Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research idi University-Oum El Bouaghi
Faculty of Letters and Languages Department of English
Post-9/11 American Invasion of Afghanistan:
Reasons and Motivations
A Mémoire Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Master of Arts in Anglo-American Studies
By: BECHEKAOUI Youcef
Board of Examiners:
Dr. MAAMERI Fatima, Supervisor
BOUDJLIT Amina, member
2016-2017
Abstract
The reasons and motivations that led Unites States of America to invade Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks made a hot debate among many historians and politicians. Thus, this study is significant because it sheds light on the main embedded aims that the United
States of America never stated behind its invasion in the aftermath of the 9/11 events.
Although the United States of America claimed that the fundamental reason behind the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 is the 9/11 attacks, there are many other reasons that were overlooked. Afghanistan has a very important geo-strategic location in the world; thereby, this feature allows the United States government to accomplish its economic and political interests within Afghanistan and Central Asia. This study has come to the conclusion that the United States of America used 9/11 attacks as a pretext to invade Afghanistan and serve its imperialistic interests in the area.
Keywords: Unites States, Afghanistan, 9/11 attacks, invasion of Afghanistan, economic and political interests, pretext Résumé
Les raisons et motivations qui mènent les É tats-Unis D Amérique à envahir juste après les attentats du 11 septembre, a éveillé un débat chaleureux au sein des historiens et politiciens. Ainsi, cette étude est signifiante principaux objectifs fixés que les É tats-Unis jamais mentionnés concernant leur invasion suite aux évènements du 11 septembre. Bien que les É tats-Unis affirment que la raison fondamentale de leur invasion en Afghanistan en 2001 est les
ignorées.
ce qui pousse le gouvernement des É tats-Unis à accomplir leurs intérêts économiques et politiques avec Centrale. En conclusion, cette étude a pour objectif de montrer queles É tats-Unis ont utilisé les attentats du 11 septembre comme
et réaliser leurs intérêts impériaux dans la région.
Mots clés : les É tats-Unis les attentats du 11 septembre, les intérêts économiques et politiques, le prétexte.
ii
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this humble work to my dearest persons in my life; my Father and
my Mother who provided me with everything to achieve this work especially my father.
I would like to dedicate this work to all people who have helped me in achieving this
work; friends, classmates, and teachers.
iii
Acknowledgments
This work would not have been done without the advice, patience, wisdom, and support of Dr. Fatima Maameri.
I owe immense gratitude to my Supervisor Dr. Fatima Maameri for her guidance, instructions, and assistance.
I would like to thank all who contributed in this work through encouraging, and supporting me to finish this work.
Finally, special thanks go to my best friends Malek, Fateh, Muhammed, and Jahid.
iv
Acronyms
BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation.
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency.
CNN: Cable News Network.
ISI: Inter-Services Intelligence.
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
USAID: United States Agency for International Development.
USSR: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
UN: United Nations.
UNOCAL: Union Oil of California.
v
Table of Contents
Abstract
Dedication ii
Acknowledgement ...... iii
List of iv
Table of v
General Introduction 1
Chapter 1: Historical Background
Introduction 4
I. The US-Afghan Diplomatic Relations before 9/11 Attacks 4
II. II. US-Afghan Partnership and Cooperation ...... 6
III. The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and its Impact on US-Afghan
Relations, 1979-1989
1. The Foundation of Al-Qaeda Network 7
A. The Funding of Al-Qaeda 8
B. Bin Laden 9
2. Pakistan and its Role during the Soviet Invasion 12
IV. Taliban
1. The Emergence of Taliban vi
2. US-Taliban Relations 1994-2001
V. The 9/11 Attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. 2001 18
1. US Reaction to 9/11 Attacks 18
2. The International Response to 9/11 19
VI. Post-9/11 Invasion of Afghanistan, 2001 19
Conclusion ...... 20
Chapter 2: The Explicit and Implicit Reasons and Motivations of the
Post-9/11 American Invasion of Afghanistan
Introduction ... 24
I. The Political Reasons:
1. The 9/11 Attacks: The American Excuse to Invade Afghanistan 24
2. Humanitarian Intervention
3. The War on Terror 26
4. Democracy Promotion
II. The Geo-Political Reasons: The Geo-Strategic Location of Afghanistan 30
III. The Economic Reasons: Gas and Oil Pipelines and Mineral Resources 33
39
Conclusion 40 vii
Endnotes 42
List of Works Cited 43
1
General Introduction
9 September 2001 is marked as unforgettable day in the history of the United
States. At that day, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were crashed down by terrorist attacks. These attacks resulted in the death and injury of thousands of the
American people. The 9/11 attacks were the turning point in United States and
, in which the US government accused Al-Qaeda organization of these strikes as well as Taliban who were harboring Bin Laden and his followers. Thus, the Bush government declared war against Afghanistan that was launched one month later after the attacks occurred. Although the United States of America claimed that the fundamental reason behind the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 is the 9/11 attacks, there are many other reasons that were overlooked.
This research aims at exploring the direct reasons, which led to the American invasion of Afghanistan in the post-9/11 attacks. Moreover, this study attempts to find out the embedded reasons which drove the Americans to invade the Afghan. Further, it seeks to determine the pull motivations that attracted the US interests in Afghanistan and
Central Asia. Besides, this work tries to shed the light on the background of terrorism and its origins as well as the legitimacy of the American invasion of Afghanistan according to international law.
This study attempts to find some suitable answers to many questions. Prominent among them is why did United States invade Afghanistan following 9/11 attacks? What 2 are the embedded reasons behind the American invasion of Afghanistan along with the direct ones? Is the US invasion of Afghanistan in the post-9/11 legal according to the international law?
Concerning methodology, this Mémoire depends on different methods to achieve i s aim and have a clear understanding of the implicit and explicit reasons which drove
United States of America to invade Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks. The first method used is the descriptive method, which helps reviewing the history of the diplomatic relations of Afghanistan and United States from its first contacts until the
American invasion of Afghanistan. The second approach is rather analytical. It is used to analyze and scrutinize the various data, literature, and narratives in order to understand the direct reasons used by the American government to wage war against Afghanistan in
2001 as well as the implicit and hidden ones. Finally, in style, this Mémoire depends on the Modern Language Association (MLA), 7th edition.
