Taliban

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For other uses, see Taliban (disambiguation).

Armed Taliban in pickup truck in Herat, July 2001.

The Taliban (or Taleban) (Pashto: طالبان) ("students," literally seekers [of knowledge]) are a Sunni puritanical Muslim and Pashtun movement that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, and are currently engaged in a protracted guerrilla war against foreign forces within Afghanistan.

While in power in Afghanistan, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan gained diplomatic recognition from only three states: the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. Beneath Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader of the movement, were village mullahs (junior Islamic religious scholars), most of whom had studied in Islamic religious schools in Pakistan. Almost 98% of the Taliban movement derived from the Pashtuns of Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan, but it also included a small percentage of non-Pashtun volunteers from Eurasia to China.

The Taliban became notorious for their treatment of women. Women were forced to wear the burqa in public; were not allowed to work; were not allowed to be educated after the age of eight, and until then were permitted only to study the Qur'an; were not allowed to be treated by male doctors unless accompanied by a male chaperone; and faced public flogging and execution for violations of the Taliban's laws.^[1]^[2]

[edit] War with the Northern Alliance

Main article: Afghan Civil War (1996-2001)

In the early stages around 1996-1997, General Abdul Malik (Dostom’s third-in-command) overthrew Dostum, took over Mazari Sharif and temporarily sided with the Taliban. Soon afterwards, he switched sides again only to betray the Talibs and participate in the killings of thousands of them by Hezbe Wahdat. Later the Taliban captured Mazari Sharif and killed thousands of people to avenge their earlier losses.

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

[edit] Life under the Taliban government

[edit] Treatment of women

Main article: Taliban treatment of women

A member of the Taliban's religious police beating a woman in Kabul on August 26, 2001; photograph taken from footage filmed by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) [1]. The footage can be seen here.

Women were made to wear the burqa, a traditional Islamic dress in accordance with the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic law. Women were also not allowed to study after the age of 8. According to the four madhabs the covering of the face is an obligation. This is held by a minority of Muslim scholars, however, in light of recent movements involving women's rights. There were many reports of Muslim women being beaten by the Taliban for violating the Shariah.

[edit] Drugs

Opium poppies have traditionally been grown in Afghanistan, and, with the war shattering other sectors of the economy, it became the number one export of the country. Opium cultivation continued to thrive during most of the Taliban period, despite attempts to ban it. However, in 2000 the Taliban enforced its ban to the maximum extent; even punishing drug cultivators and dealers with summary executions.

The Taliban banned opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in late 1997, but the law was widely unenforced as the Taliban had not yet controlled the whole country. A popular myth is the belief that the Taliban are using this drug money to wage their war on the west. However, when the Taliban entered North Waziristan in 2003 they immediately banned poppy cultivation and punished those who sold it.^{[citation needed]}

Thus by 2000, Afghanistan's opium production still accounted for 75% of the world's supply. On July 27, 2000, the Taliban again issued a decree banning opium poppy cultivation. By February 2001, production had been reduced from 12,600 acres to only 17 acres. In July 2001, the United States gave the Taliban 48 million dollars for reducing 99.86% of the production.^[3] Following the fall of the Taliban regime, the areas controlled by the Northern Alliance resumed opium production^[4] and by 2005 production was 87% of the world's opium supply.^[5]

[edit] Oppression of the Hazara ethnic group

The Taliban continued the long trend of brutal oppression of the Hazara people in Afghanistan. Most Hazara are Shia Muslims, and the staunchly Sunni Taliban consider Shia to be heretical and loyal to the Iranian government. During the last years of Taliban rule, this oppression took the form of mass killings and burnings of cities and villages. On August 10, 1998, Mulla Niazi (Governor of Mazari Sharif) declared a Fatwah against the Hazara, pronouncing them as heretics who could be killed with impunity. During the years that followed, rapes and massacres of Hazara by Taliban forces were documented by groups such as Human Rights Watch.^[6]

[edit] Buddhas of Bamiyan

Main article: Buddhas of Bamiyan

In March 2001, the Taliban ordered the demolition of two statues of Buddha carved into cliffsides at Bamiyan, one 38 metres (125 ft) tall and about 1,800 years old, the other 53 metres (174 ft) tall and about 1,500 years old. The act was condemned by UNESCO and many countries around the world.

