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
2 9 11 Leads to War September 11 2001 began with second plane hit the center's other calm skies over New York City That tower Both towers fell Another changed just before 9:00 am A plane crashed into the Pentagon plane crashed into one of the Twin in Washington DC The Pentagon Towers of the World Trade Center is the headquarters of the United People thought it was an States military A fourth accident But then a plane crashed into a field in More than 400 Pennsylvania police officers and firefighters died in the Terrorists from September 11 2001 al Qaeda had terrorist attacks taken over the planes The events that took place that day shocked the United States People around the world extended sympathy to Americans Citizens from more THINK ABOUT IT Following 9 11 many countries agreed to help the United States with the war on terrorism In what ways did they help and why 6
than 80 countries died in the attacks People called the attacks 9 11 because they happened on September 11 On September 14 2001 President Bush used a bullhorn to speak to rescue workers from atop the rubble at the site of the crumbled World Trade Center President George Bush called the attacks acts of war The United States told the Taliban to hand over bin Laden and other members of al Qaeda When the Taliban refused the US government prepared for war 2,973 Number of people who lost their lives in the 9 11 attacks Bush announced there would be a war on terrorism itself It was not against Islam The United States asked other countries for help They built a coalition Some countries offered routes to Afghanistan Others offered troops Bush warned the Taliban that time was running out Al Qaeda attacked the United States on September 11 2001 The United States told the Taliban to hand over members of al Qaeda When the Taliban refused the United States prepared for war 7
