Afghanistan Terrorism: Drugs Lord Role against U.S. Troops and Population

Afghanistan Terrorism: Drugs Lord Role against U.S. Troops and Population

Introduction

On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists launched coordinated attacks against the U.S. that killed nearly 3,000 people, damaged the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and destroyed New York City's iconic World Trade Center. U.S. officials blamed the deadly strikes on Al Qaeda, a network of Islamic extremists partially based in the Asian country of Afghanistan. In response to the attacks, President Bush (R) demanded that Afghanistan hand over reputed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other prominent terrorists to U.S. authorities. Insurgent forces in Afghanistan belong to several factions, who differ geographically and ideologically (Kaiser, 2010). At that time, Afghanistan was governed by the Taliban, a fundamentalist regime with natural sympathies toward Al Qaeda. The goal of the U.S.-led attack, dubbed Operation Enduring Freedom, was to drive the Taliban from power and eliminate Al Qaeda's core leadership (Mills, 2007). Currently, the Taliban group (being dominated by Drug Lords) has estimated 20,000-30,000 fighters, according to a 2010 report released by the Century Foundation (Kaiser, 2010).

Background Discussion: U.S. Anti-Terrorism Policy and Afghanistan Situation

By the end of 2001, the U.S. and its coalition of allies had effectively ousted the Taliban and replaced it with a more democratic, pro-U.S. Afghan government (The Nexus, 2011). Coalition forces also succeeded in capturing or killing many alleged terrorist leaders, but bin Laden evaded capture and remains at liberty. Defense analysts suggest that it is essential to control the hold over Drug Lords as they are providing the major financing support for insurgent activities for terrorism in the Afghanistan. Media sources typically report the Taliban resistance within the borders of Afghanistan; proceeded by the training in Pakistan (Tripathi, 2010). However, little has been reported in respect to drug lord territory and border control as well as drug contribution to terrorist acts against the population and US troops (Bird & Marshall, 2011).

Despite bin Laden's escape, the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan initially enjoyed strong public support. For example, a November 2001 Gallup poll found that nearly 90% of respondents agreed with the decision to send U.S. troops to that country. Many observers agreed that the Taliban had been an oppressive, pro-terrorist entity, and argued that the U.S. had acted correctly in overthrowing its regime (Diplomat Recorder, 2008). Therefore, U.S. policy in Afghanistan was fairly popular during the 2001 conflict and its immediate aftermath. Despite the apparent successes of the new Afghan government, Taliban resistance continued by Drug Lords, particularly in the country's volatile southern provinces. Many analysts concluded that key Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders had taken shelter in Pakistan (Afghanistan's neighbor to the south and east) and were encouraging an organized insurgency against Karzai's administration. Fighting in Afghanistan grew particularly intense during 2006 (Tripathi, 2011). According to varying reports, somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 people were killed in the conflict, including about 1000 Afghan civilians. Concern also mounted in 2006 over the number of suicide bombings in Afghanistan, which increased fivefold over the previous year, to ...