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The War in Afghanistan
(Operation Enduring
Freedom)-(2001-Present):
The War
in Afghanistan is the first major conflict of the
21st Century. Though the origins of the war involve
the ongoing Afghan Civil War and the Soviet
Invasion and Occupation of the 1970s and 1980s, the
current war began in October, 2001 in response to
the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the
United States.
CAUSES
OF
CONFLICT:
Following
the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989 and
the fall of the Afghan Communist government in
1992, a protracted civil war raged on between the
various factions of anti-Communist Afghan fighters,
who called themselves the Mujahadeen (See the
Afghan
Civil War).
In this
realm of chaos, some former Mujahadeen found a
leader in Mullah Mohammed Omar. A Mullah is an
Islamic religious leader. A former Mujahadeen
fighter who returned to his home village after the
fall of the Communist regime, this member of the
Pashtun ethnic group led a new armed group called
the Taliban. The word Taliban means "student," and
many of the original recruits to Omar's movement
were Islamic religious students. Other former
Mujahadeen leaders of Pashtun background joined
with the Taliban as this new group sought to
impose law and order on the country. The particular
law they sought to impose was an extreme version of
Islamic law. Under Taliban-imposed law, women are
not allowed to work outside the home or attend
school. Men are expected to grow beards and attend
religious services regularly. Television is banned,
and religious minorities such as the Hindus were
required to wear some sort of identifying clothing.
Also, in 2001, the Taliban ordered the destruction
of all non-Islamic idols and statues in areas under
their control. They also attracted the support of
Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida
organization.
In 1994,
the Taliban attacked and defeated local warlords
and began to gather a reputation for order and
military success. Pakistan soon began supporting
them, partially as a means of establishing a
stable, friendly government in Kabul. The continual
fighting between the former Mujahadeen armies
caused waves of refugees to flood Pakistan's border
regions and interfered with Pakistani trade in the
region. In late 1994, the Taliban took control of
Kandahar, acquiring a large supply of modern
weapons, including fighter aircraft, tanks and
helicopters. In January of 1995, the Taliban
approached Kabul.
From that
point onward, until they seized Kabul in September,
1996, the Taliban fought against several militias
and warlords, eventually defeating them all.
Several anti-Taliban leaders and their forces fled
to the northern part of the country to continue
fighting against the Taliban. One of these leaders,
or warlords, was Ahmed Shah Massoud.
From his
loss of Kabul until 1999, Ahmed Shah Massoud's
forces remained within artillery range of the
capital city, which he attacked regularly. After
his pullout from Kabul, Massoud also began
receiving military supplies from both Russia (now
non-Communist) and Iran, both of whom feared the
growing power of the Taliban. Russia has fought
Muslim rebels in its own Chechnya region and on
behalf of the government of Tajikistan. Moscow
feared the Taliban as a source of aid and support
for the rebels it has fought in Chechnya and
Tajikistan. Iran, dominated by Shiite Islamic
fundamentalists, was at odds with the Sunni Muslim
Taliban, largely over the treatment of the Afghan
Shiite minority called the Hazaris.
By 1997,
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government
of Afghanistan. Pakistan's role in the Taliban
success is controversial, as it is generally
believed that several Taliban military victories
are directly attributable to armed Pakistani
intervention.
After
seizing Mazar-i Sharif, the Taliban provoked the
hostility of the area's Shiite Hazari minority (who
do not meet the Taliban's strict religious
standards), and the warlord, General Malik, ended
his dalliance with the Taliban. The result was the
execution of at least 3,000 captured Taliban
soldiers by Malik and the Hazaris. In August, 1998,
the Taliban retook Mazar-i Sharif and summarily
massacred at least 2,000 Hazaris. Also, several
Iranian citizens, including diplomats, were killed,
nearly touching off an Iran-Taliban war. As this
crisis heightened, Iran massed nearly 250,000
troops on the Iran-Afghan border. Throughout the
years of the Taliban's ascendancy, Iran supplied
arms and military training to the "United
Front/Northern Alliance" forces in Northern
Afghanistan who were fighting the Taliban. The
Northern Alliance includes the Uzbek forces of
General Dostum, the Tajik troops of former
President Rabbani and the Shiite Hazaris led by
Haji Mohammed Mohaqiq.
