Afghanistan:
Rise of Islamic
Fundamentalism
Graphic Organizer Categories
•Whatever is not covered in the
PowerPoint Lecture will be covered
by either:
•History Channel or National
Geographic Channel Taliban
Documentary
•Photocopied Supplemental
Reading on Afghanistan Today
from BBC
Cold War and War with
Soviet Union
Afghanistan and the Cold War
-The Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 in order to
support the Communist Party’s push for power in the
Country.
-The opposing side was an Islamic Fundamentalist,
Osama Bin Laden being one of them, group that was
supported by the United States and Western Allies.
-In 1989, the Soviet finally withdrew from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: History
•The Soviet Union
sent troops to
Afghanistan to help
the communist
government there
in a civil war.
Russian Invasion
• Then the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to set up a pro-Moscow government.
• For the next 9 years, a civil war broke out with different tribes of Afghanistan against
and with the Soviet forces.
• The Soviets pulled out in 1989, but they left a pro-Moscow government who fell with
the Soviet Union in 1992.
• Over 1 million Afghans were killed. 5 million Afghans fled to Pakistan and Iran.
• Another 2 million Afghans were displaced within the country.
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In the 1980s, one out of two refugees
in the world was an Afghan
Vital parts of the Afghan economy
were destroyed including Irrigations
systems to provide water for farming
Afghanistan: History
• This led to a long war
between Soviet troops and
Afghan rebels (Mujahedeen).
• The United States was
supporting the Afghan rebels.
• In 1989, an alliance of Afghan
rebel groups took power and
the Soviet troops left.
Late 1970s-2004
• In 1979, Afghanistan was invaded and eventually
controlled by the Soviet Union.
• In 1989, Afghanistan and the Soviet Union signed a
peace agreement.
• In 1995, the Taliban, promising traditional, Islamic
values came into power, imposing strict Islamic law,
including revoking many women’s rights.
• In 2001, American troops force the Taliban from power.
• In 2004, Hamid Karzai became the first elected Afghan
president.
Taliban Rule
Who is the Taliban?
• Gained strength in 1995
• Formed by Sunni Muslim Pashtun students, intellectuals and disaffected
Mujaheddin (holy warriors)
• Trained in Pakistan
• fundamentalists, committed to ‘Sharia Law’ (the traditional Islamic law
and moral code that prescribes how Muslims should best conduct their
lives).
Taliban brought order and fundamental Islam at a
price!
• The Taliban imposed their harsh brand of Islamic law in the
90 percent of Afghanistan under their control.
• The Taliban say their version of Islam is a pure one that
follows a literal interpretation of the Muslim holy book, The
Koran.
• Under Taliban laws, murderers were publicly executed by the
relatives of their victims.
• Adulterers are stoned to death and the limbs of thieves were
amputated.
• Lesser crimes were punished by public beatings.
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Map of Afghanistan in 1996 showing the
amount of Taliban territory captured at that
time (yellow). The Afghan Civil War
commenced between 1996-2001 before
coalition forces headed by the United
• Taliban came to power in most States began air strikes against the
Afghanistan by 1996.
Taliban.
Afghanistan
• Osama bin Laden moved his
terrorist activities there.
• Used mountain hideouts as a
base of operations for his
terrorist network called alQaeda.
The Taliban
(Talib is Arabic for ‘Islamic student’)
• Under the Taliban’s rule, human rights and civil
liberties were slowly peeled away.
• The Taliban instituted cruel and inhumane
treatment of those who opposed them in order to
solidify their power over Afghanistan’s citizens.
The Taliban
Prior to 2001, the Taliban, led by Mullah Mohammad Omar,
ruled Afghanistan under Islamic law.
During this time, women had virtually no rights and
received no education.
Watching television and listening to music were
forbidden, as were playing games and sports.
The United States entered Afghanistan in October 2001
and replaced the Taliban with an elected president.
While the Taliban lost some power and the people
regained some rights, the Taliban has not gone away.
Instead, it has worked to regain power by promising to
help Afghanistan’s poorest people and aligning itself with
warlords, al-Qaida, and other militant groups to gain
financial support and recruit new fighters.
Taliban Leader Mullah Mohammad
Omar
Taliban Abuses of Power
Rules for Everyone
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No television.
No music.