This study has depended on sources and literary materials in order to provide more comprehension and clear analysis to the American occupation of Afghanistan following 9/11 events. These sources consist of books, articles, encyclopedias, interviews, theses and others. The information provided by the Afghan Embassy in Washington, D.C. is very useful in tracing the history of the diplomatic relations of the US and Afghanistan
ing
creating terrorism during the Soviet-Afghan war to defeat the Soviet troops and oust them out of Afghanistan. 3
This research is made up of two chapters; the first chapter speaks about the historical background. It tackles the history of the US-Afghan diplomatic relations from their first establishment to 2001. Further, it sheds light on the Soviet-Afghan war, 1979-
1989 and the American support provided to the Afghan rebels to fight the Soviet troops in
Afghanistan. In addition, it highlights the role of the US in the creation of Al-Qaeda organization and the assistance given to Taliban to take over Kabul in 1996.
The second chapter highlights the major reasons provided by the Americans to invade Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11 attacks like war on terrorism, humanitarian intervention, and democracy promotion. Besides, this chapter examines the most important imperialistic objectives, which the American government did not declare to the public. The US hidden aims behind waging war on Afghanistan are most significant mainly the building of an oil pipeline across Afghanistan and the establishment of a permanent military bases in Afghanistan to sustain its imperialistic interests within
Afghanistan and the Central Asia area as whole.
4
CHAPTER I: Historical Background
Introduction:
Historically speaking, the Middle East and Central Asia spheres have been a hotspots, conflictual points, and zones of instability. Afghanistan is one of the nations of this area which, throughout its history, had seen many interventions, wars and conflicts.
major occupations of Afghanistan. The US intervention in Afghanistan, particularly, occurred in October 2001 shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Center in New
Yo
US-Afghan diplomatic relations prior to those attacks may give a better understanding and provide a clear analysis about the post- 9/11 US invasion of Afghanistan.
I. The US-Afghan Diplomatic Relations before 9/11 Attacks
According to the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C., the US-Afghan diplomatic relations date back to the first part of the 19th century. The first contact happened in 1830 when Josiah Harlan1, a Pennsylvania political activist, ventured into
Afghanistan. In 1921, the US-Afghan relations started to have an official form, especially, after the Afghan delegation headed by General Wali Mohammad Khan visited the White
House. It was only after many official missions and diverse exchanges that diplomatic 5 relations were established between US and Afghanistan; officially, the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries took place in 1934. The appointment of William Hornibrook as the first US ambassador to Afghanistan by President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt on January 22, 1935 made the mutual US-Afghan relations formal.
After eight years, Abdul Hussein Aziz was sent by King Zahir Shah to be the first Afghan ambassador to the United States.
Following these events, Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first American president to visit Afghanistan in December 1959. Yet, Dawood, the Afghan Prime
Minster, paid a historical visit to US, which reinforced and strengthened the mutual relations between the two nations. Thus, the outcomes of his visit were the signature of a cultural exchange agreement and an address to the American Congress. By 1963, King
Mohammad Zahir, along with his wife Queen Homeira, had a memorable visit to the
United States of America and became the first Afghan head of state to do so. (Embassy of
Afghanistan, Washington D.C. Web.).
To sum up, the US-Afghan relations throughout history could be described as stable, peaceful and cooperative. However, they witnessed a big instability and shakiness in the last few years, especially after the major events that took place at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. These tragic events affected their relations in a very negative way and led to a deviation in those relations particularly in the post-
9/11 attacks period.
6
II. US-Afghan Partnership and Cooperation
Along with the establishment of the diplomatic relations between US and
Afghanistan, the economic issues were as well the major concern of both sides. The US-
Afghan economic cooperation was manifested in different fields like education, health and agriculture. By 1948, the American economic activities in Afghanistan reached a high point. The American companies were the most western dominant ones in Afghanistan.
Those companies contributed to the growth of Afghan agriculture. Morrison-Knudsen, an
American construction company, was in charge of building a strong agriculture basis.
This had been done through the construction of dams, the digging of irrigation canals and providing of electricity. The Helmand Valley Authority2 project is one of most outstanding American projects in Afghanistan (Hiebert, Sandberg, and Thornton web).
Moreover, the US had helped Afghanistan in the development of its educational system by opening the door of exchange between the Afghan and American universities.
Furthermore, it played a great role in constructing railroads, highways and airports
(Embassy of Afghanistan, Washington D.C. Web.).
III. The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and its Impact on US-Afghan Relations,
1979-1989
By 24 December had invaded Afghanistan with the aim of defending the pro-communist government in its struggle against the anticommunist Muslims fighters during the ongoing internal Afghan war (Encyclopedia
Britannica Online). The Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan was perceived by the 7
US and other countries as illegal; in addition, the Americans were not convinced by the arguments provided by the Soviet Union. Mike Bowker, a senior lecturer in politics at the
intervention as opportunism as Moscow sought to take advantage of regional instability to push towards the Indian Ocea
The presence of the Soviet troops on the Afghan lands worried the American government. It developed strategies to defeat the Soviets and make them leave
Afghanistan territories. For that, the Americans provided the Afghan fighters, called
Mujahedeen, with military supplies, trained them, and even funded them. The estimated number of military assistance amounted to $ 10 billion (qtd. in Mike 27). This way, the
US had played a significant role in the withdrawal of the Soviet troops from Afghanistan through funding rebels and Mujahedeen and increasing the pressure outside Afghanistan
Afghanistan was not because the Americans liked the Afghan people or they sympathized; rather, it was because they were fighting Communism and the Soviet Union in the Cold War. The United States had never been in favor of Afghanistan or any other country; it sought, and still seeks, its self-interests worldwide.
1. The Foundation of Al-Qaeda Network:
The term Al-Qaeda had appeared in the international arena in the aftermath of the
Encyclopedia Britannica Online defines Al- -based militant Islamist organization founded by Osama bin
who came from different Arab and Islamic countries who saw the combat against the 8
Kean and Hamilton 55). Besides, they did not want the atheistic Communism to exist within the Islamic context.
Actually, Al-Qaeda is the new name that was given to the organization; precisely, it was
tab al-
Abdullah Yusuf Azzam3 at the beginning of 1980s. It was mainly founded to help young
Middle Eastern Arab Muslim to get to Afghanistan and fight against the Soviets. Yet, after the assassination of Azzam in 1989, Osama Bin Laden took the secession, became the leader, and changed the organization name into Al-Qaeda (qtd. in Shahzad, prologue).
