The Taliban is arguably one of the biggest hybrid threats that US forces face today. Every soldier knows them as our enemy. But what is their history? How have they been able to sustain themselves for so long? These are some of the questions I will try to answer while highlighting the threat they pose internally in Afghanistan and abroad. The first thought that comes to mind when thinking about the Taliban is terrorist organization. One cannot forget‚ however‚ that the Taliban was the recognized
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sharp wars dragged the US into the long and failed missions of reconstructing the Afghan and Iraqi states. Today‚ 97% of Afghanistan’s licit GDP is derived from foreign aid and efforts to guarantee stability are still being undermined by the Taliban-led insurgency. In fragile‚ conflict-driven Iraq‚ the population constantly struggles with ongoing water shortages‚ electricity scarcity and a broken economy. Given the immense costs of the two invasions‚ it is paramount to ask how it all could go so wrong
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Afghanistan‚ garnering the support of Western and Arab allies. Since the end of Cold war‚ Pakistan continued its forward policy in Afghanistan through support of Taliban. Its prime security interest in Afghanistan remains having a friendly government in Kabul. 2. After the September 11‚ 2001 attacks‚ Pakistan abandoned support of Taliban and joined the U.S.-led coalition to destroy the Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Once again‚ Pakistan encountered a deep-seated hostility‚ this time from the Northern Alliance
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Sir‚ I wish I could provide you a comprehensive‚ one-stop document to solve any irregular warfare problem. Unfortunately‚ such a document does not exist‚ nor will it ever exist. Lamentably‚ despite recent fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan‚ the US political and military apparatus remains largely beholden to the idea of decisive action to achieve quick victory. Given its superior military might‚ the US prefers a single all determining battle or campaign to achieve victory and leave its enemy. Any
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Pakistan became deeply involved in Afghanistan’s internal affairs. The civil war between the Taliban and the Northern Front (comprised of Afghan factions)‚ which forced every neighboring country to engage in a regional "great game‚" drew Pakistan closer to the Taliban. The Northern Front leaders‚ who benefited from Pakistan during the Soviet-Afghan War‚ blamed Pakistan for the suffering and pain that the Taliban inflected on them. In terms of the war on terrorism‚ the past continues to overshadow the
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“Common Sense” A Rationale for the War on Terrorism Preface On September 11‚ 2001‚ our fellow citizens‚ our way of life‚ our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. On this day‚ our nation united‚ determined to obliterate the evil force of terrorism from the planet Earth. Now‚ just eight years later‚ these same people wish to pardon the acts of evil‚ disregarding the 2‚995 deaths that they united to avenge just a few years before. So the question lies
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the battle of Kunduz 2015? Introduction This essay has will ask the question‚ can the (partial) use of modern system and force employment as defined by Stephen Biddle explain how the Taliban managed to capture the town of Kunduz in 2015. We will only reach a tentative answer that there are indication that the Taliban did indeed use partial modern system in the battle but we cannot be assertive in our conclusion. The essay also‚ in its concluding remarks‚ highlights possible further research in the
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During the war with the Soviets and the subsequent civil war that followed over 1 million afghans lost their lives and nearly 1/3 of their population took refuge in foreign countries (Byman‚ 2005). This set up the scene for the takeover of the Taliban. The Taliban gained support from the people for having a reputation of faith and honesty. As the movement grew it became more extreme leading the country further into devastation. The country fell into the
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responsible for 9/11‚ or “share in their fate.” The Taliban—the Islamic fundamentalists who ruled the country—refused to surrender their ally‚ terrorist leader Osama bin-Laden. Air strikes began on 10/7/01‚ less than a month after 9/11. American‚ British and other soldiers fought together with Afghans opposed to the Taliban. The goals: remove the Taliban from power‚ find bin-Laden and his lieutenants‚ and destroy his organization‚ known as Al-Qaeda. Taliban forces fled from Kabul‚ the capital city‚ on
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minimize the risk and offered the best possible option in the given circumstances. Geo-strategic location of Pakistan and links with Taliban administration absolved Pakistan to remain unaffected immediately after the attack. Moreover Pakistan was among the three countries‚ which recognized the Taliban government. Any effort of US and World coalition against Taliban could not have been succeeded without active cooperation of Pakistan. After declaring Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden as a prime suspect
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