The New World Order -- The Taliban

The Taliban were members of the second generation of the Mujaheddin (a variety of alternative spellings exist). The Mujaheddin had been founded after the invasion of Afghanistan, in 1979, by the Soviet Union. The Soviet invasion would have major repercussions throughout the world, and the battle between the United States and the USSR over Afghanistan would be one of the last major conflicts of the Cold War. It would lead to the United States refusing to send its athletes to Moscow for the 1980 summer Olympic Games (and the USSR doing the same in 1984, when the Olympics were held in Los Angeles). It also would lead to the United States deciding to support the rebels in Afghanistan against the Soviet aggressors, pouring money and military training as well as weapons into the region. Out of this support grew a number of groups whose primary task, from 1979-1989, was the expulsion of the Soviet Union troops from Afghanistan; included among these groups were the Northern Alliance, led by Ahmed Shah Masood, and the Taliban (“seekers of truth” or “students of Islam”, depending on the interpretation), led by Mullah Mohammed Omar. Through the 1980s, as resistance to the Soviet Union became more determined and the USSR began to see major internal changes (led by Mikhail Gorbachev, who had come to power in the spring of 1985), the Mujaheddin played a more significance role within Afghanistan. When the USSR withdrew its troops in 1989, these groups stepped into the power void left by the absence of the Soviets and began to rule various regions throughout the state.

The Taliban first emerged from this group of leaders in 1994, when they were recruited by Pakistan to help protect trade convoys traveling through the region. The majority of the Taliban in the 1990s were ethnically Pashtun, one of the largest Afghani tribes; other tribes, including the Tajiks and the Uzbeks, were not as popular (the majority of Afghans are Pashtun). Because they found against corruption and lawlessness, the Taliban were very popular, and as such they gained significant power in the mid-1990s. In doing so, they frequently came into conflict with the other successors to the Mujaheddin, and civil war broke out in various areas. By 1996, the Taliban had succeeded in taking the capital city of Kabul, and they tortured and killed the former president of Afghanistan, Dr. Najibullah. Najibullah had come to power under Soviet control in 1986, but he had largely downplayed Marxism and remained president until 1992, when he took refuge with the UN. Upon the capture of Kabul in September 1996, he was dragged from the UN compound, tortured, and executed. From this point on, the rule of the Taliban followed a pattern of violence and repression, particularly directed at women.

The Taliban's interpretation of Islamic law has been largely denounced by the majority of Islamic scholars and clerics throughout the world, and was also loudly denounced by human rights groups and women’s groups such as the Feminist Majority. Women were forbidden from working, from being outside unaccompanied by a male relative, and from dressing in anything other than a full burqa (robes which cover the wearer from head to foot). Women were not allowed to drive, to wear nail polish or lipstick, or to see a doctor (since women were not allowed to work, there were no female doctors, and a woman could not be touched or viewed by a male that was not a relative). Men were expected to grow full beards. All transportation was to be stopped during times of collective prayer. Music, dancing, and movies were banned, as was television and the Internet. Children were not allowed to have stuffed animals, fly kites, or dance. All images that might be considered idolatrous (photographs, sculptures, paintings, etc) were to be destroyed; this included any images of people or animals. Famously, in 2001, the Taliban ordered the destruction of two ancient gigantic Buddha statues that had been carved into the side of a hill; these statues, considered the most famous archeological treasure in Afghanistan, dated to about 500 A.D. Their destruction led to international denunciation of the Taliban, which had, only months earlier, earned the praise of many states for their decision to burn their poppy fields (therefore destroying a large percentage of the world’s heroin). The interpretation of law by the Taliban, coupled with their treatment of the citizens of the state, led to the government being recognized by only three countries: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates. As the Taliban seized control of more of the country (by 1998, they controlled about 90% of the total state), they extended their extremely conservative rule, and began publicly executing those who failed to adhere to their interpretation of Islamic law. By the summer of 2001, the plight of those living in Kabul, as well as other areas of the country, became more public knowledge, and some countries began to denounce the rule of the Taliban. However, nothing was done about removing the group from power until after the attack of the al-Qaeda network against the United States on September 11, 2001. Two days prior to the attacks on the United States, the leader of the Northern Alliance, Ahmed Masood, was assassinated by the Taliban; the Northern Alliance was the only Mujaheddin group that had been able to muster any resistance against the Taliban. Had September 11th not happened, it is possible that the Taliban might still be ruling in Afghanistan. Instead, Afghanistan was invaded again, this time by the United States, in October 2001, in an attack that further devastated the already war ravaged state. The Taliban leadership, especially the moderates, tried to prevent the invasion by offering the extradite bin Laden, but their negotiations failed, and Kabul fell within a month. The Taliban have not surrendered, however, and they continued to fight against the coalition forced that have, with the assistance of the Northern Alliance, endeavored to expel them from Afghanistan.