...Introduction: Afghanistan has a history of a high degree of decentralization, and resistance to foreign invasion and occupation. Some have termed it the “graveyard of empires.” Afghanistan is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east. Since the late 1970s Afghanistan has suffered brutal civil war in addition to foreign interventions in the form of the 1979 Soviet invasion and the 2001 U.S. invasion. The strategic interests of the great powers of the day in Afghanistan pitched against the potential threat of terrorism, religious extremism, smuggling and drug trafficking substantiates the assertion that Afghan security situation has the potential to generate effects far beyond its borders. Afghanistan had experienced several coups since 1973, when the Afghan monarchy was overthrown by Daud Khan, who was sympathetic to Soviet overtures. Subsequent coups reflected struggles within Afghanistan among factions with different ideas about how Afghanistan should be governed and whether it should be communist, and with degrees warmth toward the Soviet Union. The Soviets intervened following the overthrow of a pro-communist leader. In late December 1979, after several months of evident military preparation, they invaded Afganistan. At that time, the Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in the Cold War, a global competition for the fealty of other nations. The United States was, thus, deeply interested...
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...with Pakistan’s performance and pressurizes it to “Do More.” In this situation what should Pakistan do as a sovereign state? At the same time what is the international community’s responsibility towards Pakistan as a partner in this global war? The United States (US) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) have been fighting against the Taliban for the last decade but the war is nowhere near its end. This study is an exploration of the question whether war is the solution or the problem? Key Words: War on Terror, World Response, Pakistan’s Contribution, Operations, Agreements. Background P akistan has always played a constructive role in the United Nations (UN) — it is one of its largest net troop contributors and its active role in the solution of world issues is internationally recognized. It borders three major strategic regions; South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East, and its geographical proximity to Afghanistan has made it an important partner of the United States. Pakistan has played a significant role, both during the Cold War and as a non-NATO member in the US-led “War on Terror” against al Qaeda and the Taliban. After 9/11 terrorism became a serious problem in international relations. It was the first time in recent history that the US had been confronted with such a huge disaster on its own soil. Maintaining internal security and protecting its global interests became a...
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...Financing AL Qaeda * Myths of Al Qaeda financing * Funding comes from the personnel assets of Bin Ladin * Al Qaeda supports itself through international drug trade * Al Qaeda has funded itself through trading blood diamonds * Al Qaeda has the backing of any state * The Bush Administration's implication that Iraq was behind the Al Qaeda attacks was unfounded, as the September 11 Commission concluded in its 2004 report. A more comprehensive 2008 Pentagon report also found no connection between the Saddam Hussein regime and Al Qaeda. There is no evidence of Saudi backing either. Al Qaeda did have a safe haven in Afghanistan under the Taliban. Charities supporting Al Qaeda * The origins of Al Qaeda financing Trace back directly to the extensive recruitment and financing networks established during the Soviet/Afghani conflict. * These networks made extensive use of Muslim charitable organizations and businesses around the world. * As al Qaeda developed and transformed itself into an international terrorist movement, it established or infiltrated a series of international Muslim charities that could be used to collect and mask the funds it needed. * These funds were used for both humanitarian relief and to support al Qaeda activities. * Commonly imams at mosques diverted compulsory charitable donations known as zakat(a tax, comprising percentages of personal income of every kind, levied as almsgiving for...
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...war to stop the terrorist group al-Qaeda. They are fighting in Afghanistan but al-Qaeda is not in the country of Afghanistan but in Pakistan. The stakeholders in this issue are the United States, the Afghan civilians, the Afghan army, and the terrorist group al-Qaeda. There are three main problems going on in this war, the United States is fighting in the wrong country, we are fighting the wrong group of people, and the U.S. has people fighting in the war who should not be fighting. If the U.S. wants to win the war and stop terrorism they should not be fighting where they are fighting. In the article “Afghanistan: a tough nut to crack; Obama is misguided in thinking the U.S. is fighting al-Qaeda in Afghanistan” it clearly states that the U.S. should not be fighting in Afghanistan but in Pakistan. The first reason they should not be fighting in Afghanistan is because the terrorist group al-Qaeda isn’t even from there they are from the countries surrounding Afghanistan. President Obama sent the troops to Afghanistan to destroy the terrorist group: “Releasing the white house’s annual strategic review to the public on December 16, he declared that U.S. policy in Afghanistan was ‘on track’ to defeat al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.” The only problem president Obama found was that al-Qaeda does not have their main headquarters in Afghanistan but they are in Pakistan. There are smaller terrorist groups throughout Afghanistan: “It was Afghanistan where al-Qaeda plotted the 9/11 attacks that murdered...
