Author Table of Contents The Taliban Arises from Chaos 9 11 Leads to War Operation Enduring Freedom Begins Kandahar Falls Bringing Down the Taliban Bonn Agreement Shows a Way Forward Battle of Tora Bora Misses bin Laden Operation Anaconda Squeezes Taliban Taliban Fights Back with IEDs Drones Reduce Risks to Soldiers Troops Surge to Subdue Taliban US Combat Mission Ends Violence Endures after the War 12 Key Dates Glossary For More Information Index About the
1 The Taliban Arises from Chaos Since ancient times people have fought for control of Afghanistan Afghanistan's location makes it important for trade between people in the Middle East and Asia One war began in 1978 A new Communist government had taken control of the country Many people did not like the new government Uprisings took place in the eastern part of the country By 1979 Afghanistan was in a civil war The Soviet Union was also Communist It entered the war to help the Afghan government Other nations such as the United States helped the rebels resist the Soviets A wealthy Saudi man named Osama bin Laden also sent money to help the rebels He even went to Afghanistan to take part in the fight and train other fighters Afghanistan is rugged It is about the size of Texas 4
252,000 Size in square miles 652,677 sq km of Afghanistan In 1988 bin Laden was in Afghanistan to help with the war effort He started a group called al Qaeda in nearby Pakistan Through al Qaeda bin Laden dreamed of spreading the jihad or struggle to be better followers of Islam from Afghanistan But the group wanted to support new jihads in other countries Al Qaeda decided they would leave Afghanistan when the Soviets did The Soviets left in 1989 and so did bin Laden But the Afghans were still fighting each other in a civil war People have fought over Afghanistan for hundreds of years From 1979 to 1989 troops from the Soviet Union fought in Afghanistan The Taliban controlled the country by 1996 Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden returned to Afghanistan around 1996 The Taliban supported al Qaeda Bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia There he was seen as a war hero But that changed when he began calling the Saudi king un Islamic for letting US troops into Saudi Arabia to fight against Iraq Bin Laden was forced out of the country He went to live in Sudan movies They punished crimes in cruel ways They kept all women from going to school or working Groups resisting the Taliban formed the Northern Alliance In the meantime a group called the Taliban appeared in Afghanistan in 1994 They fought for the country and took control of most of it by 1996 The Taliban promised peace but they ruled with an iron fist They followed a strict form of Islam Their beliefs led them to ban music and Around the same time Sudan threw bin Laden out The United States had accused the Sudanese government of supporting terrorism Bin Laden returned to Afghanistan This time he helped the Taliban In return the Taliban supported him and al Qaeda Al Qaeda had big plans in the works 5