A. The Funding of Al-Qaeda:
The central aim behind establishing Al-Qaeda network may be clarified through many literatures of various writers who argued that ousting the Soviet occupiers out of
Afghanistan was its major aim. Yet, the question about who sponsored Al-Qaeda has created a hot debate among politicians, historians, and critics. There are many who believe that the United States had a hand in the victory of the Afghans over the Soviets after 10 years of occupation. This implies that America supported secretly the Afghan
Mujahedeen aiming at overwhelming the Soviet soldiers and putting an end to the influence of Communism influence in the area. This has been asserted by Steve Coll in an article published in The Washington Post
In March 1985, President Reagan signed National Security Decision
-up covert military aid
to the Mujahedeen, and it made clear that the secret Afghan war had a new
goal: to defeat Soviet troops in Afghanistan through covert action and 9
encourage a Soviet withdrawal. The new covert U.S. assistance began with
a dramatic increase in arms supplies a steady rise to 65,000 tons annually
CIA and Pentagon specialists
-Services
Intelligence] on the main road near Rawalpindi, Pakistan. There, the CIA
specialists met with Pakistani intelligence officers to help plan operations
for the Afghan rebels.
The view that United States sponsored Al-Qaeda seems to be credible,
Afghanistan is considered to be among the poorest countries in the world. Logically speaking, the Afghan Mujahedeen or rebels could not have been the winners in their combat against the Soviets who were well-trained, armed with very sophisticated weapons, and had long experience in wars without the assistance of the United States.
The American support to the Afghans would be interpreted as a continuation of the Cold
War. Meanwhile, the secret US aids to the Muslim Mujahedeen does not mean that the
the American fear was centered on the emergence of the communist government in
Afghanistan and the geostrategic position of Afghan lands, which are located in Central
Asia. That position would enable the USSR to control the area and increase its influence, in addition having access to the rich natural resources of the area.
B. Bin Laden:
The leader of Al-Qaeda Osama Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia in 1957. He belonged to a very wealthy Saudi family with very strong ties with the royal family. He
. Then, 10 he became a university student at King Abdul-Aziz University in Jeddah. Throughout his
influenced by Muhammed Qutb4 and Dr. Abdullah Azzam. He had discussed many
-43).
In the post-Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, exactly in 1982, Bin Laden moved to
Afghanistan to join the Mujahedeen bringing with him heavy digging equipment in order to be used by the Mujahedeen in their struggle against the Soviets. During his stay in
Afghanistan, Bin Laden worked hard to bring thousands of volunteers from the Arab and
Islamic countries to Afghanistan in order to recruit th
-
In the aftermath of the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, there was a split among the
Mujahedeen themselves. This made Bin Laden moves to Sudan where he invested his
government by the US and Saudi Arabia governments to drive him out of Sudan obliged him to leave for Afghanistan again. By 1990, Bin laden had a firm disagreement with the
United States and Saudi Arabia due to many reasons particularly the support the US provided for corrupted regimes and the support of Saudi Arabia for the US intervention to oust the Iraqi troops out of Kuwait during the first Gulf War (Atwan 45).
There are many reports which indicate that Bin Laden is an American production.
This means that the US government funded and trained Bin Laden and used him during the war against the Soviets as Noam Chomsky clarified in an interview with a Belgrade radio station: 11
A Saudi Arabian millionaire, Bin Laden became a militant Islamic leader in
the war to drive the Russians out of Afghanistan. He was one of the many
religious fundamentalist extremists recruited, armed, and financed by the
CIA and their allies in Pakistani intelligence to cause maximal harm to the
Russians.
Meanwhile, the British newspaper The Guardian, quoting from the French newspaper
Le Figaro, has reported that Bin Laden maintained contact with CIA and Saudi Arabia before the attacks. This occurred when he had a visit from the CIA chief and Prince Turki al Faisal and some members of his family at the American hospital in Dubai two months before 09/11 attacks (Sampson web).
Regardless of what has been said about the ties of Bin Laden with the US government, this visit could have been just an allegation. But what is strange is how the
American government works. In other words, during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the US government turned a blind eye on Bin Laden and his colleagues who were perceived as extremists and terrorists because they were working for its interests to destroy the Soviet Union. Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to President
Jimmy Carter during the invasion, confirmed this when answering the question of an interviewer about the threat that these Islamist groups would create later on. Brzezinski said that the fall down of the USSR is more important than the danger of these Islamists
(Gibbs 242). However, after the retreat of the Soviets from Afghanistan, Bin Laden and the Mujahedeen became a threat to the US and international security; so, they became wanted and should be overcome. This is only an example on the double-play of American foreign policy. 12
2.1. Pakistan and its Role during the Soviet Invasion:
Pakistan shares the same geographical borders with Afghanistan along with many other characteristics mainly the religion of Islam. During the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan in 1980s, Pakistan had played a significant role in the defeat of the Soviets
could be represented in the mission of providing the Afghan holy fighters with the secret assistance of the Americans. This means that Pakistan was the go-between the Afghan
Mujahedeen and the CIA as Ahmed Rashid has argued:
to turn the Afghan Jihad into a global war waged by all Muslim states
against the Soviet Union, some 35,000 Muslim radicals from 40 Islamic
thousands more came to study in Pakistani madrasahs. Eventually, more
than 100,000 foreign Muslim radicals were directly influenced by the
Afghan jihad ( The Taliban: Exporting Extremism 31).
The strategy which the American government used to make the Afghan holy warriors enthusiastically fight the Soviet invaders might be mysterious and unknown for many people. However, as it is indicated previously, the Afghan rebels did receive a huge assistance from the American government during the fight against the Red Army. Yet, the questions how did this occur and what did they do need to be answered. The major role of the Mujahedeen in this operation was implemented by the CIA along with the
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). So, the main focus of the CIA was the establishment of
Islamic Madrassahs, or Islamic schools, of thought in Pakistan to teach the Muslim 13 youngsters who belong to different Arab and Islamic countries the Islamic teachings and
Sharia. These religious schools were established to encourage the combat against the
play in the spread of the madrassas in Pakistan. Under President Jimmy Carter, the U.S. established a $500 million fund to prepare Mujahedeen to fight against the occupying
The American Central Intelligence Agency strongly emphasized on the notion of
The United States of America had used a hypersensitive aspect for Muslims which is religion to make Muslims, within and outside Afghanistan, fiercely fight the atheistic communism which was a threat to the existence of Muslims and Islam there.
