Taliban army in Afghanistan.^[95]=

The Taliban returned the favor, helping spread its ideology to parts = of=20 Pakistan. By 1998 some groups "along the Pashtun belt" were banning TV = and=20 videos, imposing Sharia punishments "such as stoning and amputation in = defiance=20 of the legal system, killing Pakistani Shia and forcing people, = particularly=20 women to adapt to the Taliban dress code and way of life."^[96]= In=20 December 1998 the Tehrik-i-Tuleba or Movement of Taliban in the Orakzai = Agency=20 ignored Pakistan=E2=80=99s legal process and publicly executed a = murderer in front of=20 2000 spectators Taliban-style. They also promised to implement = Taliban-style=20 justice and ban TV, music and videos.^[97]= =20 In Quetta, Pashtun pro-Taliban groups "burned down cinema houses, shot = video=20 shop owners, smashed satellite dishes and drove women off the = streets".[98]= In=20 Kashmir Afghan Arabs from Afghanistan attempted to impose a "Wahhabi = style dress=20 code" banning jeans and jackets. "On 15 February 1999, they shot and = wounded=20 three Kashmiri cable television operators for relaying Western satellite = broadcasts."^[99]=

As of early 2007, Taliban influence in Pakistan continues in = conjunction with=20 the Taliban = insurgency.=20 Citing a suicide bombing of a restaurant in Peshwar in retaliation for = the=20 arrest of a relative of Taliban commander Mullah = Dadullah, the=20 Associated Press states "... in Pakistan's frontier regions, ... = scores=20 of people have been executed over the past two or three years apparently = for=20 being too aligned with the Pakistani government or America =E2=80=94 = allies in the=20 U.S.-led war on terrorism."^[100]

[edit]=20 Buddhas of Bamiyan

Main article: Buddhas of=20 Bamiyan

The Taliban's destruction of the Buddhas of = Bamyan in=20 March 21,=20 2001.

In March 2001, the Taliban ordered the demolition of two statues of = Buddhas=20 carved into cliffsides at Bamiyan, = one 38=20 metres (125 ft) tall and = built in CE=20 507, the other 53 metres (174 ft) tall and built in CE 554. The act = was=20 condemned by UNESCO=20 and many countries around the world.

The intentions of the destruction remain unclear. Mullah Omar = initially=20 supported the preservation of Afghanistan's heritage, = and Japan = linked financial=20 aid to the preservation of the statues.^{[101]=20
However, after a few years, a decree was issued =
claiming all=20
representations of humans and idols, including those in museums, must be =

destroyed in accordance with Islamic law which prohibits any form of idol=20
worship.}

The government of Pakistan (itself host to one of the richest and = most=20 ancient collections of Buddhist art) implored the Taliban to spare the = statues.=20 Saudi Arabia and the United Arab=20 Emirates later denounced the act as savage.

Sayed = Rahmatullah=20 Hashemi, a senior representative of the Taliban designated as the = roving Ambassador=20 visited the US in March, 2001. He represented the Taliban's action not = as an act=20 of irrationality, but as an act of rage over UNESCO and some western = governments=20 denying the Taliban use of the funds intended for the repairs of the = war-damaged=20 statues of the Buddha. He contended that the Taliban intended to use the = money=20 for drought relief.

[edit]=20 Opium

Opium=20 poppies have traditionally been grown in Afghanistan, and, with the = war=20 shattering other sectors of the economy, it became the = number=20 one export of the country.

The Taliban have provided an Islamic sanction for farmers ... to = grow even=20 more opium, even though the Koran forbids Muslims from producing or = imbibing=20 intoxicants. Abdul Rashid, the head of the Taliban's anti-drugs = control force=20 in Kandahar, spelled out the nature of his unique job. He is = authorized to=20 impose a strict ban on the growing of hashish, "because it = is=20 consumed by Afghans and Muslims." But, Rashid told me without a hint = of=20 sarcasm, "Opium is permissible because it is consumed by kafirs in the = West=20 and not by Muslims or Afghans."^[102]

But in 2000 the Taliban banned opium production, a first in Afghan = history.=20 In 2000, Afghanistan's opium production still accounted for 75% of the = world's=20 supply. On July=20 27, 2000, the=20 Taliban again issued a decree banning opium poppy = cultivation.=20 According to opioids.com, by February = 2001,=20 production had been reduced from 12,600 acres (51 km=C2=B2) to = only 17=20 acres.^{[103] When=20
the Taliban entered north=
=20
Waziristan in 2003 they immediately banned poppy cultivation and =
punished=20
those who sold it.^{[citation =

needed]}}

Another source claims opium production was cut back by the Taliban = not to=20 prevent its use but to shore up its price, and thus increase the income = of poppy=20 farmers and revenue of Afghan tax collectors.^[104]

The official verdict of the Taliban however was otherwise. Mullah = Amir=20 Mohammed Haqqani, the Taliban's top drug official in Nangarhar, said the = ban=20 would remain regardless of whether the Taliban received aid or = international=20 recognition. "It is our decree that there will be no poppy cultivation. = It is=20 banned forever in this country," he said. "Whether we get assistance or = not,=20 poppy growing will never be allowed again in our country."^[105]

However, with the 2001 US/Northern Alliance expulsion of the Taliban, = opium=20 cultivation has increased in the southern provinces liberated from the = Taliban=20 control,^{[106] and by=20
2005 production was 87% of the world's opium supply,^{[107] rising=20
to 90% in 2006.^[108]}}

[edit]=20 U.S.-led invasion and displacement of the=20 Taliban

Main article: War=20 in Afghanistan (2001=E2=80=93present)

[edit]=20 Prelude to invasion

=20

Taliban press conference in Pakistan after the = September 11th=20 attacks, declaring they will not extradite Osama bin = Laden without=20 evidence.

