Conflict in Afghanistan ( 1978 – present ) A conflict in Afghanistan began on 27 April 1978 , when the People ' s Democratic Party of Afghanistan ( PDPA ) took power in a military coup , known as the Saur Revolution . Most of Afghanistan subsequently experienced uprisings against the PDPA government . The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979 to replace the existing communist government . Afghanistan ' s resistance forces , known as the mujahideen , fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan . Some factions received support by the United States , with the Pakistani ISI serving as the U . S . middleman , and Saudi Arabia . The Soviet Union had to withdraw its troops in February 1989 . The Soviet - backed Afghan communist regime survived for three more years until the fall of Kabul in 1992 . In 1992 , the Afghan political parties agreed on the Peshawar Accords which established the Islamic State of Afghanistan and appointed an interim government . Militia leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was opposed to the agreement and with Pakistani support started a bombardment campaign against Kabul . Additionally , three militias who had been able to occupy some suburbs of Kabul engaged in a violent war against each other . Regional powers such as Pakistan , Iran , Saudi Arabia , India and Uzbekistan seeking influence over the geostrategically located Afghanistan each supported and in some cases controlled one of those militias . While Kabul and some other major cities witnessed most of the fighting during that period most of the more rural parts of Afghanistan , which had seen especially massive bombardment by the Soviets and Communists , remained relatively calm . In late 1994 / early 1995 as the Islamic State ' s minister of defense Ahmad Shah Massoud had been able to defeat most of the militias militarily in Kabul and had restored some calm to the capital , the Taliban emerged as a new faction threatening Kabul . The Taliban had initially emerged as a new force in the southern city of Kandahar conquering many southern and central provinces not under Islamic State control in the course of 1994 . In early 1995 , as they launched a major operation against the capital Kabul , they suffered a devastating defeat against the Islamic State forces of Massoud in what many analysts saw as the movement ' s end . By 1996 , however , they had regrouped with massive military support by Pakistan and financial support by Saudi Arabia . In September 1996 they took power in Kabul and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan . The United Islamic Front ( Northern Alliance ) was created under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Massoud as a military - political resistance force against the Taliban Emirate which was backed militarily by Pakistan ' s Army and enforced by several thousand Al Qaeda fighters from Arab countries and Central Asia . Following the September 11 attacks inside the United States in 2001 , NATO intervened in Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom . The purpose of this was to defeat Al - Qaeda , remove the Taliban from power and create a viable democratic state . Rise and fall of communism . Prelude . From 1933 to 1973 Afghanistan witnessed a lengthy period of peace and relative stability . It was ruled as a monarchy by King Zahir Shah who belonged to the Afghan Barakzai dynasty . In the 1960s , Afghanistan as a constitutional monarchy held limited parliamentary elections . Zahir Shah , who would become the last king of Afghanistan , was overthrown peacefully by his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan in 1973 after discontent with the monarchy was growing in the urban areas of Afghanistan . The country had witnessed several droughts and charges of corruption and poor economic policies were leveled against the ruling dynasty . Khan transformed the monarchy into a republic with him becoming the first President of Afghanistan . He was supported by a faction of the People ' s Democratic Party of Afghanistan ( PDPA ) , Afghanistan ' s communist party , which had been founded in 1965 and enjoyed strong relations with the Soviet Union . Neamatollah Nojumi writes in " The Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan : Mass Mobilization , Civil War , and the Future of the Region " : By 1976 , alarmed by the growing power of the PDPA and the party ' s strong affiliation with the Soviet Union , Daoud Khan tried to scale back the PDPA ' s influence . He dismissed PDPA members from their government posts , appointed conservative elements instead and finally announced the dissolution of the PDPA arresting senior party members . Communist