Furthermore, the US government went further beyond this; it used the innocence of little children to achieve its goals. It developed and produced textbooks for Afghan children at the American universities, precisely the University of Nebraska as Ali Raiz asserted:
schools established in refugee camps in Pakistan for Afghan children. The
University of Nebraska, Omaha (UNO) oversaw the US$50 million contract
with the Education Center for Afghanistan (ECA), a group approved by the
Pakistani government and various Mujahedeen factions. (20)
To go deeply in this subject, the books which had been produced at the American universities were written in Persian alphabet. Moreover, these textbooks strived to ingrain
hand to the Mujahedeen and provide them with food and water (Ali Raiz 20). Besides, 14 they even gave mathematic exercises to the fourth-grade students; for example, how to calculate the time spent when a Mujahid shoots a Soviet soldier from a given distance and speed with his Kalashnikov (Davis 90-94). The United States planed, prepared, and trained the Afghans to put the Soviets out of Afghanistan and diminish their influence within the zone. To do so, it used the innocence of the little children to achieve its own goals. This also shows the duplicity of Americ lives.
Another hypocritical image of the American policy used outside US is revealed by an interview made in 1998 by the French political and cultural weekly Le Nouvel
Observateur with Brzezinski. The interview was translated from French by David N.
Retrospect" in 1998. According to the interview, Brzezinski affirmed that the CIA entered the Afghan lands 6 months before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, i.e.: on July 3,
1979, President Carter had signed the antagonists of the pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan (Gibbs 241, 242).
More than this, Brzezinsk
Afghanistan was to induce the Soviets to invade Afghanistan. Thus, the demolition the
Soviet Union would be initiated once the Soviet troops entered the Afghan soil as it is asserted by Brzezinski when he wrote to Carter: We now have the opportunity of giving
errorist networks to fight the Soviets claiming that the demise of the Soviet Union was the priority of the US regardless of the risk and the menace of the terrorist organizations created by them (Gibbs 241, 242). 15
Historically speaking, American foreign policy could be described as self- interested policy. It would do anything for its own self-benefits even by killing, bombing, and causing internal and external conflicts. To clarify this point, America did not want the
Soviet troops to leave Afghanistan and worked out to prolong their war to get more casualties. The US Army Chief of Staff General Edward C. Meyer at that time stated:
Casey would say that he wanted them out, but he actually wanted them to send more and more Russians down there and in Corodovez and Harrison 103).
This is an example of the greed, merciless, and awfulness of the American government.
The Americans never cared about Afghan lives or how many civilian people were dying each day, how many innocent children were becoming homeless, starved, and threatened to death because of the barbaric US policy.
IV. Taliban
1. The Emergence of Taliban:
Five years after the Soviets pulled out their troops from the Afghan soil, an organization had appeared on the Afghan
Mullah Mohammed Omar was the founder of the Taliban movement. Taliban originated from the Pushtan5 tribe that took control over the non-Pushtan minorities in the North. It based its governance on the Quran and Islamic Sharia aiming at bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan after the chaos created by the civil war in 1992 (Rashid,
). 16
established the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in 1994 96 in order to end the lengthy civil war following the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from the region in 1989. It
Promoted Islam as a moral, stable, and orderly alternative to civil war, ethnic divisions,
Web). Most of the militants were from the refugee camps in Pakistan where they were educated and trained in Islamic Madrassahs which the Mujahedeen used to attend during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (Alderink
Web).
2. US-Taliban Relations 1994-2001:
After the establishment of the Taliban organization in 1994, only three
Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. This occurred under the guardianship of the US government. Further, as Kabul was captured by the Taliban militants in 1996, the
American government welcomed the rise of Taliban to govern Afghanistan. It even supplied Taliban with great amounts of aids in order to preserve and strengthen the
Taliban position within Afghanistan (qtd. in Khan 02). Furthermore, the US-Taliban relations were closely tied especially after the exchanged visits between the members of
-1996, and
US diplomats regula
The reasons that made the US approve Taliban rule in Afghanistan are subjects tackled by many analysts. According to Mushtaq A. Kaw, the American government was 17
Taliban movement was groomed by the Pakistani ISI and the US CIA with multiple geo- economic and geo- qtd. in Khan 2).
For Brisard and Dasquié, the motivations that made the American government accept the Taliban as the dominant power in Afghanistan were purely economic and political ones. They saw that the US wanted to reduce the influence of the Islamic
Republic of Iran through supporting the radical Sunnites, meaning Taliban, after the hostage crisis at the American Embassy in 1979. Along with what has been said before, the American greed for energy was another reason according to Brisard and Dasquié. At that time, the American oil companies were trying to get oil out of Kazakhstan,
Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan through Afghanistan after the Russians refused that the
Americans use their pipelines to transfer oil to other stations (15). Thus, the US policy in
Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal was characterized by greed and self-interests, particularly after supporting an illegitimate regime like the Taliban to serve its interests.
The US-Taliban relations continued to be friendlier especially after the visit of
Taliban representatives to the USA. They were invited by the Union Oil of California, headquartered in Texas, to initiate the negotiations about the construction of the pipelines in December 1997 (qtd. in aiming at
US-Taliban relations became unstable because the Americans claimed that Taliban and
Al-Qaeda were the responsible for those attacks on America.
18
V. 9/11 Attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. 2001 :
On 11 September 2001, four passenger planes were hijacked out of airports on the eastern coast of United States. The 19 hijackers were from different Islamic countries.
Two aircrafts were crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New
York, the third plane was flown into the Pentagon headquarters in Virginia, but the fourth one crashed in Pennsylvania before reaching its target. The attacks caused immense casualties in which about 3000 people died and thousands were injured (BBC, 9/11
Web). They were the most tragic events in the US history. Therefore, one way considers that these attacks might be the outcomes of the US policy in Afghanistan and
Pakistan from 1980s to 2001.
1. US Reaction to 9/11 Attacks:
Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, the American government angrily condemned the strikes describing them as and well-organized terrorism. The Bush administration suspected Al-Qaeda network to be responsible for these attacks. Moreover,
President George W. Bush declared the state of emergency and asked for decisive actions against Al-Qaeda. Bush also threatened to punish those who bombed the US and those
Rashid, Taliban: Islam, oil, and the great game 1).
2. The International Response to 9/11:
The international responses to the 9/11 events were shared among the different
attacks; some even offered their assistance like the British Prime Minister Toni Blair who 19 said:
(qtd. in Mike Bowker 89). Taliban was among those who condemned the attacks too;
Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, said: "We want to tell the American children that Afghanistan feels your pain and we hope that the courts find justice." (CNN.com Web).