The intentions of the destruction remain unclear. Mullah Omar initially supported the preservation of Afghanistan's heritage, and Japan offered to pay for the preservation of the statues.^{[citation needed]} However, after a few years, a decree was issued claiming all representations of humans, including those in museums, must be destroyed in accordance with Islamic law which prohibits any form of idol worship.

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

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

[edit] Relationship with Osama bin Laden

In 1996, Osama bin Laden moved to Afghanistan from Sudan. When the Taliban came to power, bin Laden was able to forge a alliance between the Taliban and his Al-Qaeda organization. It is understood that al-Qaeda-trained fighters known as the 055 Brigade were integrated with the Taliban army between 1997 and 2001. The Taliban and bin Laden had very close connections, which were formalized by a marriage of one of bin Laden's sons to Omar's daughter. During Osama bin Laden's stay in Afghanistan, he had helped finance the Taliban.^[7]

After the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa, Osama bin Laden and several al Qaeda members were indicted in U.S. criminal court.^[8] The Taliban protected Osama bin Laden from extradition requests by the U.S., variously claiming that bin Laden had "gone missing" in Afghanistan^[9] or that Washington "cannot provide any evidence or any proof" that bin Laden is involved in terrorist activities and that "without any evidence, bin Laden is a man without sin... he is a free man."^[10]Evidence against bin Laden included courtroom testimony and satellite phone records but no physical 'proof' at the time linked bin Laden to allegations made by US intelligence and government channels.^[11]^[12]

The Taliban continued to harbor bin Laden after the September 11, 2001 attacks, protesting his innocence,^[13] while at the same time offering to hand him over to a third nation. In 2004 bin Laden took personal responsibility for ordering the attacks on New York and Washington in a videotape broadcast on Al Jazeera.

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

Main article: 2001 war in Afghanistan

After the September 11 attacks the USA delivered this statement to the Taliban.

Deliver to the US all of the leaders of Al Qaeda;
Release all imprisoned foreign nationals;
Close immediately every terrorist training camp;
Hand over every terrorist and their supporters to appropriate authorities;
Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps for inspection.^[14]

The Taliban Responded that if the United States can bring evidence that he is guilty they will hand him over September 21, 2001, stating there was no evidence in their possession linking Bin Laden to the September 11 attacks.^[15]

[edit] Alleged Inconsistencies in FBI Information Management

Currently, according to the FBI and their wanted posters for Osama Bin Laden (viewable directly from their official website),^[16]^[17] he is not specifically cited as a suspect, or wanted for, the September 11th terrorist attacks. According to FBI spokesperson Rex Tomb "there is no hard evidence connecting" him to the attacks. On June 5, 2006, reporter Ed Hass contacted the FBI Headquarters to learn why Bin Laden's Most Wanted posters do not indicate that Osama was also wanted in connection with 9/11. He spoke with Rex Tomb, Chief of Investigative Publicity for the FBI. When asked why there is no mention of 9/11 on Bin Laden's "most wanted" web pages, Tomb said, "The reason why 9/11 is not mentioned on Osama Bin Laden's most wanted page is because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting Bin Laden to 9/11."^[18] However, the Department of Defense released a video of Bin Laden admitting to the attacks. However the tape is blurry and the man in the tapes beard was much shorter than Bin Laden's. Even certain branches of the government cannot confirm the tape.

