War in Afghanistan

1. History of al-Qaeda and
Terrorism against the USA

2. What is al-Qaeda?
• Al Qaeda means “the
Base.” It is a stateless
(meaning without a
country) terrorist
organization.
• It was led and financed
by Osama bin Laden, a
radical Sunni Muslim.
• It is now led by Ayman
al-Zawahiri

4. When did al-Qaeda form?
• The beginnings of al-Qaeda go back to the 1980’s
when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

5. USSR vs. Afghanistan 1979 - 1989

6. Soviets in Afghanistan 1988

7. Bin Laden, and the Arab Afghans, fought
the Soviet Union in Afghanistan
• The Soviet army left in
1988.
• We helped the mujahideen
fight the Soviets

8. Thanks USA

10. Soviets leaving Afghanistan 1989

11. Desert Storm (Gulf War I)
• In 1990, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded
the tiny, oil-rich country of Kuwait

12. Operation Desert Storm
• The United States feared Saddam would
invade Saudi Arabia too.
Iraqi tanks

13. US and Saudi coalition
• The United States asked the Saudis for
permission to establish military bases in their
country.

14. Saudi’s choice
• Osama bin Laden, back home from Afghanistan,
offered the Saudis the use of his soldiers to fight the
Iraqi army because infidel armies have no place in the
holy land of Islam.

15. Saudis chose the USA and snubbed bin Laden

16. 1991--Bin Laden leaves Saudi Arabia
for Sudan

17. Why did bin Laden turn his
attention to attacking the US?
• In November 2002, bin Laden wrote his
"Letter to America” outlining motives:
• 1. Western support for attacking Muslims in
Somalia
• 2. Supporting Russian atrocities against
Muslims in Chechnya
• 3. Supporting the Indian oppression against
Muslims in Kashmir

18. • 4. Supporting the Jewish aggression against
Muslims in Lebanon
• 5. The presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia
due to Iraq invading Kuwait
• 6. U.S. support of Israel
• 7. Economic Sanctions against Iraq

19. According to Bin Laden, he has never said that the
attacks were, are, or will be because of American
freedoms, the rights of our citizens, or even because
of our religious differences.
He has said that the reasons for the attacks of the past
as well as those of the future will be because of the
way the US and its allies treat the Muslim World.
Why did these people want
to attack America?

21. USA in Somalia
• Dec. 4, 1992, George H.W. Bush sends 28,000
American troops to Somalia.
• Bush wanted to help the Somali people since
all attempts to send food to them were
intercepted by war lords.

22. Black Hawk Down!
• In 1993, 18 Americans
died when their Black
Hawk helicopter was
shot down over
Mogadishu, Somalia.

23. al Qaeda?
• The US thinks al Qaeda operatives taught the
Somalians how to shoot down helicopters just
like they did in Afghanistan against the
Soviets.

24. 1993-The 1st
World Trade Center bombing

25. 1993 WTC bombing
It killed 6 people and injured over 1000.

26. May 1996 ---Sudan expels bin Laden and
he returns to Afghanistan

27. Afghanistan
What is this land like?

28. Basics
• Population = 32 million
• Size = Texas
• Language = Afghan Persian
– 70 different languages
• Ethnicity = Mixed
• Pastun 50%
• Associate with Tribes
• Literacy Rate = 36%
• Land = Mountain and Desert
• Landlocked

33. Americans in Helmand Province 2007

34. Afghan History
• Diverse Nation
• Conquered in past by:
–Persians, Romans, Ottomans,
British
• Won Independence from Great
Britain in 1919
• 1978 Civil War

35. Afghan History
• 1979 Soviet Invasion  Beat USSR in 89’ w/
USA aid
• 1989 – 1996 – Civil War  Taliban wins
• Taliban “seekers of knowledge” govt. in power
– Harsh & repressive government
– Radical Muslims
– Drug Trade (Heroin)  Famine
• Extreme Poverty

36. Afghanistan Was Run by the Taliban, A
Violent Local, Afghanistani Group Led By
Mullah Omar

40. Opium – poppy plants

41. Heroin

42. The Taliban Did Not Plan the 9/11
Attacks, But They Let Bin Laden
Operate in Afghanistan and Refused to
Turn Him Over to the US

43. Fatwa
• In August of 1998, Al Qaeda, led by bin Laden
and Ayman Zawahiri declared war on the US.

44. Embassy Bombings: 1998
• Two American embassies in
Kenya and Tanzania were
bombed simultaneously. 220
people were killed.

45. Clinton Responds.
• President Clinton decided to attack al Qaeda in
response.

46. US sends missiles against Qaeda training camps
in Sudan and Afghanistan----to little effect.

47. 2000—Millennium Attacks Foiled!
• Jordanian police halted 4 bombings
• Four al Qaeda terrorists arrested crossing
the Canadian border with nitroglycerin in
their trunk. They set out to bomb LA
International Airport.
• In Yemen, a boat with explosives tried to
bomb a navy ship but sank due to being
overloaded

48. USS Cole Attack Oct. 2000
• In Yemen, al Qaeda
sent a suicide bomber
aboard a small ship
near the USS Cole and
detonated its bomb,
blowing a large hole in
the US Navy ship.
• 17 sailors killed.

49. 9-11-2001

50. • 2819 people were killed
• 343 firefighters and
paramedics were killed
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was the
central planner of 9/11. Most terrorists
(at right) were from Saudi Arabia.

51. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

52. Bush Doctrine
• Us had the right to secure itself against
countries that harbor or give aid to terrorist
groups
• United States should depose foreign
governments that represented a potential threat
to the security of the United States
• Encourage democracy around the world,
especially in the Middle East as a strategy for
combating terrorism

53. Operation Enduring Freedom
• Invaded Afghanistan (Oct. 7, 2001)
• Mission:
–1) Capture Osama bin Laden
–2) Destroy Al-Qaeda network
–3) Remove Taliban Regime

54. NATO
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF)
• “Committed to preserving peace through
international cooperation and collective (joint)
security.”
• 49 countries have sent troops over the years

56. What are the problems?
• Friend or Foe?
• Suicide Bombers
• IED- Improvised Explosive
Devices
• Drug Trade Flourishes
(92% of World’s Heroin)
• Famine
• Never known democracy
• Extreme Islamic Groups
– Taliban
– al-Qaeda
• Mountains and Terrain
• Border crossing
• Untrained Afghani
Troops
• Legitimate Government?
• Civilian Casualties
+3,000 Deaths

57. Successful or Unsuccessful?
• New Democratic Government in Afghanistan
– Unstable however
• Taliban no longer in control
– Yet have re-emerged in SE Afghanistan & now parts
of Pakistan
• Girls now attend school again since our invasion
• Declared a Failed(Fragile) State by U.N.
• 14 year war(2001-Present)
– Obama pulled all but 9800 US troops out by the end
of 2014
– All US troops will be pulled out by the end of 2016

59. Seal Team Six
• Killed Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011

61. Are Iraq/Afghanistan warsAre Iraq/Afghanistan wars
another Vietnam?another Vietnam?
• Long dragged out conflicts with no end in sight.
• Can’t tell whose an friend or foe.
• Not popular at home.
• Not popular with other governments or their
people.
• Not winning the hearts and minds of the people.
• Fighting less technological people with nothing to
lose

63. 18,000-20,000 Afghan Civilians
Killed 2001-Present

65. 2,201 U.S. Military Deaths and 19,964
US W.I.A.