After the September 11 attacks and the PENTTBOM = investigation, the USA=20 delivered this ultimatum to the = Taliban:

Deliver to the US all of the leaders of Al Qaeda;=20
Release all imprisoned foreign nationals;=20
Close immediately every terrorist training camp;=20
Hand over every terrorist and their supporters to appropriate=20 authorities;=20
Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps = for=20 inspection.^[109]=20

On September 21, 2001, the Taliban = responded that if=20 the United States could bring evidence that bin Laden was guilty they = would hand=20 him over, stating there was no evidence in their possession linking him = to the=20 September 11 attacks.^[91=
]

On September 22, 2001, the United Arab = Emirates and=20 later Saudi Arabia withdrew their recognition of the Taliban as the = legal=20 government of Afghanistan, leaving neighboring Pakistan as the only = remaining=20 country with diplomatic ties. On October 4, 2001, it is believed that = the=20 Taliban covertly offered to turn bin Laden over to Pakistan for trial in an = international tribunal that=20 operated according to Islamic Sharia law.[110][111]=20 Pakistan, recently recast as an ally of the west, is believed to have = rejected=20 the offer (even though they still recognized the Taliban).

On October=20 7, 2001, before=20 the onset of military operations, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan = offered to=20 "detain bin Laden and try him under Islamic law" if the United States = made a=20 formal request and presented the Taliban with evidence.^{[112] This=20
counter offer was immediately rejected by the U.S. as insufficient.}

Bin Laden for his part, maintained America's attack on the Taliban = after 9/11=20 was motivated only by its hatred for Islam.^[113]

[edit]=20 American attack

Shortly afterward, on October 7, 2001, the United States, = aided by=20 the United Kingdom, = Canada, = and=20 supported by a coalition of other countries including several from the = NATO = alliance, initiated=20 military actions in Afghanistan, and bombed Taliban and Al Qaeda related = camps.^{[114][115] The=20
stated intent of military operations was to remove the Taliban from =
power=20
because of the Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin =
Laden for his=20
alleged involvement in the September 11 attacks, and disrupt the use of=20
Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations.^{[116] No=20
proof of Bin Laden' involvement was provided to the Taliban Government. =
On October 14=20
the Taliban offered to discuss handing over Osama bin Laden to a neutral =
country=20
if the US halted bombing, but only if the Taliban were given evidence of =
Bin=20
Laden's involvement in 9/11.^{[117] The=20
U.S. rejected this offer as an insufficient public relations ploy and =
continued=20
military operations.}}}

The ground war was mainly fought by the Northern Alliance, the = remaining=20 elements of the anti-Taliban forces which the Taliban had routed over = the=20 previous years but had never been able to entirely destroy. Mazari = Sharif fell=20 to U.S.-Northern Alliance forces on November 9, leading = to a=20 cascade of provinces falling with minimal resistance, and many local = forces=20 switching loyalties from the Taliban to the Northern Alliance. On the = night of=20 November=20 12, the Taliban retreated south in an orderly fashion from Kabul. = This=20 retreat was so orderly, that on November 15, they = released=20 eight Western aid workers after = three=20 months in captivity (see Att= acks on=20 humanitarian workers). By November 13 the = Taliban had=20 withdrawn from both Kabul and Jalalabad. Finally, = in early=20 December, the Taliban gave up their last city stronghold of Kandahar and=20 retired to the hilly wilderness along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, = where=20 they remain today as a guerrilla warfare operation, drawing new recruits = and=20 developing plans for a restoration of power.

[edit]=20 Resurgence of Taliban

Main article: Taliban=20 insurgency

=20

Mullah Dadullah = Akhund, the=20 military commander of the Taliban until May 2007.

As of 2007, the insurgency, in the = form of a=20 Taliban guerrilla war, continues. However, the Pashtun tribal group, with over = 40 million=20 members, has a = long=20 history of resistance to occupation forces in the region so the = Taliban=20 themselves may comprise only a part of the insurgency. Most of the = post-invasion=20 Taliban fighters are new recruits, drawn again from that region's = madrassas. The=20 more traditional village schools are the primary source of the new = fighters.

