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Soviets invade Afghanistan
The Soviet people wanted to liberate Afghanistan and fight Islamic Extremists. They fought in order for Afghanistan to embrace communism. Also, access to the Indian Ocean was very vital for trading. Control over Afghanistan would also be good for trading with India and the Middle East. And lastly, Afghanistan was full of many important natural resources. -
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Taliban Timeline
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Reagan meets with the Taliban 1985
"These gentlemen are the moral equivalents of America's founding fathers" -Ronald Regan
Thought to be the "freedom fighters" of the time, Ronald Regan met with The Taliban leaders in 1985 and compared them to the founding fathers. -
Taliban movement put in place
The Taliban’s movement, opposing the tyranny of the local government, started out with only 30 men and 16 rifles. They began by freeing two girls from the local government and hanging the governor from the barrel of a tank. Later that year, they freed a young boy being held by two militia commanders. -
The Taliban is officially born
The Taliban emerged following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. It was mostly made up of orphans with no parents due to the Soviet-Afghan War. The United States funded The Taliban in order to beat communism in Afghanistan. Mullah Mohammed Omar rose up to power to stop the anarchy in Afghanistan and restore order. -
U.S supports The Taliban
The United States supported The Taliban between 1994 and 1996 because we believed they were anti- Iranian, anti-Shia, and pro-western. Also we were allies with them against a bigger power- Communism. We originally trained The Taliban and armed them long before the Soviet-Afghan War. -
Osama Bin Laden joins The Taliban
In 1996, Osama Bin Laden was warmly welcomed by Mullah Mohammed Omar to help run The Taliban in Afghanistan. Omar allowed for him to recruit military personnel and run training camps. -
Taliban takes over Kabul
The Taliban killed Mujahideen and exiled president Rabbani. Also they began enforcing the Islamic Law’s or Sharia Law. The strict laws were supported only because they controlled Afghanistan although they were extremely harsh. For girls, this law included restriction of nail polish, leaving the house without a male escort, wearing the burqa in public, employment, and education after the age of 10. -
The Taliban Goals
The Taliban wants to have total control over Afghanistan and Pakistan. They want to abolish all non-Muslims and take weapons from Afghanistan. Also, The Taliban want to put Islamism in place of any law that was in Afghanistan. -
U.S. bombs Afghanistan
After the 9/11 attacks, the United States asked The Taliban to turn over Osama Bin Laden to them. After a lot of negotiation between The Taliban and the U.S., the U.S. started bombing Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 to prove their point of wanting Bin Laden so badly. -
Increasing their power
The Taliban and al-Qaeda increased their power over Pakistan when they executed 120 tribal elder openly opposing them. They felt secure enough to produce and send out more media than any year beforehand. -
Predicted withdrawl of troops from Afghanistan
President Obama has a plan to withdraw all troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. He feels that they have done their duty and deserves to leave this war. The Afghan government will then have to defend themselves without our help.