In 1998,
following the terrorist bombings of American
embassies in Africa, the United States launched a
cruise missile attack on training camps belonging
to bin Laden's Al-Qaida organization in
Afghanistan.
Through
the Autumn of 2001, the Taliban continued to
pressure the Northern Alliance, often with the aid
of Osama bin Laden and his Arab forces. On
September 9, 2001, the Northern Alliance leader
Ahmad Shah Massoud was mortally wounded in
an assassination attempt carried out by two Arab
men posing as journalists. This attack was the work
of bin Laden's organization as a possible prelude
to the airline
hijackings and
terrorism
in the United States on September 11. The Northern
Alliance responded to Massoud's killing with
an aerial attack on Kabul the night of September
11.
It is now
known that the killing of Massoud was coordinated
with the terror attacks on the United States which
took place on September 11. As the United States
assigned blame for the attacks on bin Laden and
al-Qaida, plans began to take the fight to al-Qaida
and its Taliban sponsors as the first phase of what
became known as the Global War on
Terror.
DESCRIPTION
OF
CONFLICT:
The War
in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001 with allied
air strikes on Taliban and al-Qaida targets. On the
ground, American, British and other Allied special
forces troops worked with the Northern Alliance to
begin a military offensive to overthrow the
Taliban. This alliance between the Northern
Alliance and the Allies led to coordination between
Allied air attacks and ground attacks by the
Northern Alliance. These attacks led to the fall of
Kabul on Nov. 13, 2001, as the Taliban retreated
from most of northern Afghanistan.
As more
Allied troops entered the war and the Northern
Alliance forces fought their way southwards, the
Taliban and al-Qaida retreated toward the
mountainous border region between Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
From 2002
onward, the Taliban focused on survival and on
rebuilding its forces. From 2005 to the present
(winter 2007), the Taliban has increased its
attacks and is using suicide bombers and other
tactics from the
Iraq War.
On February 27, 2007, while on a
diplomatic trip to Afghanistan, an apparent
assassination attempt was made by Taliban
insurgents, who claimed that Cheney was a target in
the attack. A suicide bomber blew up a checkpoint
at Bagram Air Base outside of Kabul, killing 20,
including an American soldier. Cheney was unhurt in
the attack.
CASUALTY
FIGURES: (as of
03.17.07)
al-Qaida dead: At least
1,500
Taliban dead: At least 10,000
Coalition Military Fatalities
By Country:
As of 10.07.07
Australia: 1
Canada: 58
Czech Republic: 1
Denmark: 6
Estonia: 2
France: 12
Finland: 1
Germany: 25
Italy: 10
Netherlands: 11
Norway: 1
Portugal: 1
Romania: 5
South Korea: 1
Spain: 23
Sweden: 2
United Kingdom: 82
United States: 382
Coalition wounded (US 1,117,
UK 256, Canada 210+): 1,105
Northern Alliance dead: At
least 200
Afghan security forces dead:
At least 1,400
Civilian dead:
5,000-7,000
News
Links
NATO
Needs More Troops for
Afghanistan--Lolita C.
Baldor. The Associated Press, 02 March
2007.
Pressed
by U.S., Pakistan Seizes a Taliban Chief
Carlotta Gall. The New York Times, 02 March
2007.
UK
to Tackle Afghan Drug Lords in No-Go Valley
Julian Borger. The Guardian, 02 March 2007.
U.S.
Forces Pursue Taliban into Pakistan
Lolita C. Baldor. The Associated Press, 01
March 2007.
The
State of Afghanistan's Jihad
Matthias Gebauer. Der Spiegel, 01 March 2007.
Opium
Trade Undermines Afghan Democracy, U.S.
Says
Arshad Mohammed. Reuters, 01 March 2007.