Before the summer 2006 offensive began, indications existed that Canadian soldiers in=20 Afghanistan had lost influence and power to other groups, including = potentially=20 the Taliban. The most notable sign was the rioting in May after a = street=20 accident in the city of Kabul. The continued = support from=20 tribal and other groups in Pakistan, the drug trade and the small number = of NATO forces, = combined=20 with the long history of resistance and isolation, led to the = observation that=20 Taliban forces and leaders are surviving and will have some influence = over the=20 future of Afghanistan. A new introduction is suicide attacks = and=20 terrorist methods not used in 2001. Observers^{[118] have=20
suggested that poppy eradication policies, which destroy the livelihoods =
of=20
rural Afghans, and civilian deaths caused by the bombing campaigns of=20
international troops, are linked to the resurgence of the Taliban. These =

observers maintain that counter-insurgency policy should focus on the =
battle for=20
the hearts and minds of the Afghan people and on the reconstruction of =
the=20
Afghan economy, which could profit from the licensing of poppies to make =

medicine rather than their eradication.^[119]}

In September 2006, the Islam= ic=20 Emirate of Waziristan, an association of Waziristani chieftains with = close=20 ties to the Taliban, were recognized by the Government = of=20 Pakistan as the de facto security force in charge of North and South = Waziristan. This=20 recognition was part of the agreement to end the Wazir= istan=20 War which had extracted a heavy toll on the Pakistan Army = since early=20 2004. Some commentators viewed Islamabad's shift = from war to=20 diplomacy as implicit recognition of the growing power of the resurgent = Taliban=20 relative to American influence, with the US distracted by the threat of = looming=20 crises in Iraq, Lebanon, and Iran.

=20

Taliban bounty flyer.

Other commentators view Islamabad's shift = from war to=20 diplomacy as a means to appease growing discontent in Pakistan.[120]=20 Because of its leadership structure, the assassination of Mullah = Dadullah in May=20 2007 will not significantly affect the Taliban, but it may set-back the=20 incipient relations with Pakistan.^[121]

[edit]=20 Human rights violations

According to Human Rights = Watch,=20 bombings and other attacks which have led to civilian casualties are = reported to=20 have "sharply escalated in 2006" with "at least 669 Afghan civilians = were killed=20 in at least 350 armed attacks, most of which appear to have been = intentionally=20 launched at non-combatants."^[122][123]

[edit]=20 Timeline

[edit]=20 2006

During the summer of 2006, the Battle of = Panjwaii=20 took place.

June 6: A roadside bombing leaves 2 American soldiers killed, the = attack=20 took place in the province of Nanghar. Also a separate suicide bombing = in=20 Khost leaves three US soldiers wounded.^[124]=20

June 15: A bus carrying workers to an American base explodes = killing 10=20 and wounding 15. The explosives were placed on the bus.^[125]=20

July 1: 2 British soldiers are killed when their base came under = small=20 arms fire including rocket propelled grenades.^[126]=20

August 8: 4 Canadian NATO soldiers are killed in two separate = attacks. And=20 a suicide bomber targeting a NATO convey detonates killing 21 = people.[127]=20

August 20: 3 American soldiers are killed and another 3 are = wounded in a=20 battle with Taliban militants after a roadside bomb hit an American=20 patrol.^[128]=20

September 8: A major suicide car bombing near the US embassy in = Kabul=20 kills 18 including 2 US soldiers.^[129]=20

September 10: The governor of Afghanistan's southeastern Paktia = province=20 is killed alongside his bodyguard and nephew when a suicide bomber = detonates=20 himself beside the governor's car.^[130]=20

October 14: A suicide attack in Kandahar city leaves 8 dead = including one=20 NATO soldier.^[1=
31]=20

October 15: 2 Canadian soldiers were killed when Taliban militants = attacked NATO=20 troops using small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades.[1= 31]=20

December 6: A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a security=20 contractor's office killing 7 including 2 Americans, the attack took = place=20 south of Afghanistan in Kandahar.^[132]=20

December 19: Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Osmani, reportedly number 4 in = the=20 Taliban shura, is killed by an American airstrike in southern = Afghanistan.[133]=20

[edit]=20 2007

January 23: A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a US base in = eastern=20 Afghanistan killing 10 people who were waiting outside the base.[134]=20

February 2: Taliban forces raided a southern Afghan town = destroying the=20 government center and briefly holding some elders captive.^[135]=20

February 19: The Taliban briefly seized a small town in western=20 Afghanistan after police fled the town, the Taliban forces moved in = for 30=20 minutes and seized three vehicles.^[136]=20

February 20: A suicide bomber blew himself up during an opening = hospital=20 ceremony injuring 2 NATO soldiers and a = hospital=20 worker.^[137]=20

February 27: 23 people are killed when a suicide bomber attacks an = American military base, Bagram Airfield (BAF) in Bagram District, = Parwan=20 Province. The attack took place while US vice president Dick Cheney = was in the=20 compound, Cheney was unhurt in the attack and was the intended target = of the=20 attack as claimed by the Taliban. The dead included an American = soldier, a=20 Korean soldier, and an American contractor.^[138]=20

March 4: A suicide bomber attacks an American convoy which leaves = 16=20 civilians dead in the aftermath as the American convey begins to = sporadically=20 fire at civilian cars around them. In a separate incident, two British = soldiers were killed when a Taliban rocket was fired on them during = clashes in=20 Southern Helmand Province.^[139]=20

March 17: A suicide bomber targeting a Canadian military convoy = leaves one=20 dead and three injured, including one NATO soldier. The attack took = place in=20 Kandahar.^[140]=20

March 19: A car bomb blew up near a three-vehicle US embassy = convoy=20 injuring many in the convoy.^[141]=20

March 27: Four police officers are killed in the southern Helmand = province=20 after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a police station.[142]=20

March 28: A suicide bomber killed a top intelligence officer and = three=20 others in the capital Kabul.