No movies
No picnics
No wedding parties
No New Year celebrations
No kind of mixed-sex gathering
No children's toys, including dolls and kites
No card and board games
No cameras
No photographs and paintings of people and animals
No pet parakeets
No cigarettes and alcohol
No magazines and newspapers, and most books.
They even forbade applause -- a moot point, since there was nothing left to applaud.
The only books available must be approved by the Taliban.
Enemies of the Taliban are put in jail.
Protesting is not permitted.
All windows must be painted black so that no-one is able to see inside.
Taliban Draws World Attention
To give one an idea of scale, note the
two individuals sitting here.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/archaeology/2001-0322-afghan-buddhas.htm
 In 2001, blew up ancient
Buddhist statues (1,500
years old) near city of
Bamiyan
Allowed al-Qaeda & Osama
bin Laden to operate within
the country
September 11 and Al Qaeda
Afghanistan: History
• The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were traced to Osama bin
Laden and his al Qaeda network based in Afghanistan.
On your Left Side:
• What do your remember of Sept 11, 2001?
• Where were you?
Al-Qaeda Defined
Al-Qaeda training camp
A very complex
organization that has been
in existence since the late
1980’s
Commits acts of violence
aimed at America and
Western Allies.
1989-95 Birth and Development
• Al-Qaeda starts in the aftermath of Soviet invasion 1987
• By 1989 begins to target America
• Recruits from across the globe including America
• No solid base (Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq)
• 1991-1996 primarily based in Sudan
• Much soldier training and a system of Hierarchy stabilized (Bin Laden,
Deputy, 5 committees)
Conflict with bin Laden Escalates
• Offers to raise a mujahidin army to defend Saudi Arabia from
a potential invasion from Iraq in 1990
• Saudi Arabia declines his offer opting instead to accept the
assistance of the U.S. and allow American troops (including
women soldiers) in Saudi Arabia
• Moves to Sudan by invitation of the Sudanese government in
1991
• Supports several small to medium attacks against Western
interests
• Moves to Afghanistan in 1996 by invitation of the Taliban
• Cruise missiles fired at al-Qaeda training camp in
Afghanistan to kill bin Laden in 1998
Al-Qaeda’s Strategy
• Soldiers operate in fast moving light forces. Work in complete secrecy
to complete complex strategic strikes.
• Avoids engagement in conventional fighting (forces are not strong
enough)
• Spreads rumors, fear and discouragement among enemy forces
• Relies on a force of over 20,000 professionally trained soldiers
throughout the world.
• The organization’s strengths are its’ secrecy extensive influence and
planning.
Al Qaeda - Formed in 1988
• A. Attacks:
• 1. World Trade Center – 1993
• 2. Tanzanian and Kenyan US
Embassies – 1998
• 3. USS Cole – 2000
• 4. World Trade Center 2001
• 5. Kenyan Hotel -2002
• 6. Bali nightclub – 2002
• 7. Many attacks in Saudi
Arabia – 2001-2004
• 8. Istanbul synagogue and
HSBC bank – 2004
• B. Goals:
• 1. to unite Muslims to fight
against the U.S. as a way of
defeating Israel
• 2. overthrowing non-Islamic
regimes
• 3. expelling westerners and nonMuslims from Muslim countries
• 4. merged with Egyptian Islamic
Jihad in 2001
• 5. merged with al-Zarqawi’s
group -2004
Al Qaeda (cont.)
• C. Individuals:
• 1. Usama bin Laden
• 2. Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi
• 3. Ayman al-Zawahiri
• D. Financing;
• 1. personal wealth - Usama
• 2. fund raising –false Muslim
and humanitarian charities
• 3. wealthy Arab sheiks (Saudi
Arabia)
• 4. individuals and businesses
• 5. the heroin trade
International Front for Jihad against the Jews and
Crusaders
“The ruling to kill the Americans and their
allies─civilians and military─is an
individual duty for every Muslim who can
do it in any country in which it is possible
to do it. ”
Fatwa issued by Osama bin Laden
& Ayman al-Zawahiri on 23 February 1998
Africa
• Al-Qaeda cells operate in
African countries as well.
• 1998 bombings occurred at the
U.S. embassies in Kenya and
Tanzania leaving 200 dead and
more than 5,000 people injured.
• The U.S. responded with missile
strikes against terrorist facilities in
Afghanistan and Sudan. Bin Laden
was based in Sudan from 19911996.
Predator drones used to attack
terrorist bases in Sudan and
Afghanistan.