Good
and Bad News from the Poppy
Fields
Bronwen Maddox. The Times, UK, 01 March 2007.
Afghanistan
Lacks Capacity to Govern
Said Jawad. Interviewed by Robert
McMahon. Council on Foreign Relations, 28
February 2007.
Cheney
Targeted in Afghan Blast
The Associated Press, 27 February 2007.
Ruined
Poppy Farmers Join Ranks With the Taleban
Tim Albone and Claire Billet. The Times, UK, 27 February 2007.
Watching
Afghanistan Fall
Matthew Cole. Salon.com, 27 February 2007.
Is
Pakistan Doing All It Should to Secure Its Afghan
Border?
Bill Roggio and Kathy Gannon. Council on
Foreign Relations, 27 February 2007.
Informer
Killings Show Growing Taleban Control
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 26 February
2007.
Extra
1,400 UK Troops to be Sent
to Afghanistan
Michael Evans. The Times, UK, 26 February 2007.
Former Afghan Warlords Rally for Amnesty
Mark Sappenfield. The Christian Science Monitor, 26 February
2007.
Afghanistan:
Taliban Preps for Bloody Assault
Sami Yousafzai and Ron Moreau. Newsweek,
05 March 2007 issue. Posted
on 26 February 2007.
Town's
Elders Plead for Help With Taliban
Abdul Waheed Wafa and Carlotta Gall. The New
York Times, 26 February 2007.
27
July 1880. A Date Mr Blair Should Look
Up
Robert Fisk. The Independent, 25 February
2007.
Breaking
Point: Measuring Progress In
Afghanistan 2007
Seema Patel. Center for Strategic and International
Studies, 23 February 2007. Posted on the Commonwealth Institute website (.pdf
file).
Fighting the Wrong War in Afghanistan
Dad Noorani. Asia
Times, 23 February 2007.
Taliban
'In Control' in Helmand
James Bays.
Al-Jazeera, 22 February 2006.
Denmark
to Increase Troops in Afghanistan after Iraq
Withdrawal
Agence France-Presse, 21 February 2007.
Plan
Afghanistan: Another Colombia
Mistake
Sam Logan. ISN Security Watch, 20 February 2007.
Afghans
in No Mood to Forgive Killers
Hafizullah Gardesh and Wahidullah Amani. Institute for War and
Peace Reporting, 20 February 2007.
Afghan
Forces Retake District Briefly Held by
Taliban
Agence France-Presse, 20 February 2007.
Afghan
Lawmakers Approve Amnesty For War
Criminals
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,
20 February 2007.
U.S.
Beefing Up Afghan Army
Jason Straziuso. The Associated Press, 20 February 2007.
Afghan
Poppy War Alienates
Farmers
James Bays.
Al-Jazeera, 20 February 2007.
Remember
Al Qaeda? They're Baaack
Bruce Hoffman. Los
Angeles Times, 20
February 2007.
Conflicting
Reports Of Taliban Capture
Of Remote Town
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,
19 February 2007.
Al
Qaeda Chiefs Are Seen to Regain Power
Mark Mazzetti and David Rohde. The New York
Times, 19 February 2007.
Taliban
Offensive Expected in
Spring
Laura King. Los
Angeles Times, 18
February 2007.
America's
Foreign Policy - Fighting Fires
The Economist, 16 February
2007.
Afghanistan's
Proxy War
Xenia
Dormandy. The Boston Globe, 16 February
2007.
Winning in Afghanistan: The Challenges and the
Response
Anthony H. Cordesman. Testimony before the House Committee on
Foreign Affairs, 15 February 2007. Posted
on the Commonwealth Institute website (.pdf file).
Afghanistan:
What the United States Has
Spent
ABC News, 15 February 2007.
Countering
The Insurgency In Afghanistan: Losing
Friends and Making
Enemies
Senlis Council, 14 February 2007.
US
Troop Numbers in Afghanistan Hit All-Time Peak
Jim Mannion. Agence France-Presse, 14
February 2007.
IMF
Warns of Slippage in Afghan Economic
Program
Lesley Wroughton. Reuters, 13 February 2007.