VI. Post-9/11 Invasion of Afghanistan, 2001:
As a response to the 9/11 attacks, the NATO forces, led by the United States, invaded Afghanistan on 7 October 2001. In regard to the aims that caused the American invasion of Afghanistan, the Bush administration set these objectives: overthrowing Al-
Qaeda network, punishing Taliban, and capturing Bin Laden. Already those aims were outlined by President Bush in his speech 20 September 2001:
Who attacked our country? The evidence we have gathered points to a
collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as al-Qaeda... This
group and its leader - a person named Osama Bin Laden - are linked to many
other organizations in different countries". )
A day before the Bush declaration, Mullah Mohammed Omar too addressed clerics in
Kabul, stating that the US took the 9/11 attacks as an excuse to remove Taliban from power. Yet, he indicated that Taliban had an intention to negotiate with the US. (BBC,
The US Refuses Web).
Although Taliban leaders were ready to negotiate with US over Bin Laden, the
US government refused to do so as White House spokesman Ari Fleischer stressed: "The 20
action, not negotiations" (BBC, The US Refuses Web). Then, on 7 October 2001, America along with its allies started to bomb Afghanistan. After one week, 5000 civilian people killed because of US airstrikes (qtd. in Khan 3). The United States invaded Afghanistan without any relevant evidence about the involvement of Taliban or Al-Qaeda in the attacks.
Moreover, the US used the presence of Bin Laden as pretext to invade Afghanistan to fulfill its interests in the Middle East and Central Asia.
Conclusion:
As a conclusion, throughout the tracing of the history of the Afghan-US relations, what is clear is that, the interventionism of the United States in the internal and external affairs of the Afghan issues is very noticeable. Yet, the problems that the Afghan people had and are still having are because of the American policy, which was striving to achieve its imperialistic goals in Afghanistan. Its post-9/11 intervention in Afghanistan had nothing to do with Bin Laden or what is called the imply it was the greed of US to oil which motivated such action.
21
Chapter II: The Explicit and Implicit Reasons and Motivations
of the Post-9/11 American Invasion of Afghanistan
Introduction:
The US invasion of Afghanistan in the wake of the bombings of the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon was justified by the US government as war on terrorism, humanitarian intervention, and an attempt to promote liberty and democracy in
Afghanistan. These were the major claims the Bush administration determined to achieve within the Afghan community. However, there were other embedded reasons and motivations behind waging the war on Afghanistan; most importantly, those were political, geo-strategic, and economic ones.
I. The Political Reasons:
1. The 9/11 Attacks: The American Excuse to Invade Afghanistan:
As a result of the 9/11 attacks of 2001, the Twin Towers of the World Trade
Center in New York and the Pentagon headquarters in Virginia were crashed down. The
American government directly suspected Al-Qaeda network, then accused it of being the responsible of the strikes. The Bush administration declared war on Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda organization, and Taliban who were harboring Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda members. After no more than a month on the 9/11 attacks, the US launched the war on Afghanistan. 22
The Americans used the 9/11 attacks to invade Afghanistan in the wake of the
9/11 events. Their major claims were capturing Bin Laden, bombing Al- headquarters, and removing Taliban from power, particularly after the support the latter gave to Bin Laden and the members of Al-Qaeda organization. Meanwhile, establishing a democratic government in Afghanistan and providing humanitarian assistance to the
Afghan people were an inevitability as Bush claimed (Lansford 42).
2. Humanitarian Intervention:
Ironically, the Americans had stated that the US intervention in Afghanistan in the post-9/11 was a humanitarian mission. The American assistance was presented in millions of tons of food aids that were given to the Afghan starved people, especially, after
42). Moreover, in his televised address to the American nation, Bush stated: military targets, we will also drop food, medicine and supplies to the starving and
. in Hayden 62).
The contradiction in the American policy in Afghanistan is seen in President Bush speech to the American nation mentioned above. Bush had stated that the Americans were air-dropping food to the Afghan people while they were bombing targets in Afghanistan.
Logically speaking, dropping bombs, rockets, and food supplies on the Afghan people cannot take place at the same time. Thus, either striking the Afghan people or providing them with food assistance can work. In fact, the American policy in Afghanistan was characterized by merciless in which thousands of civilians and refugees were killed because of the American air-strikes on the innocent Afghan people. In converse, the term 23
excuse to justify US interventions in many countries worldwide.
3. The War on Terror
The American invasion of Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11 attacks was an attempt to overcome terrorism in Afghanistan according to the American government. The
Americans saw that Afghanistan was a source of terrorism and even a sponsor of the terrorist groups which attacked the United States of America in 2001. This had been asserted by President Bush in his State of the Union address on January 29, 2002:
events, while dangers gather. I will not stand by, as peril draws closer and
weapons. . in Hayden 57)
However, there are many criti propaganda to occupy Afghanistan in the post-9/11 events. Michel Chossudovsky, an
American economics professor at Ottawa University, harshly criticized the Bush administration for using military force against Afghanistan. Chossudovsky argued that the
Furthermore, he condemned the violations against the Afghan civilian people in which he affirmed that the US government used the Afghan mountains and lands as a field to test its nuclear weapons. As an example, low yield nuclear bombs were tested without giving any attention to the implications that would be left on the Afghan people and 24
ghting terrorism was the American plea to test nuclear arms during the American strikes on the Taliban and Al-Qaeda headquarters.
Moreover, Chossudovsky stated that the Americans utilized Bin Laden just as an
its imperialistic objectives in Central
Asia. To deny the American claims of capturing Bin Laden, the number one wanted for the American government after the bombings of two American embassies in East Africa,
Chossudovsky has depended on Le Figaro, a daily French newspaper, to present his argument. According to this newspaper, Bin Laden was at the American Hospital in
Dubai two months before the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the
Pentagon occurred. Moreover, the CIA knew about the presence of Bin Laden in the hospital and even CIA agents visited him with some of his family members and some
Saudi and Emirati officials. Based on this, to arrest Osama Bin Laden prior to September 11, they could have done it then in Dubai.
