Taliban

The Taliban (طالبان‎, "students" in Pashto) are a fanatically intolerant Islamic fundamentalist movement which exercised rule over most of Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, when United States forces in conjunction with NATO invaded Afghanistan and removed them from their center of power because they had either passively or actively allowed al-Qaeda, a militant international Islamist terrorist organization, to use Afghan territory to plot, train, and conduct international terrorist activities.

In the summer of 2021, the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan again in time for the 20-year anniversary of 9/11.

The Taliban fighters were educated in Wahhabi madrassas (religious schools) in Pakistan (See: Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan), which emphasize the theological role of religious war (jihad), to be waged defensively against unbelievers who have invaded formerly Muslim lands or offensively at the call of the Caliph.

The Taliban retain control of substantial tracts of Afghanistan to this day and continue to co-ordinate attacks against the Afghan national government and supporting NATO forces. Many of the Taliban leaders and foot-solders are now believed to be based in Pakistan where they can launch attacks across the border into Afghanistan or train for attacks elsewhere.

History

The Taliban was founded by former Pakistani Interior Minister Naseerullah Babar and the Inter-Services Intelligence.Naseerullah Babar, himself, admitted in 1999, "We created the Taliban." The Taliban recruited members from madrassas in Pakistan. On November 3, 1994, the Taliban took control of Kandahar city in a surprise attack, losing only a dozen men in the fight.

The Taliban had close links to separatist Islamic insurgents in the Russian Federation province of Chechnya, who waged Chechen Wars in 1994 and 2000 against the Russian government. Chechen fighters solidified the link to their Taliban allies by aiding them in their current struggle against the NATO occupation. Anecdotally, it has been noted that the Chechnyans are valued by the Taliban military commanders, as they have extensive training and experience in the operation of Soviet heavy weapons against high value targets. .

Taliban Rule

See also Women under the Taliban

Taliban rule is characterized by a fanatical intolerance for other religions, and women can not be educated or attend most hospitals. They required all men to grow beards and banned television along with all forms of imagery, music and sports, resulting in Afghanistan being suspended from the 2000 Olympics. They use stoning to execute men and women convicted of adultery.

The Taliban are extremely sexist. Women ware not allowed to go outside or use public transportation without a male relative, have to wear a burqa when they did go out, are not allowed to wear makeup or nail polish, and are not allowed to go to school. They are also not allowed to go to most hospitals when needed.

Rape of Afghanistan

See also: Biden/Harris foreign policy

The author of the Violence Against Women Act abandoning the women and girls of Afghanistan to the Taliban.

On July 8, 2021, Joe Biden said from the White House, "I trust the capacity of the Afghan military, who is better trained, better equipped, and more competent in terms of conducting war." The same month the U.S. Defense Department said it was providing the Afghan Air Force 35 Black Hawk helicopters and three A-29 Super Tucanos. The United States spent $83 billion equipping and training the Afghanistan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), including $10 billion in aircraft and vehicles. Less than a month after Biden's statement, several Black Hawks helicopters and other aircraft were seized by the Taliban. Many of the aircraft and helicopters are armed. These A-29 Super Tucanos can fire laser-guided and other types of bombs. The Afghan government also had 50 American-made MD-530 attack helicopters, which are armed with machine guns and rockets. The Afghan Air Force had UH-60 Black Hawks and Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters, as well as C-130 and Cessna transports, and a small fleet of armed Cessnas.

As the impending crisis escalated, White House chief propagandists Jen Psaki said "The Taliban has to make an assessment about what they want their role to be in the international community." Her comments came as reports flowed in of Taliban fighters going door-to-door and forcibly selecting girls as young as 12 to reward as brides for the victorious jihadis.

As Biden withdrew American troops, the Peoples Republic of China began expanding their Belt and Road Initiative with a $62 billion aid package to Afghanistan to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The Taliban and Narcotics

According to the BBC;the Taliban were strongly against drugs;since the NATO invasion heroin production in Afghanistan has increased massively and the country is now once again the world's largest producer. This has had a backlash within the UK, as drug related crime has spiked since the NATO invasion in 2001, largely due to the wide availability of Afghani heroin flooding the UK. It is unclear if this is coincidental or deliberate.

According to the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report:

• the Taliban had cut Afghanistan's heroin production by about 95%, but
• heroin had "financed the rise of the former Taliban regime".

See also

• Brigade 055
• Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
• Islamic republic
• Desecularization

External links

• Difference Between Taliban and Al Qaeda.
• Are Theological Tensions Distancing Taliban From Al-Qaeda?