Second
Helmand District Falls to Taleban
Institute of War and Peace Reporting, 12 February
2007.
Hundreds
of Taliban Massing to Attack Dam: Official
Saeed Ali Achakzai. Reuters, 12 February
2007.
Afghanistan
Diary
The Economist, 12 February
2007.
Afghans
Allow Themselves a Ration of Hope
Jason Burke. Guardian, 11 February 2007.
NATO
Asked to Meet Promises Already Made to Afghanistan
Thom Shanker. The New York Times, 09
February 2007.
Helmand
Heads for Record Poppy Harvest
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 09 February
2007.
Insights
from a Military Commander
Carl Robichaud. Afghanistan
Watch, 09 February 2007.
Nation-Building
or Nation-Neglecting?
Ashraf Haidari. San Francisco Chronicle, 06
February 2007.
Just
Another Bush Success Story
Tom Engelhardt. Antiwar.com, 06 February 2007.
Taliban Too Quick Off the Mark
Syed Saleem Shahzad. Asia
Times, 06 February 2007.
British
Worry U.S. Approach to Afghanistan Will Play Into
Taliban's Plans
Tom Regan. CSMonitor.com, 05 February 2007.
From
Afghanistan to Iraq: Connecting the Dots with
Oil
Richard W. Behan. AlterNet, 05 February 2007.
U.S.
General in Afghanistan Seen Tough on Taliban
Terry Friel. Reuters, 05 February 2007.
Afghanistan
Losing War on Drugs, General
Says
The Associated Press, 04 February 2007.
Taliban
'Must Not Hold This Town'
Jason Burke. The Observer, 04 February 2007.
The
Road to Helmand
Holly Barnes Higgins. Washington
Post, 04 February 2007.
A Political Curtain-Raiser for the Taliban
Syed Saleem Shahzad. Asia
Times, 03 February 2007.
Former
British-Patrolled Town 'Falls to Taliban'
The Guardian, 02 February 2007.
Pakistan
to Fence Border of Afghanistan
Matthew Pennington. The Associated Press, 02 February
2007.
Afghanistan
Approves Amnesty for Warlords
Declan Walsh. The Guardian, 01 February
2007.
U.K.
to Boost Afghanistan Troop Numbers
The Guardian, 01 February 2007.
Al
Qaeda 2006: Fighting in Iraq, Regrouping in
Afghanistan, Enlisting in Europe
Carol Huang. The Christian Science Monitor,
01 February 2007.
The
Other War
Anatol Lieven. The American Prospect, January/February
2007.
Afghanistan's Local Insurgency
Seth G. Jones. International Herald Tribune, 31 January
2007.
Afghan
Rebuilding Hit by 'Violence and
Waste'
Hugh Williamson. Financial Times, 31 January
2007.
Security
and Stability in Afghanistan: Opportunities and
Challenges
Ali A. Jalali. Testimony before
the House Armed Services Committee, 30 January 2007
(.pdf file).
1,000
Afghan Civilians Killed in 2006, Report Says
Mark Tran. The Guardian, 30 January 2007.
Discarding
An Afghan Opportunity
Selig S. Harrison. Washington
Post, 30 January 2007.
Afghanistan:
Slow Progress on Security and Rights
Human Rights Watch, 30 January 2007.
The
Big Afghanistan Push Comes to Shove
Simon Tisdall. The Guardian, 30 January
2007.
Multipronged
Drug-Eradication Effort Set For Helmand
Interview with Mark Norton. Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 30 January 2007.
New
U.S. Commander in Afghanistan Expects Rise in
Suicide Attacks in 2007
The Associated Press, 30 January 2007.
Rebuilding and Reconciliation
Syed Saleem Shahzad. Asia
Times, 30 January 2007.
Afghanistan's
Endangered Compact
International Crisis Group, 29 January 2007 (.pdf
file).
A Cautionary Tale on Afghanistan
Dan Restrepo. The Boston
Globe, 29 January 2007.
Karzai
Increasingly Beset by Problems
Reuters, 29 January 2007.