April 6: A suicide bomber struck a police checkpoint in Kabul = leaving four=20 dead and four others wounded. ^[143].=20

April 9: Six Canadian soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan = when=20 they struck a roadside bomb. A separate roadside bombing, also in = south=20 Afghanistan, left another NATO soldier dead and one wounded. In = another=20 incident, a statement from the Taliban's spokesperson claimed that = they had=20 beheaded a translator for a kidnapped Italian journalist.^[144]=20

April 15: A suicide bomber struck a US-private security firm, = killing four=20 Afghans working for the company. ^[145]=20

April 16: A suicide bomber ran onto a police training field and = detonating=20 his explosive device, killing 10 police officers and wounding dozens = of=20 others. The attack took place in the relatively quiet city of Kunduz. = The=20 Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.^[146]=20

April 20: Separate explosions in Southern Afghanistan leave two Nato=20 soldiers dead. ^[147]=20

April 22: A suicide bomber blew himself up an eastern city of = Afghanistan,=20 killing six. A roadside bomb also hit an Afghan intelligence service = vehicle,=20 killing all four who were inside.^[148]=20

April 30: Hundreds of Afghans took to the streets in western = Afghanistan,=20 accusing US soldiers of killing scores of civilians in fighting which = the=20 coalition said killed 136 Taliban in a three-week operation.[149]=20

May 13: Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban's top military commander in=20 Afghanistan, is killed in fighting in the south.^[133]=20

May 23: The Taliban=E2=80=99s newly-named top field commander, Mullah = Bakht=20 Mohammed, brother and replacement of deceased field commander = Mullah=20 Dadullah, makes his first public statement, saying the Taliban will = "pursue=20 holy war until the occupying countries leave."^[150]=20

July 19: The South=20 Korean hostage crisis involved the hostage = taking of=20 twenty-three South Korean Christian aid workers in = the Ghazni = Province=20 which resulted in the death of two. The crisis ended on August 30 with = the=20 release of the remaining hostages as part of a deal with the South = Korean=20 diplomats of government.

August 31: A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vehicle = after=20 ramming three military vehicles at the military gate of the Kabul=20 International Airport. Two Afghan soldiers were killed and ten people = were=20 injured.=20
September 29: In an effort to reach a compromise with the Taliban = leaders,=20 the president, Hamid Karzai would make a quid=20 quo pro by allowing millitants to have a place in government if = they=20 stopped fighting. Taliban leaders replied by saying there would be no=20 compromise unless intervening forces such as Nato and the U.S. = left.[151]=20

November 2: Mawlawi Abdul Manan, an important Taliban figure, is = killed by=20 Afghan Security forces. His death is confirmed by the Taliban.[152]=20

[edit]=20 2008

February 24: Poor military=20 intelligence leads to conflicted reports of a possible Taliban = spring=20 offensive.^{[153][154]=20}

