mercenary2k

Basically here is what happened.

In 1979, Soviet Troops invade Afghanistan to back a communist coup in Kabul. Many different groups unite to fight the Communist Kabul Government and their Soviet Allies. By 1989, Soviets Leave and by 1992 the Communist Kabul Government Falls.

Civil war breaks out between the various groups who had fought the Soviets earlier. Basically a fight between the extremist and secularists as to how to govern Afghanistan.

Pakistan's economy is being damaged due to the new influx of refugees coming from Afghanistan, growing drug trade and trade links between Pakistan and Central Asia being damaged.

Pakistan uses the Taliban which is a small group trained and educated in Pakistan to guard Trade Convoys between Central Asia and Pakistan.

By 1993, Pakistan decides to let the Taliban govern Afghanistan and to bring stability to its western border by openly backing them and giving them arms.

By 1994, the Taliban emerge as the most powerful group in Afghanistan and by 1996 Kabul falls to the Taliban. The secularists form an alliance called the Northern alliance and retreat to northern afghanistan. The northern alliance are led by the chrismatic Masood who fought the soviets.

In 1996, Osama bin Laden flees Sudan and comes to Afghanistan.

In 1997, Zawahiri's group kills 57 Tourists in Luxor, Egypt...trying to destroy Egyptian tourist industry and damage the egyptian economy. Egypt cracks down hard and Zawahiri's men flee to Afghanistan. they meet osama bin laden and form an alliance called Al Qaeda

In 1998, they started to launch global attacks, first the attacks on US embassies in Africa and then attacked the US Cole in Yemen in 2000.

As the Arabs arrive, they started making the Taliban govt more extremist.

In 2001, they launch 9/11 attacks and a day earlier assassinate Masood, the leader of the Northern alliance so that USA could not use Northern alliance against the Taliban. Al Qaeda hoped that USA would invade Afghanistan with 500,000 troops and Al Qaeda and Taliban would grind them down just like they had done to the Soviets and bring the same result they had done to Soviets.

The Taliban get their asses kicked and the Northern Alliance doesn't fall apart. They retreat to Pakistan's FATA area. The Taliban take over the FATA area and brainwash the local population. They want to bring a Taliban style government in Pakistan.

They take over Swat in 2008 and Pakistan kicks them out. They launch terrorist attacks and Pakistan is fighting them right now.

The kind of Islamic Ideology they espouse to is driven by Al Qaeda. The Al Qaeda are almost 100% Arab and since Pashtuns look up to Arabs...whatever kind of Islam they preach...the pashtuns think its the truest form of Islam.

Al Qaeda are pretty much the generals and commanders and the Taliban are acting like their foot soldiers. Al Qaeda have brainwashed them into launching this jihad and turning Pakistan into Taliban style government.

Here is an analogy to Nazi Germany which might make things clear.

Osama bin Laden - Adolp Hitler

Al Qaeda Leadership - Nazi Party

Al Qaeda Foot Soldiers - SS Troops

Taliban Militants - Regular German Troops


Hope that makes things clear.

shardmanny

^this is propaganda, half truths mixed with blatant lies

mercenary2k

easier said than done....which part of it is?

khoji

This blast was done to teach a "lesson" to women to dare to go out shopping in markets. Very typical of fanatics.
This is why it targeted women's area of the market.

Truth_Surfer

I am willing to take it as a compliment even though I hate to be grouped with the mediocrities , I wish you rather had used superlative degree. Please do reiterate as soon as you get a chance.

Alas I paid no attention to a wise man who once advised me not to argue with one who swims in the shallow waters of logic.

mercenary2k

sorry pal...its too late to do damage control....talking with such big words will get you no points when you have already proven your intellect in previous posts


i suggest you open your eyes and see the taliban for what they are...blood sucking animals which need to be wiped out for pakistan to survive...

picoico

No, it was a battle royal between warlords who emerged during the anti-Soviet Afghan Jihad. All were arguably extermist and had their own problems.

Secular? the UIF (aka Northern Alliance) is an Islamic umbrella organization. The term Northern Alliance seems to be a feeble attempt at s
Social Engineering so as not to disturb support for the Afghan mission, afaik.


It turns out there was nominal inter-mixing between the two organizations back in "the day".


The Taliban dematarilize, and re-group later on. The battle was a joke. Rumsfield complained that he had to constantly cajole all to get the UIF forces to do a frontal assault so the Taliban forces could concentrate to make bombing effective. The Taliban as a conventional force is finished, though, but the so-called Northern Alliance is a non-factor, with Nato doing the heavy lifting to this day.

Brainwash? They have had contacts there since the time of Pakistan's "Strategic Depth" days. It is unknown what the attitude of the Pak. military establishment was to them at this point in time...returning assets?

Al Q were on compounds isolated from normal Afghans for the most part. Taliban's style of government was established prior to the arrival of Al Q, as seen by the West's spasm when they took power. They've inherited the traditions of JUI, not OBL. Plenty of Arabs discount this particular brand of ideology. Arabs did not establish the JUI.

The Taliban were attacked based on a rather broad ultimatum by the Bush administration, which included a threat to the Pakistani government proper. .

Arguably, if the Americans had strictly targeted Al Q, the Taliban would have been reduced to ineffectual bystandards, being fundementally a group of bafoons. The status quo would have been maintained in Pakistan, giving it time to alter it's policy of strategic depth whlie averting the possiblity of civil war. Clumsy American manuvering and a very rigid, (and exteramist - i.e. not open to political comprimise....something all accuse Isalmic fundementalists of), prevented that from being a reality, where American policy clearly had little regard for the integrity of Pakistan, or it's long term interests in the region.

What should have been a special forces operation turned into a war (two actually), no doubt to placate a public that had no real idea of how to confront this particular kind of attack.