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...What is al-Qaeda? Al-Qaeda, Arabic for "the Base," is an international terrorist network founded by Osama Bin Laden in the late 1980s. It seeks to rid Muslim countries of what it sees as the profane influence of the West and replace their governments with fundamentalist Islamic regimes. After al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks, the United States launched a war in Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaeda's bases there and overthrow the Taliban, the country's Muslim fundamentalist rulers who harbored bin Laden and his followers. Like his predecessor George W. Bush, President Barack Obama has committed U.S. strategy to destroying al-Qaeda’s safe haven in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, and limiting the group's ability to strike U.S. targets. What are al-Qaeda's origins? Al-Qaeda grew out of the Services Office, a clearinghouse for the international Muslim brigade opposed to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In the 1980s, the Services Office--run by bin Laden and the Palestinian religious scholar Abdullah Assam--recruited, trained, and financed thousands of foreign mujahedeen, or holy warriors, from more than fifty countries. Bin Laden wanted these fighters to continue the "holy war" beyond Afghanistan. He formed al-Qaeda around 1988. Where does al-Qaeda operate? There is no single headquarters. From 1991 to 1996, al-Qaeda worked out of Pakistan along the Afghan border, or inside Pakistani cities. During the Taliban's reign al-Qaeda shifted its base of operations into Afghanistan...
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...Since 1996, the Taliban has created an environment of terror and disorder within the country of Afghanistan. Although terrorists within Afghanistan and of the Islam religion believe that they are justified in their actions, it is made clearly apparent that Terrorism must be stopped altogether. Terrorism is translated to mean ‘army in the shadows’ and is defined as the threat or use of violence to win certain rewards or goals (Dictionary.com, 2010). The earliest known Terrorist organization similar to those of today was the Zealots of Judea, formed when fanatics of the Jewish faith revolted against the of the Roman oppression. They carried on an underground campaign wherein they assassinated Roman occupation forces and Jews that they believed had collaborated with the Romans. However, the first time that the word ‘terrorism’ was used was during the French Revolution which is referred to as the ‘Reign of terror’. During this time the Jacobins who ruled with violence at that time, would sometimes refer to themselves as ‘terrorists’ (terrorism-research.com). Since then, there have been other leaders and people seeking power using terrorism as a weapon. These include the Russian dictator, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler, a man responsible for the murder of over 6 million people. The Taliban itself took control of Afghanistan in 1996 and were in power until 2001. During this time however, they were not accepted by the world’s community because their policies were considered...
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...you’ll receive is Al-Qaeda, which is an Islamic terrorist group, located primarily in the Middle East. Many join these extremists due to political, economical, cultural, or military Issues coupled with the groups’ ideology of the “global Salafi jihad”(freeman 41). There is no clear solution to Al-Qaeda, but many of the responses to the terrorist group are primarily military actions including the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with a plan made for the modern age; cyber planning. Up until 2002 not much was know about the origins of Al-Qaeda when in March of that year the Bosnian authorities seized many documents of Osama Bin Laden’s first initial meeting taking place in his own home located in Peshawar (Bergen and Cruickshank 3). These documents studied by Peter Bergen of the National Security Studies Program and Paul Cruickshank from the Center on Law and...
