The Taliban is a political and religious movement guided by the strict reliance on Sharia Law, leading to multiple crimes against humanity (Giustozzi, 2009). All these ideologically and politically driven forces have had a direct relation to the military disturbances in the United States.
Therefore, the Taliban actions against the civilians, as well as their participation in other terrorists’ actions have become the trigger to the U.S. intervention aimed at establishing peace and welfare and in Afghanistan, as well as exterminating the power of the Taliban. U.S. intervention into the Afghan Civil War was predetermined by the Taliban’s totalitarian power and terrorist approaches to governing civil population, terrorist attacks in September 11, 2001, and involvement of Al-Qaida and Osama Bin Laden in governing the country.
Apart from unlawful and criminal actions against humanity in Afghan and all over the world, the Taliban was heavily criticized by the NATO and the U.S. officers for their cruel attitude to civilians, as well as for their direct participation in the terrorist attacks happened in September, 2001 (Harf, Lombardi, and McCoy, 2004). The legacy of these events are under the greatest focus and, the Taliban has been accused of their direct participations in the terrorist attacks happened in the United States. Such a situation triggered U.S. interventions with the political and social life in Afghanistan because they have a full awareness of the hardships that they should overcome to resist to the Taliban’s inadequate treatment of the peaceful population.
U.S. military leaders were confident that the Taliban has a direct reference to Osama bin Laden terrorists operations against the United States and, therefore, it could be considered one of the underpinnings of their interventions to Afghanistan (Byman, 2005). There are many other opportunities that have led to the emergence of U.S confrontation with the Taliban forces, including their connections to some of the operations in which Bin Laden has been involved.
According to the U.S. peacemaking forces, many criminal authorities and terrorists have direct links with Taliban. This is of particular concern to such notorious organizations as Al-Qaida, and influential military leaders, such as Osama bin Laden, Juma Khan, etc. Specifically, Giustozzi states, “[Khan] became close to Al Qaida during the late 1990s, and there is evidence that he helped move Al Qaida operatives around the region after US-led Invasion in 2001” (p. 15).
Hence, the drug lord also had connections with the Taliban’s leaders and, therefore, U.S. military intelligence strong believed that this organization could threaten the security and welfare of the world’s population (Goodson, 2002). Relations of the Taliban to Al Qaida, therefore is irrefutable because of the increased pressure of the Taliban leaders imposed on Afghan villagers and farmers who should assist the leading drug dealers in growing poppy (Marcela, 2009). Finally, inappropriate tactics was chosen in their treatment of women in the country, which violated the universally accepted norms of treating humans in general.
In conclusion, the Taliban has played the role of the trigger of U.S. interventions to Afghanistan due to the terrorist attacks to the United States threatening the safety and welfare of the entire nation. American officers considered the Taliban’s policy inappropriate toward civilians; they also accuse them of their direct participation in 9/11 events, as well as their cooperation with Al Qaida and Osama Bin Laden. Rigid opposition to these forces was also premised on the U.S. aspiration to remove any displays of violation of human rights.
References
Byman, D. (2005). Deadly connections: states that sponsor terrorism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Giustozzi, A. (2009). Decoding the new Taliban: insights from the Afghan field. New York: Columbia University Press.
Goodson, P. (2002). Afghanistan’s Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics and the Rise of the Taliban. Washington: University of Washington Press.
Harf, J., Lombardi, M. O., and McCoy, T. (2004). The Unfolding Legacy of 9/11. New York: University Press of America.
Marcela, G. (2009). Massoud: An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Afghan Leader, Webster: Webster University Press.