Bin Laden was initially placed on the Ten Most Wanted list in June 1999 (prior to 9/11) after being indicted for murder, conspiracy and other charges in connection with the 1998 American embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya;
The wanted notice states bin Laden is suspected of "...[an] attack on a federal facility resulting in death", and is "...a suspect in other terrorist attacks throughout the world" but does not provide further details;
It is a matter of legal restrictions and the need to be fair to any defendant;
A $5 million reward was put on his head upon the notice's initial posting in 1999. The listing was updated after 9/11 to include a higher reward of $25 million, but no mention of the attacks was added.^[19]

[edit] Prelude to Invasion

On September 22, 2001, the United Arab Emirates and later Saudi Arabia withdrew their recognition of the Taliban as the legal government of Afghanistan, leaving neighboring Pakistan as the only remaining country with diplomatic ties. On October 4, 2001, it is believed that the Taliban covertly offered to turn bin Laden over to Pakistan for trial in an international tribunal that operated according to Islamic Sharia law.^[20] Pakistan, recently recast as an ally of the west, is believed to have rejected the offer (even though they still recognized the Taliban). On October 7, 2001, before the onset of military operations, the Taliban made an open offer to try bin Laden in Afghanistan in an Islamic court.^[21] This counter offer was immediately rejected by the U.S. as insufficient.

[edit] American Attack

Shortly afterward, on October 7, 2001, the United States, aided by the United Kingdom, Canada, and supported by a coalition of other countries including several from the NATO alliance, initiated military actions in Afghanistan, code named Operation Enduring Freedom, and bombed Taliban and Al Qaeda related camps.^[22]^[23] The stated intent of military operations was to remove the Taliban from power because of the Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden for his involvement in the September 11 attacks, and disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations.^[24] On October 14 the Taliban openly counter offered to hand bin Laden over to a third country for trial, but only if the Taliban were given evidence of bin Laden's involvement in 9/11.^[25] The U.S. rejected this offer as an insufficient public relations ploy and continued military operations.

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

[edit] Resurgence of Taliban

Main article: Taliban insurgency

Taliban bounty flyer.

As of late 2006, the insurgency, in the form of a Taliban guerrilla war, continues. However, the Pashtun tribal group, with over 40 million members, has a long history of resistance to occupation forces in the region so the Taliban themselves may comprise only a part of the insurgency. Most of the post-invasion Taliban fighters are new recruits, drawn again from that region's madrassas. The more traditional village schools are the primary source of the new fighters.

Before the summer 2006 offensive began, indications existed that NATO peacekeepers in Afghanistan had lost influence and power to other groups, including potentially the Taliban. The most notable sign was the rioting in May after a street accident in the city of Kabul. The continued support from tribal and other groups in Pakistan, the drug trade and the small number of NATO forces, combined with the long history of resistance and isolation, led to the observation that Taliban forces and leaders are surviving and will have some influence over the future of Afghanistan. A new introduction is suicide attacks and terrorist methods not used in 2001.

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

Other commentators view the Islamabad's shift from war to diplomacy as a means to appease growing discontent in Pakistan. This has led to serious concerns over a Taliban spring offensive. Indeed some commentators claim the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are resurgent, though there are strains in the relationship between them about the way in which the war against the US and NATO is being prosecuted. It is believed that the successes of the Taliban in 2006 have laid the foundation for a major uprising in 2007 under the leadership of Mullah Dadullah. Some commentators suspect that Pakistan is working to ensure the success of this uprising in order to displace the Karzai government in Kabul and bring Dadullah to a position of dominant influence in Afghanistan. The commentators say that Pakistan is then planning to present Dadullah to the West as the moderate and acceptable face of the Taliban in a deal which will marginalize Mullah Omar and Al-Qaeda, provide a face-saving exit for the West, and leave Pakistan in a position to reassert its dominant influence over Afghanistan see Pakistan Security Research Unit (PSRU)^[26]

[edit] 2006

June 6: A roadside bombing leaves 2 American soldiers killed, the attack took place in the province of nanghar. Also a separate suicide bombing in Khost leaves three US soldiers wounded.^[27]

June 15: A bus carrying workers to an American base explodes killing 10 and wounding 15. The explosives were placed on the bus.^[28]

July 1: 2 British soldiers are killed when their base came under small arms fire including rocket propelled grenades.^[29]