[edit]=20 References

^=20 Pajhwok Afghan News, Taliban have opened office in Waziristan (Pakistan) =
^ = Jalali, Ali A. & Grau, Lester W. (6 = March), =E2=80=9CTaliban - a Model for "Isilalaicising" Central = Asia?=E2=80=9D, The=20 Cyber-Caravan, <http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/990306-taliban.htm<= /A>> =20
^ Afghanistan: Taleban's second coming - BBC News 2 = June 2006.=20 "After being routed in 2001 the Taleban found a safe sanctuary in = Balochistan=20 and the North West Frontier province of Pakistan. They have been able = to set=20 up a major logistics hub, training camps, carry out fund raising and = have been=20 free to recruit fighters from madrassas and refugee camps. The Taleban = have=20 received help from Pakistan's two provincial governments, the MMA, = Islamic=20 extremist groups, the drugs mafia and criminal gangs - while the = military=20 regime has looked the other way. Al-Qaeda has helped the Taliban = reorganise=20 and forge alliances with other Afghan and Central Asian rebel groups. = "=20
^ = ISAF is made=20 up of 39 countries, including all 26 NATO allies but also many other = non-NATO=20 countries. See ISAF Troop Contribution Placement, December 5, 2007 =
^ = Goodson,=20 Afghanistan's Endless War, (2001) p.114.=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban, (2000), p.29=20
^ ^=
a=20 ^=
b=20 ^=
c=20 ^=
d=20 Dupree Hatch, Nancy. "Afghan Women under the Taliban" in Maley, = William.=20 Fundamentalism Reborn? Afghanistan and the Taliban. London: = Hurst and=20 Company, 2001, pp. 145-166.=20
^ M.=20 J. Gohari (2000). The Taliban: Ascent to Power. Oxford: Oxford=20 University Press, pp. 108-110.=20
^ A woman = being=20 flogged in public.=20
^=20 "The Taliban's War on Women"PDF&nb= sp;(857 KiB),=20 Physicians for Human Rights, August 1998.=20
^ = "100 Girls'=20 Schools in Afghan Capital Are Ordered Shut", The New York = Times, June = 17, 1998.=20
^=20 Electronic Dictionary, Electronic Translator, Software = for=20 Translation for 45 languages - ECTACO UK=20
^ = Encyclopedia=20 of Islam and the Muslim world / editor in chief, Richard C. Martin, = Macmillan=20 Reference USA : Thomson/Gale, c2004=20
^ = Matinuddin,=20 Kamal, The Taliban Phenomenon, Afghanistan 1994-1997, Oxford = University=20 Press, (1999), p.25-6=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), 25-29.=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000)=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban, (2000) p.27-9=20
^ The Taliban =E2=80=94=20 Infoplease.com=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.1=20
^=20 Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, the Taliban has = also been=20 known to discriminate against the rights of women saying that men = cannot be=20 "trusted" around them (2004)=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban, (2000), p.132, 139=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban, (2000), p.87=20
^ = Roy,=20 Olivier, Globalized Islam, Columbia University Press, 2004, = p.239=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban (2000), p.92=20
^ Pashtun= =20 people#Demographics=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.101=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban (2000), p.98=20
^ <= SUP>a=20 <= SUP>b=20 Rashid, Taliban (2000) p.39-40=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.101-2=20
^ ^a=20 ^b=20 Human Rights Watch Report, `Afghanistan, the massacre = in=20 Mazar-e-Sharif`, November 1998. INCITEMENT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST HAZARAS = BY=20 GOVERNOR NIAZI=20
^ <= SUP>a=20 <= SUP>b=20 Rashid,Taliban (2000), p.107=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban, p.93, 137=20
^ = March 1996=20 interview in Kandahar with Mullah Wakil, an aide to Omar by Ahmed = Rashid, from=20 Rashid's book Taliban (2000), p.43=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.5=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.100=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.95=20
^ = Interview=20 with Taliban spokesman Mullah Wakil in Arabic magazine = Al-Majallah, 23=20 October 1996=20
^ = [http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4145138,0= 0.html=20 "How the Buddha got his wounds", Guardian March 3, 2001=20
^ a=20 b=20 Rashid,Taliban, (2000), p.41-2=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban, (2000), p.42=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.26=20
^ a=20 b=20 Rashid, Taliban (2000), p.32=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban, (2000) p.111=20
^ = Amy Waldman,=20 `No TV, no Chess, No Kites: Taliban's Code, from A to Z,` New York=20 Times, November 22, 2001=20
^ ^a=20 ^b=20 US=20 Country Report on Human Rights Practices - Afghanistan 2001=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban (2000), p.105=20
^ a=20 b=20 Rashid, Taliban (2000), p.218-9. See the full edict here: The Taliban In Their Own Words=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.106=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000) p.70=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban (2000), p.114=20
^ a=20 b=20 Rashid,Taliban (2000), p.71.=20
^ ^a=20 ^b=20 ^c=20 Wright, Looming Towers (2006), p.337.=20
^ a=20 b=20 Rashid,Taliban, (2000), p.115-116.=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban (2000), p.73.=20
^ = Goodson,=20 Afghanistan's Endless War, (2001), p.79.=20
^ THE MASSACRE IN MAZAR-I SHARIF, THE FIRST DAY OF THE=20 TAKEOVER.=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban (2000), p.68=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban (2000), p.76.=20
^ MASSACRES OF=20 HAZARAS IN AFGHANISTAN, hrw.org.=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban (2000), p.192.=20
^ = Interviews=20 with cabinet ministers and bureaucrats in June 1998 and information = [provided=20 by civilian and military officials between 1995 and 1999 to Ahmed = Rashid, in=20 Rashid, Taliban (2000), p.183. Also "Pakistan and the Taliban" = in=20 Maley, William, Fundamentalism Reborn? Afghanistan and the = Taliban, C.=20 Hurst, London, 1998.=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000) p.185-186.=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000) p.177.=20