Osama Bin
Laden
• "I am not afraid of death. I came here to die. Some of my supporters
followed me here just to die for the cause of Islam. They are ready to
defend me and to kill anyone who thinks of attacking our positions or
sites." Osama Bin Laden
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Al Qaeda
• The U.S. government charges that Osama bin Laden heads an international
terrorist network called "Al Qaeda," an Arabic word meaning 'the base.'
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The link between
September 11 and Afghanistan
• Afghans did not carry out the terrorist
attacks on the U.S.
Al-Qaeda, a terrorist network operating
within Afghanistan and other places,
did.
• Many Afghans expressed their
solidarity with the people of the U.S.
after Sept. 11.
• After September 11, the U.S. invaded
Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban for
sheltering Osama bin Laden.
• U.S. and NATO forces remain in
Afghanistan today.
http://www.indiadaily.org/images/9_11_attack.jpg
Al-Qaeda
•Claims responsibility for
attack on USA
•Taliban lets Al-Qaeda
hide out in their county
because they are allies.
Why did these people want to attack
America?
According to Bin Laden, he is concerned with
• American foreign policy towards, and American actions
in, the Muslim world
• US support for Israel in its ongoing theft of Arab land
• US support for corrupt and repressive regimes in the
Muslim world (Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf
states).
• Post 9/11, the US has added to an already long list of
Muslim grievances by occupying Afghanistan and Iraq.
Why did these people want to attack
America?
According to Bin Laden, he has never said that the attacks
were, are, or will be because of American freedoms, the
rights of our citizens, or even because of our religious
differences.
He has said that the reasons for the attacks of the past as
well as those of the future will be because of the way
the US and its allies treat the Muslim World.
Attack on the United States
• The Destruction:
• Fuel—The flights were near their start, therefore the tanks were full.
Explosions and fires weakened the skyscrapers, and both towers fell within
two hours.
• Pentagon damage confined to only one section of the building.
• Human Death Toll: about 3,000
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All passengers
WTC workers/visitors
340 NYC firefighters
60 NYC police officers
American Airlines Flight 11
The hijackers
• Scheduled route: Boston to LA
• Aircraft: Boeing 767
• Building Hit: North Tower
(WTC 1) at 8:46 AM.
• 92 on board
United Airlines Flight 175
The hijackers
• Scheduled route: Boston to LA
• Aircraft: Boeing 767
• Building Hit: South Tower
(WTC 2) at 9:03 AM.
• 65 on board
United Airlines Flight 175
crashes into the south
tower
Map showing the
attacks on the
World Trade
Center (the
planes are not
drawn to scale).
Diagram
of how
parts of
the
airplanes
fell to the
ground.
American Airlines Flight 77
The hijackers
• Route: Washington, D.C. (Dulles)
to L.A.
• Aircraft: Boeing 757
• Building Hit: Pentagon, Arlington,
VA
• 58 on board
Aerial view of the Pentagon during rescue
operations post-September 11 attack
United Airlines Flight 93: “Let’s Roll”
The hijackers
• Scheduled Route: Newark, NJ to San
Francisco
• Aircraft: Boeing 575
• Terrorists Target: Speculated to be
Washington, D.C.
• Crash Site: Somerset County, PA
• 44 on board
• The passengers revolted against the
hijackers, and the aircraft crashed
before reaching its intended target.
Crash Site of United Flight 93
2002-03 Regroup and Privatize
• The full-scale war brought by America was expected
• Al-Qaeda groups become almost separate working loosely
with mother Al-Qaeda (Southeast Asia, North America,
Europe, Iraq, North Africa and East Africa)
• Aside from war in Iraq since 2002 groups have made attacks
on the US and seven of our allies. (18 major attacks in 11
countries)
• Each Al-Qaeda group is strengthened by perceived injustices
to that country (i.e. radical Egyptians in North Africa)
The Iraq Connection
• Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is believed to have formed Jama'at alTawhid wal-Jihad in Afghanistan during the 1980s
• May have received some funds from al-Qaeda but operated independently
• Original objective was to overthrow the Jordanian government and establish an Islamic
state
• Expanded urban guerilla warfare in Iraq to include terrorist
tactics also targeting Iraqis
• Officially merged with al-Qaeda 21 October 2004 (finally
providing an al-Qaeda connection to Iraq)
2001 Anthrax Attacks
• 5 deaths (including 2 postal workers)
• 17 infections
A letter sent to Senate
Majority Leader Tom
Daschle containing
anthrax powder killed
two postal workers
Targets:
ABC News
CBS News
NBC News
New York Post
National Enquirer
Senators
Tom Daschle
Patrick Leahy
• Suspected perpetrator: Bruce Edward Irvins (died July 29,
2008 of suicide after he was informed he would be
prosecuted for murder), a microbiologist and vaccinologist
who was supposed to develop vaccines against anthrax.