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...limited to: Bombing, hijacking, cross border terrorist activities and massacres on a massive scale, in addition to many others not listed. Its consequences are very frightening. Though much effort is put into eliminating terrorism, it is impossible to get rid of it until some strict laws are devised. Whenever and wherever society is victim to brutality, injustice, wrongs and intolerance, terrorism cannot be eradicated. There are many terrorist groups out there, of many different origins and sects. The group that will be discussed is Al Qaeda, which is the most well-known out of the groups listed. The questions and statements that will be answered and debated are: 1.) A brief explanation of Al Qaeda and the summarization of its origins, 2.) Al Qaeda's major motivations, (beliefs or causes), and/or the justifications for engaging in terrorism, 3.) Al Qaeda's major source of both financial and non-financial support, 4.) The evaluation of the importance of Al Qaeda's use of the media, the image being portrayed, and the preferred method of communication for the group, 5.) The determination whether or not the group has a legitimate complaint or...
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...this war was to up root the Taliban from power and create a stable democracy, and to hunt Osama Bin Laden down for his crimes against the United States. In this paper I will be elaborating why this war was justified by these reasons; the fact that Al-Qaeda killed and expressly aims to kill U.S. citizens and, the Taliban in Afghanistan have partnered with al-Qaeda, harboring a known United States enemy named Osama Bin Laden, threating other democratic countries of their freedom including their own. The different historical interpretations of the event, and the positive and negative outcomes of this event will be elaborated on also. On Tuesday morning on September 11 2001, 19 terrorists from the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger planes. These terrorists intentionally crashed two of these planes in to the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Another plane was purposely crashed into the pentagon and one crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Roughly 3000 people lost their lives that day. These attacks were a direct attack on the United States. Believed to be behind these attacks was a terrorist named Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden was the founder of the group al-Qaeda, the same group behind the attacks on 9/11. He was thought to be hiding in Syria or Afghanistan. Thus with “Operation Enduring Freedom” the United States pledged to liberate the population from the clutched of the Taliban. And with the Taliban out of the way the United...
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...Americans should be brought to justice, however, this was made difficult by the lack of co-operation by the Afghanistan government. The Taliban, who ran the majority of the country, thought the accused (Osama bin Laden) was innocent and would not hand him over to the American authorities without sufficient evidence. Bush decided it was necessary to bring this man to America so he may be punished for his crimes, so he placed orders for American troops to enter Afghanistan in pursuit of Osama bin Laden. The Taliban had little or no experience in running a government and it seemed as though they didn’t see this as a priority when they took power in 1996. They demonstrated extreme single-mindedness as they focused on the achievement of law and order under their interpretation of the Sharia law. Their only aim was to create the world’s purest Islamic state; we could see this through the way the Afghan people were treated, the strict laws imposed on women and the way “corrupting influences” (television, music and films) were banned. While the Taliban was governing Afghanistan, many laws were created that controlled all aspects of women’s public and private lives and severely restricted their freedom. Their access to education, healthcare and employment were among some of the many basic necessities that were made difficult to obtain. The Taliban edicts formally ordered the segregation of women from men who were unrelated to them, this meant women could only appear in public if they...
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...POSITION PAPER ON AIR WARFARE 1. The technological evolution of air warfare made known a new way for major military operations. Operation Enduring Freedom quickly showed successes with the help of air power. Within weeks, the Taliban had been defeated. The capability was so effective because UAVs could remain on station for a long time, making able instantaneous attack by finding a target, matching it with a weapon, releasing the weapon, and observing the resultant effects. UAVs were a major part for success. In addition, a new concept of offensive air employment against enemy ground forces was successfully tested. This was something fundamentally new by way of air power application that caused direct air attacks against fielded enemy forces that were not in direct contact with friendly troops. The stupendous use of doctrine conquered the command of the air. 2. Air power means successful war-fighting and air power is not only America’s most flexible military capability, it is also the best strategy to apply our strengths against adversary vulnerabilities. Also, air power enables the U.S to directly attack the enemy’s centers of gravity without placing Americans or allies at risk unnecessarily. The centers of gravity were the Taliban themselves. The dominance of consolidated information over platforms and munitions was the principal enabler of the campaign’s success. This new dynamic made all other major aspects of the war possible, including the integration of special operation...