^=20 Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, (2004).=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.74-75.=20
^ IRANIAN-AFGHAN TENSIONS.=20
^ = Reuters,=20 "Taliban blame Clinton scam for attacks", 21 August 1998=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban, (2000), p.138, 231.=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban, (2000), p.78.=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban (2000), p.126.=20
^ = UNCP Country=20 Development Indicators, 1995.=20
^ quoting the ICRC.=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.72.=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.64, 78.=20
^ = interview=20 June 1997, (Rashid, Taliban (2000), p.111-112).=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban, (2000), p.101.=20
^ = "Taliban=20 Briefly Detains European Aid Official Visiting Hospital," The New = York=20 Times, September 30, 1997. ; p. A10 (1 page).=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.65.=20
^ Aid=20 agencies pull out of Kabul The building had "no electricity or = running=20 water."=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban (2000), p.71-72.=20
^ = Agence=20 France-Presse, "Taliban reject warnings of aid pull-out", 16 July = 1998.=20
^ = Wright,=20 Looming Towers, (2006), p.246-247, 287-288.=20
^ = Wright,=20 Looming Towers (2006), p.288-289.=20
^ = Rashid,=20 Taliban, p.139.=20
^ International Terrorism And the Case Of Usama bin = Laden,=20 Lebanese Army Website.=20
^ = Lawrence=20 Wright believes bin Laden was almost completely broke at this time, = cut off=20 from his family income and fleeced by the Sudanese. (See Wright, = Looming=20 Towers (2006), p.222-223).=20
^ = Wright,=20 Looming Towers (2006), p.355.=20
^ PDF of indictments.=20
^ CNN report.=20
^ BBC=20 article stating that bin Laden in "a man without sin".=20
^ a=20 b=20 "Taliban Won't Turn Over Bin Laden", CBS News, 2001-09-21. = Retrieved on 2007-07-07. =20
^ CNN records of evidence against bin Laden.=20
^ Cooperative Research records of evidence against bin = Laden.=20
^ = Bin Laden,=20 Messages to the World, (2006), p.143, from Interview published = in=20 Al-Quds Al-Arabi in London, Nov. 12, 2001 (originally published = in=20 Pakistani daily, Ausaf, Nov. 7), shortly before the Northern = Alliance=20 entry into Kabul.=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban, (2000), p.91.=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban, (2000), p.93=20
^ = Source:=20 Yousufzai, Rahimyllah, "Pakistani Taliban at work," The News, 18=20 December 1998.=20 See also AFP, "Murder convict executed Taliban style in Pakistan", 14=20 December 1998.=20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban, (2000), p.194.=20
^ = Agence=20 France Presse, "Kashmir militant group issues Islamic dress = order," 21=20 February 1999.=20
^ = THE=20 ASSOCIATED PRESS, Published: May 15, 2007, "Suicide Bombing = Kills at=20 Least 25 in Pakistan".=20
^ = "Pakistan and Japan plead for Afghan statues", CNN.com, 2001-03-09. Retrieved on = 2007-01-20. =20
^=20 Rashid,Taliban, (2000), p.118-119.=20
^ = Afghanistan,=20 Opium and the Taliban.=20
^ = Benjamin,=20 Daniel, The Age of Sacred Terror by Daniel Benjamin and Steven = Simon,=20 New York : Random House, c2002, p.145) (source: Edith M. Lederer, = "U.N.=20 Panel Accuses Taliban of Selling Drugs to Finance War and Train = Terrorists,"=20 Associated Press, 25 May 2001.=20
^ = Afghanistan,=20 Opium and the Taliban.=20
^ = Victorious warlords set to open the opium = floodgates=20
^ = Afghanistan: Addicted To Heroin.=20
^ = Afghanistan Opium Crop Sets Record - Washington = Post December=20 2, 2006.=20
^ = United States ultimatum.=20
^ = JNV briefing=20
^ = BISHOP, P.,=20 Pakistan Halts Secret Plan for bin Laden Trial, = Daily=20 Telegraph, 4 Oct 2001.=20
^ = Taliban offers to try bin Laden in an Islamic = court.=20
^ = October=20 21, 2001=20 interview with Taysir Alluni of Al Jazeera.=20
^ = The United States declares war on the Taliban.=20
^ = Operation Enduring Freedom.=20
^ = Intentions of U.S. military operation.=20
^ = Taliban offers to hand bin Laden to a neutral nation = for=20 trial.=20
^ = "Poppies for Medicine" The Senlis Council.=20
^ = "Countering the insurgency in Afghanistan, Losing = friends and=20 making enemies" The Senlis Council.=20
^ = Pakistan Security Research Unit (PSRU).=20
^ = Shahzad,=20 Syed Saleem. "Pakistan: Hello al-Qaeda, goodbye America", Asia = Times=20 Online, 2006-09-08.=20 Retrieved on 2006-09-12. =20
^ = Human Rights News, Afghanistan: Civilians Bear Cost of = Escalating=20 Insurgent Attacks.=20
^ = The=20 Consequences of Insurgent Attacks in Afghanistan, April 2007, = Volume 19,=20 No. 6(C).=20
^ = [1].=20
^ = [2].=20
^ = [3].=20
^ = http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070221/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_y= lt=3DAkT3PvuzD9oUORQyhqSEX7Vn.3QA=20
^ = [4].=20
^ = [5].=20
^ = [6].=20
^ <= SUP>a=20 <= SUP>b=20 [7].=20
^ = [8].=20
^ ^a=20 ^b=20 A setback=20 for the Neo Taliban by B Raman.=20
^ = Suicide Bomber Kills 10 in Afghanistan. by AMIR = SHAH, The=20 Associated Press.=20
^ = Taliban militants overrun Afghan town, destroy = government=20 center, Afghan News.=20
^ = [9].=20
^ = [10]=20
^ = [11].=20
^ = [12].=20
^ = [13].=20
^ = http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070319/ap_on_re_as/afghan_vio= lence;_ylt=3DAmCH1gOsp.Z4pePx6V2_VSQUewgF=20
^ = Suicide attack on US embassy convoy, The = Nation.=20
^ = [14]=20
^ = [15].=20
^ = [16].=20
^ = [17].=20
^ = [18].=20
^ = [19].=20
^ = [20].=20
^ = Taliban commander: War will go on until West = leaves.=20
^ = [21]=20
^ = [22].=20
^ = Taliban threaten spring offensive on Kabul.=20
^ = US=20 Military: Taliban spring offensive unlikely in Afghanistan. =

