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The Taliban And Al Qaeda

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The events of 9/11 have brought the topic of Islamic Terrorism to the forefront of western media and diplomatic conversation. It has marked and highlighted the rise in the number of the organizations who use terrorism as a tool to achieve religious or political goals. The actions and strategies of these groups have intensified and become increasingly global. It has become somewhat common practice to generalize these groups, their objectives and their strategies. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda are some the two most outspoken groups and many assume their characteristics to be similar. As the western gaze focuses primarily on these two organizations, a comparison between: their origins, structures, background, objectives and current actions, allows …show more content…

Afghan refugees in Pakistan were offered a free education alongside Pakistanis to these schools. These schools were used to further the organization 's desired objectives.
Although the Taliban’s territory is distinctly Afghanistan, their Pakistani foundation resonates throughout much of their history and structure as an international support and through their ties with the Al-Qaeda. Their Afghan origins and influence began in 1994 in Southern Afghanistan following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan as a counter to the pro-communist government. From their onset in Southern Afghanistan, the Taliban acquired a great deal of power and influence. Through armed force and following the ousting of the pro-communist President Mohammad Najibullah by the Mujahedeen forces, the Taliban successfully took Kabul in 1996. Their political success manifested in them forming a government from September 1996 to December 2001. They maintained this control and power, despite international condemnation on human rights’ grounds. In fact, by 1998 they controlled around 90% of Afghanistan (Yung, 2007). However, their influence was not enough to capture the north-western part of Afghanistan, which remained in the hands of the Northern Alliance. The Taliban enjoyed a great rise of power in the early stages of the organization and throughout this decade of control their structures and objectives evolved with some success. Around the early 2000s and the attacks of September

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