• However, many people doubt the government’s conclusions
about Irvins. Some coworkers said they would have noticed
him develop the anthrax that was used.
• One historian believes the anthrax Irvins developed was
stolen by an al-Qaida sympathizer at George Mason University
because of lax security.
• We will probably never know.
• The cost of the cleanup to decontaminate buildings where
anthrax was found was about $1 billion.
Aviation Security
• FAA orders airlines to install bars on cockpit doors
• Plain clothed sky marshals assigned to fly on planes
• National Guard patrolled airports
• Aviation and Transportation Act (2001)—airport security became the
responsibility of the federal government. ALL baggage (even checked
baggage) is screened.
Afghanistan: Terrain causes Political
Problems
• Why can’t we find Osama bin Laden or at least win and end the
current war in Afghanistan?
• The rugged terrain makes it difficult to organize, fight, and rule
people.
Hiding Out
• Osama bin Laden evaded capture for almost 10 years.
• In the mean time the United States had engaged in wars in Iraq
(looking for weapons of mass destruction) and in Afghanistan (against
the Taliban who supported terrorism).
• bin Laden was suspected of hiding out in the mountainous regions of
Afghanistan.
United States Invasion
 The Taliban’s primary opposition was
called the Northern Alliance, and by 2001,
the Northern Alliance had been pushed
back to only 10% of Afghanistan to the
north.
 Then, as we all know, the events of
September 11th, 2001.
 The United States knew that Osama Bin
Laden was in Afghanistan, and that we
were going to go in there and get him.
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In October of 2001, the United States invaded, and in a short time, by
December of 2001, swept through and took control of the major cities and
pushed the Taliban and Al Qaeda to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, and we
helped to establish a new government that is in place today.
Seeking Bin Laden – Tora Bora
59
Attacking Tora Bora
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Tracking Bin Laden: 1
• Early on the CIA sought to
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
identify al-Qaeda couriers
(messengers who pass
information) who might have
contact with bin Laden.
• Detainees in the CIA’s secret
prison system revealed the name
of an al-Qaeda courier with the
pseudonym Abu Ahmed alKuwaiti.
• When No. 3 al-Qaeda leader
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was
captured by the CIA he admitted
knowing al-Kuwaiti, but said he
was not operating in al-Qaeda.
The CIA believed he was
protecting the courier.
Tracking Bin Laden: 2
• In 2004, a top operative for al-Qaeda was captured in Iraq named
Hassan Ghul.
• Ghul revealed to the CIA that al-Kuwaiti was indeed a key courier in
the al-Qaida organization close to operational commander Faraj alLibi.
• In May 2005 Faraj al-Libi was captured by the CIA, but he adamantly
denied that al-Kuwaiti was the secret courier.
• This convinced the CIA that he, as well as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
was protecting the identity of the courier.
Tracking Bin Laden: 3
• After years, detainees revealed the real name of the courier al-Kuwaiti
as Sheikh Abu Ahmed, a Pakistani born in Kuwait.
• One detainee gave false information that Abu Ahmed was wounded
fleeing U.S. forces and died in his arms.
• But in the middle of 2010 Abu Ahmed used the telephone and his
conversation was monitored by U.S. officials.
• In August 2010 Abu Ahmed was tracked to the mysterious compound
in Abbottabad.
• It had unusually high walls.
• No one came or went.
• There was no telephone or internet. U.S. authorities became
convinced that a high level terrorist was living there.
CIA aerial view of the bin Laden
compound
Kal's Cartoons
http://www.kaltoons.com/wordpress/2009/12/kal-economist-afghanistan-cartoons/
Kal's Cartoons
http://www.kaltoons.com/wordpress/2009/12/kal-economist-afghanistan-cartoons/
On your Left Side:
•After watching the DVD and this
lecture, what do you think is the
best way for Afghanistan to get
back on its feet?
•Explain.