[edit]=20 Further reading

Rashid, Ahmed (2000). Taliban: = Militant Islam,=20 Oil, and Fundamentalism in Central Asia. Yale University Press, = New Haven,=20 CT. ISBN= =20 0-300-08340-8. , republished by Pan Books = with the=20 title Taliban: The story of the Afghan warlords: including a new = foreword=20 following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, ISBN= =20 0-330-49221-7. Page citations are to the Pan Books edition.=20
Hosseini, Khaled (2001). The Kite = Runner.=20 Riverhead Books. ISBN= =20 1-57322-245-3. =20
Goodson, Larry (2001). Afghanistan's = Endless=20 War. University of Washington Press.

[edit]=20 See also

[edit]=20 External links

This article or section may contain an = excessive=20 amount of external links.
Please improve this article by incorporating them into = the=20 appropriate end section, or by converting them to inline= =20 citations

Afghan=20 call for ethnic cleansing=20
Taliban in Central = Asia=20
The Taliban's Secret Photos=20
Photographs From A Taliban Ambush=20
U.S. Offers $200,000 to Catch Taliban on Time.com = (a division=20 of Time Magazine) October 1, 2007=20
The = Afghan=20 Women's Mission=20
The Pakistan Security Research Unit (PSRU)=20
Afghan = Women's=20 Network- Working to empower women in Afghanistan=20
Amnesty International USA - Afghanistan: Human Rights=20 Concerns=20
BBC=20 - Who Are The Taleban? - 20/12/2000=20
BBC News - Inside Afghanistan: Behind The Veil - = 27/06/01=20
BBC News - On the road with the Taleban - 21/10/06=20
BBC News -=20 Taliban give video interview - 26/10/06=20
CNN = In-Depth=20 Specials - Afghanistan under the Taliban=20
East=20 Carolina University - The War on Terrorism: Afghanistan and the = Taliban=20
Feminist=20 Majority Foundation - The Taliban & Afghan Women: Background=20
Frontline: Return Of The Taliban=20
Future Opioids:=20 Afghanistan, Opium and the Taliban=20
Global Research.ca - The War in Afghanistan: Drugs, = Money=20 Laundering and the Banking System by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya = 17/10/06=20
Hazara.org=20
Islam = For Today:=20 Afghanistan's Taliban: Not a valid interpretation of Islam=20
MSN Encarta - Taliban=20
The=20 National Security Archive - The September 11th Sourcebooks Volume = VII: The=20 Taliban File September 2003=20
The New York Times - Taliban News=20
The New York Times Magazine - The Education of a Holy = Warrior=20
Physicians For Human Rights - 1999 Report: The = Taliban's War on=20 Women - A Health and Human Rights Crisis in Afghanistan=20
Prostitution = Under the rule=20 of Taliban - RAWA Report 1999=20
The Taliban In Their Own Words=20
Third World Traveler - Afghanistan, the CIA, bin = Laden, and=20 the Taliban by Phil Gasper, International Socialist Review 11 & 12 = 2001=20
Time.Com Primer - The Taliban and Afghanistan=20
UC Berkeley Library - Afghanistan and the US: = selected=20 internet resources=20
The United States Institute For Peace - The Taliban and = Afghanistan: implications for Regional Security and Options for = International=20 Action- November 1998, Special Report No. 39=20
Boys of the Taliban - by Jamie Glazov, FrontPage = Magazine,=20 Dec. 29th, 2006=20
"Is One of the Lost Tribes the Taliban?" -- from = Moment=20 Magazine (April 2007)=20
"Taliban may have origin in ancient tribe of Israel:=20 Anthropologist finds many similarities" -- from the San = Francisco=20 Chronicle (October 2001)=20
Afghanistan Five Years Later: The Return of the = Taliban,=20 senliscouncil.net=20
US=20 Country Report on Human Rights Practices - Afghanistan 2001=20
US says=20 Mullah Omar in 'Pakistan'

v =E2=80=A2 d =E2=80=A2 e Islamism

Ideology	Islamic=20 fundamentalism =C2=B7 Pan-Islamism =C2=B7 Shiaism =C2=B7 Wahabbism =C2=B7 Salafism =C2=B7 Deobandi =C2=B7 Qutbism =C2=B7 Al-Qaedaism =C2=B7 Talibanization

Organisations	Muslim=20 Brotherhood =C2=B7 Jamaat-e-Islami= =C2=B7 Hizb=20 ut-Tahrir =C2=B7 al-Gama'a = al-Islamiyya =C2=B7 Egyptian=20 Islamic Jihad =C2=B7 Palestini= an=20 Islamic Jihad =C2=B7 National=20 Islamic Front =C2=B7 Islamic=20 Salvation Front =C2=B7 Hamas =C2=B7 Taliban =C2=B7 Abu = Sayyaf =C2=B7 al-Qaeda =C2=B7 Armed=20 Islamic Group =C2=B7 Islamic=20 Courts Union =C2=B7 Al-Qaeda in=20 Iraq =C2=B7 Mahdi = Army =C2=B7 Fatah=20 al-Islam

Leaders	Ibn=20 Taymiyyah =C2=B7 Jamal=20 al-Din al-Afghani =C2=B7=20 Sayyid=20 Abul Ala Maududi =C2=B7=20 Hasan=20 al-Banna =C2=B7 Sayyid = Qutb =C2=B7 Omar = Abdel-Rahman =C2=B7 Abdullah=20 Yusuf Azzam =C2=B7 Ayman=20 al-Zawahiri =C2=B7 Yusuf=20 al-Qaradawi =C2=B7 Osama = bin=20 Laden =C2=B7 Hassan=20 al-Turabi

Events and controversies	Zia-ul-= Haq's=20 Islamization =C2=B7 Grand=20 Mosque Seizure =C2=B7 Islamist=20 terrorism =C2=B7 Islamofascism =C2=B7 Criticism=20 of Islamism