But they would not have had a pretext for waging a major military operation in the
Meanwhile, Noam Chomsky, an American linguist, historian, and political essayist denounced the use of force in Afghanistan after the 11 September attacks. In an interview with Salon.com on January 16, 2002, Chomsky argued that the bombings of
Sudan in 1998, where the US had destroyed Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory and killed countless innocent civilians prior to 9/11 attacks, would be a quite serious reason which led to the bombings of the US in 2001. Describing the attacks on Sudan in 1998 as
foreign policy worldwide. 25
Further, propaganda made by America to serve its interests in the Central Asia sphere. In addition to this, he agrees on a proposition presented by Michael Howard, an Anglo-American military historian. After the 9/11 events took place, Howard thinks that the United States should have carried out investigations and tried to bring the responsible of the bombings to justice instead of the using of violence and waging war on Afghanistan.
Besides, Chomsky commented on the American claim of the use of military action against Afghanistan as self-defense. Believing that the US misused Article 51 of the UN charter, he explained that the article states that the use of force can only be used in self- defense against an armed attack, which is defined according to international law as
.
Harbor and considered it as one of the cases that the use of force would be legitimate
(Suzy web). Thus, according to him, the United States was not under an armed attack; nonetheless, it used the law and invaded Afghanistan to accomplish its own imperialistic objectives.
Finally, answering a question about the distinction between United States and Al-
Qaeda organization,
-
This description given by Chomsky to United States seems to be true since it underlines the tra
the US used Al-Qaeda organization, its own production during the Afghan-Soviet war, to 26 achieve its imperialistic goals. To sum up, the attacks of 11 September were simply the results of American foreign policy in Afghanistan and the whole world in the post-Cold
War era.
4. Democracy Promotion:
Among the American aims that Bush wanted to realize in Afghanistan after the invasion of 2001 is the promotion of democracy. Establishing a democratic government in Afghanistan was a priority to the Bush administration. The American government outlined to oust the so-called tyrannical regime of Taliban and to replace it with an elected legitimate government (Carothers 4). Accordingly, this would help in uprooting radical extremism and sustaining American security:
[Middle Eastern states] stronger and more stable, and make the world more secure by
After the overthrow of the Taliban regime, there had been a vacuum in the political scene. This made the United States and the NATO coalition, supported by the
UN, to organize a meeting on 26 November 2001 in Bonn, Germany, to look forward about the future of the Afghanistan political situation and to establish a legal government.
Consequently, after drafting a new constitution for Afghanistan in 2004, presidential elections took place. Supported by the invaders, Hamid Karzai, an anti-Taliban and pro- western coalition won the Afghan elections and became president (Adel 9).
Hamid Karzai, the first Afghan elected president after the American invasion, benefited from the support of the American government. According to Latif, Abbas, and
Sardar, the US had backed Karzai during his presidential campaign. Further, they argued 27 that the attendance of the vice-president Dick Cheney and his wife of the inauguration ceremony of President Karzai on 2 December 2002 is a good evidence of the American support to Karzai (7). Moreover, in a joint press conference, on 23 May 2005, President
Bush expresse democratically elected leader in the five-thousand- faith in this man as a leader. He has shown tremendous courage in the face of difficult
.... . in Latif,
Abbas, and Sardar 7).
The American support to Hamid Karzai cannot occur without cause or reason. The
US government was seeking to appoint a key figure in Afghanistan who would help US in accomplishing the construction of an oil pipeline through Afghanistan that had been planned since the 1990s. Karzai is the man the US was in need for implementing its plan; he had also worked hard with American oil companies to build the pipeline across Afghan lands during the rule of Taliban (The Debate web). The US claim of spreading democracy following the invasion of Afghanistan was just a means to achieve its imperialistic goals in Central Asia. The US government sought to change the Taliban government and replace it with a new one in order to put anyone it wishes as president then control him to serve its own interests.
II. The Geo-Political Reasons: The Geo-Strategic Location of Afghanistan
Afghanistan is situated in South- Central Asia with an area of approximately
652,230 square kilometers. It is bounded by Pakistan from the North and West, Iran from 28 the East, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan from the South, and China from the
North-East. This location places it at the heart of the area and gives it a significant strategic importance. Moreover, Afghanistan is rich with numerous mineral and natural resources like gas, oil, copper, iron and others (Library of Congress 4). The Afghan landscape is also known for its natural variety; long and active rivers and valleys like the
Helmand River, along with big number of high and tremendous mountains gives it a particular importance (Britannica.com web).
Afghanistan location as the heart of Asia is considered to be very significant and vital. It is also described as the gate of India sub-continent and the Silk Road, a way for international trade. Because of its geo-strategic importance and vitality, the Afghan lands had been a battleground for many superpowers in the present and different invaders in the past (Shah 20). The US occupation of Afghanistan in 2001 is the most recent one in
Afghanistan history.
Geographically speaking, Afghanistan is characterized by its special geo-strategic location in Asia and in the whole world. These features would be strong motives for the
Americans to wage war on Afghanistan after 11 September events. Moreover, by invading the Afghan lands, the American projects and plans in Central Asia would be
ation to install a friendly regime
-political and geo-
The importance of the geo-strategic situation of Afghanistan would serve
Am was in need to transfer oil and gas from some countries neighboring Afghanistan to the 29
Arabian Sea. Thus, the Afghan land was a suitable way to do so: significance from an energy standpoint stems from its geographical position as a potential
. in
Raghuvanshi 6).
More, ideologically speaking, the presence of the United St
Afghanistan would be interpreted as an American inclination to control and expend its influence within Central Asia. Since Afghanistan shares frontiers with the most competitors of US, especially Russia, China, and Iran, it is a very good opportunity for the Americans to be nearby. In this context, the American Congressmen argued:
the realities that United States in the aftermath now has a vital interest in this part of the world and must play a central leadership role in helping shape a positive outcome for the
with the increase of the influence and control of the US within the area of Central Asia,
Moreover, in military terms, among the US objectives in Afghanistan after the invasion was the building of military bases. The American government planned for a permanent presence in Central Asia for many reasons. Securing and maintaining the
American interests in the Caspian Sea might be one of the reasons behind establishing lasting military bases in Afghanistan:
Under the Afghan- an
pivot, Washington and its NATO partners have established a permanent
military presence in Afghanistan, with military facilities located within 30
US to maintain their nine permanent military bases, strategically located
on the borders of China, Pakistan and Iran as well as Turkmenistan,
web)
The United States of America plays the role of the policeman of the world in this post-Cold War era. In reality, it creates pretexts such establishing peace, humanitarian intervention, and fighting terrorism to wage wars and intervene in countries in order to make its selfish interests realized in reality. The American intervention in Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks is the best example of the US self-seeking interests:
connecting the regions. This is why the people and country have been victimized in the region. Everyone tries to give a hand with Afghanistan in order to use this country as a tool for achieving their targets (Sultan web).