August 8: 4 Canadian NATO soldiers are killed in two separate attacks. And a suicide bomber targeting a NATO convey detonates killing 21 people.^[30]

August 20: 3 American soldiers are killed and another 3 are wounded in a battle with Taliban millitants after a roadside bomb hit an American patrol.^[31]

September 8: A major suicide car bombing near the US embassy in Kabul kills 18 including 2 US soldiers.^[32]

September 10: The governor of Afghanistan's southeastern Paktia province is killed alongside his bodyguard and nephew when a suicide bomber detonates himself beside the governor's car.^[33]

October 14: A suicide attack in Kandahar city leaves 8 dead including one NATO soldier.^[34]

October 15: 2 Canadian soldiers were killed when Taliban militants attacked NATO troops using small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades.^[35]

December 6: A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a security contractor's office killing 7 including 2 Americans, the attack took place south of Afghanistan in Kandahar.^[36]

[edit] 2007

January 23: A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a US base in eastern Afghanistan killing 10 people who were waiting outside the base.^[37]

February 2: Taliban forces raided a southern Afghan town destroying the government center and briefly holding some elders captive.^[38]

February 19: The Taliban briefly seized a small town in western Afghanistan after police fled the town, the Taliban forces moved in for 30 minutes and seizing 3 vehicles.^[39]

February 20: A suicide bomber blew himself up during an opening hospital ceremony injuring 2 NATO soldiers and a hospital worker.^[40]

February 27: 23 people are killed when a suicide bomber attacks an American military base in Kabul. The attack took place while US vice president Dick Cheney was in the compound, Cheney was unhurt in the attack and was the intended target of the attack as claimed by the Taliban. The dead included an American soldier, a Korean soldier, and an American contractor.^[41]

March 4: A suicide bomber attacks an American convoy which leaves 16 civilians dead in the after-math as the American convey begins to sporadically fire at civilian cars around them. In a separate incident 2 British soldiers were killed when a Taliban rocket was fired on them during clashes in Southern Helmand Province.^[42]

March 17: A suicide bomber targeting a Canadian military convoy leaves one dead and 3 injured including one NATO soldier. The attack took place in Kandahar.^[43]

March 19: A car bomb blew up near a three-vehicle US embassy convoy injuring many in the convoy.^[44]

March 27: 4 police officers are killed in the southern Helmand province after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a police station. [2]

March 28: A suicide bomber killed a top intelligance officer and 3 others in the capital Kabul.

April 6 A suicide bomber struck a police checkpoint in Kabul leaving 4 dead and 4 others wounded. [3]

[edit] Taliban mini-state?

While it is widely believe that the western media is not picturing the true story, the International Herald Tribune published a report that the Taliban's area of control in Pakistan bore many of the attributes of what it called a "mini-state".^[45] The report said that the Taliban was wearing out its welcome with some of the tribal leaders that had provided shelter following the American invasion of Afghanistan. But, on the other hand, the Taliban was directly ruling some of the Afghani Tribal areas.

According to non official persons in the NWFP Province of Pakistan, the South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Orakzai, Kohat and Darra Adam Khel regions are influenced by the Taliban (under the nominal veneer of Pakistani writ). This kind of influence is not known to Pakistanis and is hardly mentioned by the Pakistani media.

Many seasoned observers see that the tribes of the region remain loyal to Pakistan and that a situation may be coming to a head where the local tribes remove elements of the Taliban - as was recently observed when 15 Uzbek militia men living in the area were shot dead by local tribesmen.

[edit] Etymology

The word Taliban is Pashto for "students." The singular, طالب (Talib), is a loan from the Arabic word for student. Taliban should always be used in the plural; many American journalists, however, have incorrectly used Taliban as a singular noun and now this incorrect usage has been commonplace. For example, John Walker Lindh has been referred to as "The American Taliban", whereas a more correct description would be "The American Talib". The group gets its name from the fact that its membership is drawn from the students in Afghanistan.