Afghan
Elders Speak of War, Not
Peace
Graeme Smith. Globe and Mail, 29 January
2007.
Two
Vodkas, one Pepsi
Michael Evans. The Times, UK,
29 January 2007.
Dam
Holds Back Force of the Taliban
Jason Burke. The Sunday Observer, UK, 28 January 2007.
Former
Afghan Customs Chief Says Afghanistan Losing War
Against Drugs
The Associated Press, 29 January 2007.
Afghanistan's
Judge of Last Resort
Kim Barker. The Chicago
Tribune, 28 January 2007.
Softly, Softly in the Taliban's Den
Syed Saleem Shahzad. Asia
Times, 27 January 2007.
U.S.
Warns of Bloody Taliban Spring
Fightback
Reuters, 26 January 2007.
Afghanistan:
NATO Begins Fund For Civilian War Victims
Ron Synovitz. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,
26 January 2007.
U.S.
Troops to Form Flexible Afghanistan Force
Reuters, 26 January 2007.
Afghanistan,
the Other 'Surge'
Eben Kaplan. Council on Foreign Relations, 26
January 2007.
No
Exit
Joseph Lelyveld. The New
York Review of Books,
February 15, 2007. Posted on 26
January 2007.
Bush
Plans New Focus On Afghan Recovery
Michael Abramowitz. Washington
Post, 25 January 2007.
Pakistani
Premier Faults Afghans for Taliban Woes on Border
Katrin Bennhold and Mark Landler. The New York Times, 25
January 2007.
The
Winter of the Taliban's
Content
Syed Saleem Shahzad. Asia
Times, 25 January 2007.
Doctors
Propose Using Afghan Opium as NHS
Pain-Killer
Justin Huggler. The Independent, UK, 24 January 2007.
NATO:
Taliban Weakened in S.
Afghanistan
United Press International, 24 January 2007.
Nato
General: We Need One More Year to Defeat Taliban
Richard Norton-Taylor.
The Guardian, 22 January 2007.
Burdened
U.S. Military Cuts Role in Drug War
Josh Meyer. Los
Angeles Times, 22
January 2007.
Opium
War Revealed: Major New Offensive in
Afghanistan
Raymond Whitaker. The Independent, 22
January 2007.
In
Remote Afghan Camp, Taliban Explain How and Why
They Fight
Claudio Franco. San Francisco Chronicle, 21
January 2007.
Afghan
Women's Quiet Revolution Hangs by a Thread
Alissa J. Rubin. Los
Angeles Times, 21
January 2007.
At
Border, Signs of Pakistani Role in Taliban Surge
Carlotta Gall. The New York Times, 21 January 2007.
Afghanistan's
Taliban Say To Open
Schools
Reuters, 21 January 2007.
More Evidence of Taliban Leader Hiding in Pakistan
David Montero. The Christian Science Monitor, 19 January
2007.
Tribal Tribulations in Afghanistan
Haroun Mir. Asia
Times, 19 January 2007.
Gates
Signals Troop Surge in Afghanistan
Julian Borger. The Guardian, 18 January 2007.
Iranian
Involvement in Afghanistan
Muhammad Tahir. Jamestown
Foundation, 18 January 2007.
Troop
Buildup for Afghanistan?
Kim Barker. The Chicago
Tribune, 18 January 2007.
What
the Iraq Study Group said about America's 'Other
War'
Karl F. Inderfurth. The Christian Science
Monitor, 18 January 2007.
Ending
an Opium War
Anne Applebaum. Washington
Post, 16 January 2007.
Some
at Guantanamo Mark 5 Years in Limbo
Carol D. Leonnig and Julie Tate. Washington
Post, 16 January 2007.
Afghanistan's
Efforts to Boost Women Falter
Kim Barker. Chicago
Tribune, 16 January 2007.
Afghan
Rebel Chief Sends Fighters to Their Deaths
The Associated Press, 14
January 2007.