III. The Economic Reasons: Gas and Oil Pipelines and Mineral Resources:
Generally speaking, it is often argued that the United States of America had deployed its troops to Afghanistan in order fight terrorism and uproot the radical terrorists. However, many economic motives and incentives were embedded. In fact, the
US had always been interesting in the energy resources of the Caspian region:
Other more economic reasons drove them to such a position. Starting in
1991, various American oil companies, including Chevron, became 31
heavily involved in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. As it
happened, Russia refused to allow them to use its pipelines to transport
these energy resources to oil terminals. (Brisard and Dasquié 15)
The Americans were eagerly interested in the energy resources of Central Asia, more precisely, in the Caspian Sea since 1990s.
According to Ahmed Rashid, Pakistani journalist, the story of gas and oil in the
Caspian region started with Bridas, an Argentinian gas company. This company supposed to be the first Western company to discover oil and gas in the Caspian region during
1990s. Carlos Bulgheroni, head of the Bridas company, turned the investments in gas and oil of this company from Latin-America to Central Asia starting from 1990s.
Turkmenistan was the first country in the Caspian region which Bridas had made agreements with. Though many Western oil companies questioned the success of Bridas in Turkmenistan, Bulgheroni initiated the operation of discovering oil there (Rashid
Taliban: Islam, oil, and the great game 158).
Meanwhile, by 1992 and 1993, the Bridas energy group had discovered very large gas and oil fields in Turkmenistan, particularly in the Kemiri block in the North-East and the Yashlar block near the Afghan border. Because Turkmenistan is landlocked,
the old Russian pipeline, but this was not enough because the amount of gas discovered was massive. Therefore, the Bridas company sought to find an alternative way to transport its gas out of Turkmenistan. Thus,
Afghanistan could become a peace-making business said to Rashid (Rashid Taliban: Islam, oil, and the great game 158). 32
To do so, Bulgheroni worked hard to convince the Turkmen and Pakistan officials of building a gas pipeline through Afghanistan to Pakistan 16 March 1995. Then, by
1996, the Bridas group have convinced the Taliban and warlords in Afghanistan to construct the pipeline across the Afghan lands. The memorandum of a 30-year agreement had been signed between Bridas and the Afghans. After then, Bridas officials invited many other Western oil companies to join in constructing the pipeline crossing
Afghanistan. UNOCAL, an American oil company, and the 12th largest gas company in the world, was supposed to have a part in the Bridas project in Afghanistan (Rashid
Taliban: Islam, oil, and the great game 158-159).
Unexpectedly, the Turkmen President Saparmud Niyazov stopped the Bridas company from exporting oil and gas from Turkmenistan gas fields in 1995. Despite the fact that a contract between Bridas company and the Turkmen officials was signed,
Niyazov did not recognize it. Further, the reason why the Turkmen officials had blocked
vention of the American oil company UNOCAL in the project
(Rashid Taliban: Islam, oil, and the great game 160). UNOCAL planned to build its own
President of
UNOCAL immediately recognized the potential of Carlos Bulgheroni's offer so much so that he decided he could do without Bridas' services and invest in the region without
Yet, 21 October 1995, the Turkmen President Niyazov had signed a contract with
UNOCAL and its partner Saudi Arabia-owned oil Delta company. The American
influenced and convinced Niyazov that they would help and contribute in the 33 development of Turkmenistan if he sings with them. After this, UNOCAL planned to build 1.050-mile oil pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan terminals. The American company decided to take 70 per cent and share the rest percentage on its partners (Rashid
Taliban: Islam, oil, and the great game 160).
Till now, the agreement worked smoothly with both Turkmenistan and Pakistan.
As for the third part Afghanistan, new developments occurred. By 1996, Taliban could take control of Kabul and most of the Afghan lands. This was a happy news for the
Americans and the UNOCAL company. The American company thought that by the capture of Kabul by Taliban, its mission of constructing an oil pipeline through
Afghanistan would be an easy task. Furthermore, UNOCAL gave humanitarian aids to the
Afghan warlords as a gift. Even more than that, they offered money to Taliban for the use of the Afghan lands (Rashid Taliban: Islam, oil, and the great game 160).
Meanwhile, the American Department of State announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with Taliban shortly after Taliban captured Kabul. In addition, the
US government expressed its total support to Taliban by sending an ambassador to Kabul.
Moreover, the State Department spokesman Glyn Davies stated that US had no problems
mic law in Afghanistan (Rashid Taliban: Islam, oil, and the great game 166). The Americans were paving the way to the American company
UNOCAL to build its oil pipeline project across Afghanistan, therefore they advocated their support for Taliban in Afghanistan.
Yet, Bridas did not give up its efforts to take back its gas fields in Turkmenistan.
Further, it opened negotiation with Taliban to construct the oil pipeline. Both Bridas and
UNOCAL companies offered $ 100 million a year to Taliban, but Taliban refused and 34 asked then to raise their bids up along with some conditions. Most important among these was the improvement of the Afghan infrastructure.
build the pipeline project through Afghanistan. However, the Taliban officials would not agree. Even, the American government sent high officials to Taliban as mediators to get their permission to construct the pipeline. In addition, the American company used the good offices of Turkmen pipeline as fast as possible. By May 1997, an agreement had been signed between
UNOCAL, Pakistan and Turkmenistan officials, but without Taliban, to finance the project by December 1997 and begin the building process of the project in 1998 (Rashid
Taliban: Islam, oil, and the great game 171-172).
Until 1998, the American company UNOCAL could not achieve its pipeline project because it did not reach an agreement with Taliban. Moreover, after the US bombings of Al- staff from Afghanistan thus it giving up its pipeline project (Rashid Taliban: Islam, oil, and the great game 175). This historical review of the American interests in Afghanistan and Central Asia helps us to understand the economic motives that drove the US to invade Afghanistan using 9/11 and war on terror as a pretext.
fields there. Thereby, after the American invasion of Afghanistan in the post- 9/11, the
US government put the accomplishment of the pipeline project among its first priorities and objectives to be achieved in Afghanistan. Indeed, the US government could do what
American company UNOCAL could not do during 1990s. According to a BBC report 30 35
May, 2002, the Afghan pipeline project was revived to be constructed: The leaders of
Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan have agreed to construct a $2bn pipeline to bring gas from Central Asia to the sub- interim government Hamid Karzai, the Pakistani Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf, and the Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Nayazov have signed a memorandum of understanding in Islamabad (BBC web). Thus, the United States of America provided its war on terror as means to realize its long-planned projects in Afghanistan and Central
Asia.
