Background and History of Afghanistan:
Current Developments

In the hunt for the perpetrators of the World Trade Center attacks, the US pointed towards a known foe, Osama Bin Laden and an intense campaign erupted for any information related to his involvement and his Al-Queda terrorist network. Bin Laden was still living inside Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban. As the US increased its efforts and uncovered numerous terrorist cells operating inside US soil, they compounded evidence strongly linking Bin Laden and his network of terrorists and presented this to the international community.

On October 4, British Prime Minister, Tony Blair confirmed US suspicions of Bin Laden’s involvement and the international community rallied behind the US behind the War on Terrorism. The international community and the United Nations began to intensely pressure the Taliban to handover Bin Laden but the Taliban refused insisting that they had not been shown evidence of his guilt and that he was still their guest. The Taliban’s staunch refusal to handover Bin Laden, pushed the United States to initiate aerial attacks beginning October 7. These aerial attacks allowed Afghan anti-Taliban opposition groups to attack Taliban strongholds beginning in the northern region and quickly advancing towards the southern provinces as well as the capital, Kabul which was abandoned on November 12. America’s war on terrorism was successful as territories once ruled by the Taliban quickly crumbled and Al-Queda terrorist camps inside Afghanistan were destroyed.

In the midst of the war, international focus and concern turned to the situation inside Afghanistan. Human rights abuses, especially to women and other ethnic groups by the Taliban were revealed and the world condemned them and their oppressive rule. The international community pledged support for the Afghan people and an end to tyranny and anarchy in Afghanistan. USAID announced $38.5 million in aid for the Afghan people and the UN along with a coalition of countries pledged both financial and military support for the rebuilding and reconstruction of Afghanistan, once the Taliban regime was driven from power. A flood of support and aid was prepared and increasing daily as the war advanced in Afghanistan and more significantly the formation of a new Afghan Government was “actively under way”. While the UN and the international community quickly attempted to put together a proposal for this new government in Germany, the Red Cross and multiple aid organizations and NGO’s resumed distributions of food and clothing to the Afghan people without the disruptions and looting of their facilities by Taliban militia men.

Efforts to include women in the new government were stressed strongly by the United States and the United Nations. Accordingly, on December 5, 2001 an interim broad-based and multi-ethnic government was agreed upon and two women were appointed high positions. This new government is headed by Hamid Karzai, an English-speaking ethnic Pashtun and his administration is representative of the major ethnic factions in Afghanistan. This new government will conduct a Loya Jirga and reinstate the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan. Meanwhile, international peacekeeping forces will be deployed in Afghanistan on December 20, in order to maintain the peace as the new government takes office on December 22. This moment of historic significance was hailed by the international community, as well as Afghanistan’s neighboring countries who have often had their own agendas with Afghanistan. The United States, Russia, and several other countries have reopened their embassies in Afghanistan and have promised to “not to walk away” from Afghanistan, again.