Local
Taliban Defeat Raises Hopes For
Dam Project
Ron Synovitz. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,
13 January 2007.
Afghan
Army 'Unfit to Take Over Security Role in
2009'
The Scotsman, 12 January 2007.
Afghanistan:
Post-War Governance, Security and U.S.
Policy
Kenneth Katzman. Congressional Research Service, 11
January 2007 (.pdf file).
Rebel:
'We Aided bin Laden Escape'
The Associated Press, 11
January 2007.
A
Voice From Gitmo's
Darkness
Jumah al-Dossari. Los
Angeles Times, 11
January 2007.
Shut
Down Guantanamo - And Make Sure It Never Happens
Again
Helena Cobban. The Christian Science
Monitor, 11 January 2007.
The
Taliban's Fire Spreads
Nicholas Martin-Lalande. Asia
Times, 10 January 2007.
Afghan Government Recruiting Thousands of Auxiliary
Police to Battle Insurgents
Benjamin Sand. Voice of America,
10 January 2007.
How
the Taliban Keep their Coffers
Full
Syed Saleem Shahzad. Asia
Times, 10 January 2007.
Tackling the Taleban in the Cold
Dan Isaacs. BBC News, 09 January 2007.
Former
CIA Analyst Says West Misunderstands Al-Qaeda
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,
08 January 2007.
Commanders
Seek More Forces in
Afghanistan
David Wood. Baltimore
Sun, 08 January 2007.
Taliban
Leader's Powerful Vanishing
Act
Laura King. Los
Angeles Times, 08
January 2007.
Afghan
War Needs Troops
David Wood. The Baltimore
Sun, 07 January 2007.
Starving
Afghans Sell Girls of Eight as Brides
Peter Beaumont. The Sunday Observer, 07 January 2007.
Taliban
Leader Promises More Afghan War
Ismail Khan and Carlotta Gall. The New York
Times, 05 January 2007.
Taliban
Walk Right In, Sit Right Down
...
Syed Saleem Shahzad. Asia
Times, 05 January 2007.
Mullah
Omar Says Hasn't Seen bin Laden for Years
Reuters, 04 January 2007.
Special
Deals and Raw Recruits Employed to Halt the Taliban
in Embattled Helmand
Declan Walsh. The Guardian, 04 January 2007.
Securing
Tyrants or Fostering Reform? U.S. Internal Security
Assistance to Repressive and Transition
Regimes
Seth G. Jones et al. RAND,
03 January 2007.
Official:
NATO Killed Too Many Civilians in Afghanistan in
'06
The Associated Press, 03 January 2007. Posted
on the USA Today website.
Afghan-Pakistani
Tension Could Create Opening for
Iran
Alex Vatanka. Eurasia
Insight, 03 January 2007.
FBI
Reports Duct-Taping, 'Baptizing' at Guantanamo
Dan Eggen. Washington
Post, 03 January 2007.
Forces
in Afghanistan Shift Focus to Taliban Leaders
Sardar Ahmad. Agence France
Presse, 02 January 2007.
Europe's
Afghan Test
Robert Hunter. United Press
International, 02 January 2007.
White
House Line on War Cost Called Too
Low
Congressional Quarterly, 01 January 2007
(.pdf file).
The Secret War in Afghanistan
James Dunnigan. Strategy Page, 01 January 2007.
1,373
Miles Into the Heart of
Afghanistan
Paul Watson. Los
Angeles Times, 31
December 2006. Posted on the
Truthout website.
Mullah
Omar Pledges to Expel
NATO
The Associated Press, 29
December 2006. Posted on Military.com.
Iran
Is Seeking More Influence in Afghanistan
David Rohde. The New York Times, 27 December
2006.
Pakistan
Army Told to Plan Fence and Mines Along Afghan
Border
Imtiaz Gul. The Guardian, 27 December 2006.
Afghan
Heroin's Surge Poses Danger in U.S.
Garrett Therolf. Los
Angeles Times, 26
December 2006.
Al-Qaeda's
Sanctuary
Editorial. Washington
Post, 21 December 2006.
Afghanistan:
The Choice
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