The oil pipeline that US was striving to build since 1990s has great importance.
This is why the American government throughout the last decades sought eagerly to
imports, economize energy costs, marginalize Russian and Iranian trade monopoly of
Central Asian energy resources, and provide the new-born Central Asian states the
Once the Americans put their feet on the Afghan lands they moved to serve their imperialistic interests. The US interests in Afghanistan in the post-invasion period were not gas and oil only; the Americans were seeking to loot the Afghan mineral resources too. According to The New York Times report of 13 June 2010, the United States discovered 1 trillion unexploited mineral reserves in Afghanistan:
The previously unknown deposits including huge veins of iron, copper,
cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium are so big and
include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that
Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most 36
important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe
(Risen web).
All these development in American-Afghan relations show that the US policy in
Afghanistan is based on self-interests rather helping Afghanistan to develop and prosper as they claimed to do.
Conclusion:
After analyzing and scrutinizing deferent narratives and literatures of many historians, analysts, and critics about the reasons which led the USA to invade
Afghanistan in the post 9/11 attacks, the American claims are deemed to be doubtful and suspicious. The US government used war on terrorism just as a pretext to achieve its imperialistic wants in Central Asia. In addition, it could be seen as the first responsible for the 9/11 attacks because it created and backed the extremist and terrorist groups in
Afghanistan during the Afghan-Soviet war who subsequently turned against the US and attacked it. Moreover, the so-called humanitarian intervention in Afghanistan is another
American lie to justify its war in Afghanistan. Besides, American foreign policy in general often claims to establish democratic governments but never to bring justice or peace to people. Democracy promotion permits it to establish puppet governments to dominate local populations and therefore serve the US interests in return as it did Hamid
Karzai in Afghanistan. In sum, the US greed to build the oil pipeline through Afghanistan is one of the most influential motive that led to the invasion of Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11 events. 37
Conclusion
After analyzing the issue from different angles, the post-9/11 American invasion of Afghanistan was neither to fight terrorism nor to help the Afghan people. The United
States of America used 9/11 attacks to invade Afghanistan and achieve its greedy objectives which were outlined by the US government a long time before the attacks took place. The war on terrorism is an American pretext used to justify the presence of US troops in Afghanistan. Moreover, the United States of America sought to promote democracy and establish a democratic government in Afghanistan to support its materialistic goals and give the Americans a free hand in Afghanistan and Central Asia.
Precisely, this is what the Americans did when they secured the election of Hamid Karzai, the pro-American afghan leader, and maintained him in power.
Meanwhile, the terrorism that the American government claimed to fight is an
American product. The USA, through the CIA, contributed largely to the emergence of such terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda during the Afghan-Soviet war when it funded and trained Al-Qaeda members, the so-called Mujahedeen. The Unites States made the
Afghan rebels fight the Soviets on behalf them so that thousands of the Afghan people were the victim of the American policy in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. Thus, the
American will of defeating the Soviet Union was more important than Afghan lives.
The most significant reasons of the American invasion of Afghanistan are the economic and geo-strategic ones. Since 1990, the American government has planned to construct a long oil pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan. Because of 38
time, the pipeline project could not be successfully achieved. Therefore, the American government used the 9/11 attacks as a platform to invade Afghanistan just one month later. This research deduces that this reason was the most prominent among all hidden motivations as, only few months after of the invasion took place, there was an agreement on the pipeline project to be achieved.
The presence of the American troops in Afghanistan and Central Asia fosters the influence of United States within the region. Thus, US had built many military bases close to the border of many countries that are in competition with US like China and
interests within the area.
39
Endnotes
1 Josiah Harlan:19th Century Pennsylvania-born Quaker Josiah Harlan, Prince of Ghor
(Afghanistan). Josiah Harlan was born in the Newline Township of Chester County,
Pennsylvania on June 12, 1799. He ventured to Central Asia in his early life and integrated within the Indian and Afghan societies. He was known for his involvement in the Afghan and Indian politics and his intention to become a king. He is considered to be the first American to contact Afghanistan and its people. Josiah wrote a memoir of India
the present critical state and future prospects of those Countries).
2 . The Helmand Valley Authority: rivers and has been extensively developed under the Helmand Valley Authority. A
flood control, and just above the same town a dam diverts water to a canal. Below the
follows its course. A long-standing dispute between Afghanistan and Iran has centered on
3 Abdullah Yusuf Azzam: Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1941 - November 24, 1989) was a highly influential Palestinian Sunni Islamic scholar and theologian, and a central figure in preaching for defensive jihad by Muslims to help the Afghan mujahedeen against the
Soviet invaders. He fled the West Bank in 1967, in the Palestinian exodus to Jordan, taking a leading role in the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood. There he adopted the 40
teachings of Sayyed Qutb, most significantly the inevitable clash of civilizations between
Islam and the non-Islamic world as well as war with all secular states to establish Islamic states.
4 Muhammed Sayyad Qutb: October 9, 1906 (The Library of Congress has his birth year as 1903) August 29, 1966) was an Egyptian intellectual author, and Islamist associated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. He is best known for his theoretical work on redefining the role of Islamic fundamentalism in social and political change, particularly in his books "Social Justice" and Ma'alim fi-l-Tariq (Milestones). His extensive Quranic commentary Fi zilal al-Qur'an (In the shades of the Qur'an) has contributed significantly to modern perceptions of Islamic concepts such as jihad, jahiliyyah, and ummah. He studied two years in United States. after his return Qutb joined the Muslim Brothers, the leading Islamist movement in Egypt, and became one of its influential figures. During his imprisonment for 10 years, he wrote many writings speak about Jihad and the anti-
Muslim secularism especially United States.
5 Pashtun: (also spelled Pushtun, Pakhtun, Pashtoon, Pathan) are a people who live in southeastern Afghanistan and the northwestern province of Pakistan. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan. There is no true written history of the Pashtun in their own land. Pashtun are traditionally pastoral nomads (herders who move frequently to find grazing land) with a strong tribal organization. Each tribe is divided into clans, sub-clans, and patriarchal families.
41
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