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...Al-Qaeda From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search al-Qaeda القاعدة Participant in the Persian Gulf War, the Global War on Terrorism, the War in Afghanistan, the Iraq War, and the Syrian Civil War Active 1988-present Ideology Sunni Islamism[1][2] Islamic fundamentalism[3] Takfirism[4] Pan-Islamism Worldwide Caliphate[5][6][7][8][9] Qutbism Wahhabism[10] Salafist Jihadism[11][12] Leaders Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1988-1989) Osama bin Laden (1989-2011) Ayman al-Zawahiri (2011-present) Area of operations Worldwide (predominantly in the Middle East) Strength In Afghanistan – 50–100[13] In Egypt –Unknown In Iraq – 2,500[14] In the Maghreb – 300–800 In Nigeria –Unknown In Pakistan – 300[15] In Philippines – Unknown In Saudi Arabia – Unknown In Somalia – Unknown In Syria Unknown In Thailand -Unknown In Yemen –500–600[16] Allies Taliban Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan East Turkestan Islamic Movement Al-Shabaab Islamic Courts Union (dis) Jundallah Lashkar-e-Taiba Jaish-e-Mohammed Jemaah Islamiyah Boko Haram Abu Sayyaf Iraqi insurgents Caucasus Emirate FARC[17][18] Syria (alleged)[19][20] Qatar (alleged)[21] Opponents United States of America Israel International Security Assistance Force Syria Iran Afghanistan Pakistan Turkey Yemen Egypt Algeria Colombia Al-Qaeda...
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...Al Qaeda’s Profile Al Qaeda is a world wide network of Islam based militant movement. It is a stateless organization which has been outlawed and branded as terrorists by key global security organizations including the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, NATO, the United States and many different countries. The organization is believed to have originated from Afghanistan towards the end of the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan; that is, between 1988 and 1989. Some analysts of the origins of the network believe that it was nurtured by the Taliban regime which took over power from the previous mujahedeen regime following a long civil war that ensued in Afghanistan after the war against the Soviet Union was over. They believe that since the Taliban did not want any external involvements with other governments, it nurtured the al Qaeda to act as a threat to other nations which were not friendly to the regime. Many other analysts are of the opinion that the network was started by its long time leader Osama bin Laden. They believe that Osama started the movement in Afghanistan taking advantage of the call by Islamist extremists for young Muslims to volunteer as fighters alongside the Mujahedeen regime in the war against the Soviets. He is on record for providing funds for what he referred to as “Jihad” against the Soviet Union and actively participating in the same (Atwan, 2013). It is his generosity and charisma that attracted the volunteer fighters to him and he...
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...Resulting bombing and depopulation of rural areas by the Soviets resulted in 4.3 million Afghani refugees having fled to Pakistan and Iran by 1982. ● In September 1988, Osama bin Laden and 15 other Islamists founded the group al-Qaeda for the goal of a nation governed purely by Islam, and of pursuing jihad against anyone, including the Soviets, who opposed their goal. ● Between 1988 and 1992, Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev withdrew his forces, calling the country a “bleeding wound”, due to the high military and diplomatic cost. During this period of time, the civil war continued as the Mujahideen continued to attempt an overthrow of Najibullah’s government, which was backed by the Soviet Union. ● Following the Soviet withdrawal, al-Qaeda turned its attention towards the United States, considering it to be the main opposition of the Islamic state. ● With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Najibullah was left without foreign aid, and his rule toppled in April 1992. This was followed by a civil war lasting between 1992 and 1996 that resulted in the Taliban taking control of most of...
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...engagement of war (jus in bello) and justice after war (jus post bellum). While these wars have been surrounded with controversy and claims of being unjust, the “War on Terror” is a just war that does not exceed the moral boundaries set in the Just War Theory and today's society? The first criterion for a just war is the right to go to war. Is there a just cause? Will war be declared by a competent authority? Has all other options for peace been exhausted? What are the chances for success? Before the dust for the fallen towers settled and while eighty-six other countries mourned the loss of loved ones that were indiscriminately killed by Al Qaeda operatives, leaders around the globe heeded their citizens’ call to war, forming a coalition against terrorists. President George Bush stated “our 'war on terror' begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated" (Wikipedia.org,...
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