Islamic concepts	Jihad =C2=B7 Shari'a =C2=B7 Caliphate =C2=B7 Islamic=20 republic =C2=B7 Jahiliyya =C2=B7 Hadith =C2=B7 Mujahedeen =C2=B7 Ummah =C2=B7 Kafir =C2=B7 Takfiri =C2=B7 Mahdi =C2=B7 Guardianship=20 of the Islamic Jurists =C2=B7 Politica= l=20 aspects of Islam =C2=B7=20 Fiqh =C2=B7 Islamic=20 studies

Texts	Milestones= =20 (book by Qutb) =C2=B7 Islamic=20 Government (book by Khomeini) =C2=B7 The=20 Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam (book by=20 = Qaradawi)

v =E2=80=A2 d =E2=80=A2 e Political=20 parties in Afghanistan

Present major parties	Jamiat-e=20 Islami - United=20 National Front - Hezbe = Wahdat -=20 Hezbi = Islami/Islami= c=20 Party of Afghanistan - National=20 Congress Party of Afghanistan - Na= tional=20 Movement of Afghanistan - National=20 Islamic Movement of Afghanistan

Present minor parties	Liberal=20 Democratic Party of Afghanistan - Afghan=20 Mellat

Banned parties	People's=20 Democratic Party of Afghanistan - Taliban - Communist=20 (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan - Democratic=20 Watan Party of Afghanistan - Afghanistan=20 Liberation Organization

Portal:Politics= =20 - List=20 of political parties - Politics=20 of = Afghanistan

v =E2=80=A2 d =E2=80=A2 e

War = on=20 Terrorism

Ti= meline =C2=B7 Casualt= ies =C2=B7 Theaters =C2=B7 C= riticism

Participants

Operational	Afganistan=20 Invasion Allies =C2=B7 Afghanistan =C2=B7 Northern=20 Alliance =C2=B7 ISAF =C2=B7 Multina= tional=20 force in Iraq =C2=B7 Iraq = (Iraqi = Army) =C2=B7 Pakistan =C2=B7 United=20 States =C2=B7 Philippines =C2=B7 Ethiopia

Targets=	al-Qaeda =C2=B7 Abu=20 Sayyaf =C2=B7 Iraqi=20 insurgency =C2=B7=20 Hamas =C2=B7 Islamic=20 Courts Union =C2=B7=20 Jemaah=20 Islamiyah =C2=B7=20 Taliban =C2=B7 Muslim=20 Brotherhood =C2=B7=20 Pattani=20 Separatists =C2=B7=20 Jaish-e-Mohammed =C2=B7 Hizbul=20 Mujahideen =C2=B7=20 Kurdistan=20 Workers Party =C2=B7 Hezbollah =C2=B7 Isla= mic=20 Movement of Uzbekistan =C2=B7 Lashkar-e-Toiba=

Conflicts

Operatio= n Enduring=20 Freedom	War=20 in Afghanistan =C2=B7 OEF=20 - Philippines =C2=B7 Geo= rgia=20 Train and Equip Program =C2=B7 Georgia=20 Sustainment and Stability =C2=B7 OED=20 - Horn of Africa =C2=B7 OED=20 - Trans Sahara

Other	Islamic=20 insurgency in the Maghreb =C2=B7 Iraq=20 insurgency and operations =C2=B7 = Insurgency=20 in Saudi Arabia =C2=B7 Insurgency=20 in Pakistan's Tribal areas =C2=B7 South=20 Thailand insurgency =C2=B7 Lebanon=20 War =C2=B7 War=20 in Somalia =C2=B7=20 Lebanon-Fatah= =20 al-Islam = conflict

Terrorist
attacks

2001=E2=80=932002	Septem= ber=20 11, 2001 attacks =C2=B7 Shoe=20 bomb plot =C2=B7 Terrorism=20 in Pakistan =C2=B7=20 1st=20 Bali bombing

2003=E2=80=932004	Riyadh=20 compound bombings =C2=B7 Casablanca= =20 bombings =C2=B7 Marriot= t=20 Hotel bombing =C2=B7 Istanbul=20 bombings =C2=B7 SuperFer= ry=20 14 bombing =C2=B7=20 Madrid=20 train bombings =C2=B7 Jak= arta=20 Australian embassy bombing

2005=E2=80=932006	1st=20 London bombings =C2=B7 2nd=20 London bombings =C2=B7 Sharm = el-Sheikh attacks =C2=B7 2nd=20 Bali bombings =C2=B7 Delh= i=20 bombings =C2=B7 Amman=20 bombings =C2=B7 = Mumbai=20 train bombings =C2=B7 Tr= ansatlantic=20 aircraft plot

2007=E2=80=932008	1st = Algiers bombings =C2=B7 Fort=20 Dix attack plot =C2=B7 London=20 car bomb plot =C2=B7 Glasgow=20 Airport attack =C2=B7 Qa= htaniya=20 bombings =C2=B7 Karachi=20 bombing =C2=B7 = Baghlan=20 bombing =C2=B7 Philippin= e=20 Congress bombing =C2=B7 2nd=20 Algiers bombings =C2=B7 Jaipur = bombings =C2=B7 Danish = embassy