coup . On April 27 , 1978 , the PDPA and military units loyal to the PDPA , killed Daoud Khan , his immediate family and bodyguards in a violent coup , and seized control of the capital Kabul . As the PDPA had chosen a weekend holiday , when many government employees were having a day off , as the time to conduct the coup , Daoud Khan had not been able to activate fully in time the well - trained armed forces which remained loyal to him to counter the coup . The new PDPA government , led by a revolutionary council , did not enjoy the support of the masses . Therefore it soon announced and implemented a hostile doctrine against any political dissent , whether inside or outside the party . The first communist leader in Afghanistan , Nur Muhammad Taraki , was assassinated by his fellow communist Hafizullah Amin . Amin was known for his independent and nationalist inclinations , and was also seen by many as a ruthless leader . He has been accused of killing tens of thousands of Afghan civilians at Pul - e - Charkhi and other national prisons . 27 , 000 politically motivated executions reportedly took place at Pul - e - Charkhi prison alone . Soviet intervention and withdrawal . The Soviet Union intervened in Afghanistan on December 24 , 1979 . Amin was almost immediately deposed from power after he and 200 of his guards were killed ] ] by Soviet Army Spetsnaz . After deployment into Afghanistan , Soviet forces along with government forces would begin to engage in a protracted counter - insurgency war with Mujaheddin fighters . [ [ File : Evstafiev - spetsnaz - prepare - for - mission . jpg | thumb | 250px | A [ [ Soviet Army | Soviet [ [ Spetsnaz ] ] group prepares for a mission in 1988 ] ] The [ [ Government of the Soviet Union | Soviet government ] ] realized that a military solution to the conflict would require far more troops . Because of this they discussed troop withdrawals and searched for a political and peaceful solution as early as 1980 , but they never took any serious steps in that direction until 1988 . Early Soviet military reports confirm the difficulties the Soviet army had while fighting on the mountainous terrain , for which the Soviet army had no training whatsoever . Parallels with the [ [ Vietnam War ] ] were frequently referred to by Soviet army officers . Policy failures , and the stalemate that ensued after the Soviet intervention , led the Soviet leadership to become highly critical of Karmal ' s leadership . Under [ [ Mikhail Gorbachev ] ] , the Soviet Union was able to depose Karmal and replace him with [ [ Mohammad Najibullah ] ] . Karmal ' s leadership was seen as a failure by the Soviet Union because of the rise of violence and crime during his administration . Throughout the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan , troop convoys came under attack by Afghan rebel fighters . In all , 523 Soviet soldiers were killed during the withdrawal . The total withdrawal of all Soviet troops from Afghanistan was completed in February 1989 . The last Soviet soldier to leave was [ [ Lieutenant General ] ] [ [ Boris Gromov ] ] , leader of the Soviet military operations in Afghanistan at the time of the Soviet invasion . In total 14 , 453 Soviet soldiers died during the Afghan war . The Soviet war had a damaging impact on Afghanistan . Estimates of the Afghan deaths vary from 670 , 000 to 2 million . 5 – 10 million Afghans fled to Pakistan and Iran , 1 / 3 of the prewar population of the country , and another 2 million were displaced within the country . Fall of communism . After the Soviet withdrawal , the Republic of Afghanistan under Najibullah continued to face resistance from the various mujahideen forces . Najibullah received funding and arms from the Soviet Union until 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed . For several years the [ [ Afghan army ] ] had actually increased their effectiveness past levels ever achieved during the Soviet military presence . But the government was dealt a major blow when [ [ Abdul Rashid Dostum ] ] , a leading general , created an alliance with the [ [ Shura - e Nazar ] ] of [ [ Ahmad Shah Massoud ] ] . Large parts of the Afghan communist regime capitulated to the forces of Massoud in early 1992 . After the Soviet defeat the Wall Street Journal named Massoud " the Afghan who won the Cold War " . He had defeated the Soviet forces nine times in his home region of the [ [ Panjshir Valley ] ] in northeastern Afghanistan . Pakistan tried to install [ [ Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ] ] in power in Afghanistan against the opposition of all other mujahideen commanders and factions . As early as October 1990 , the [ [ Inter - Services Intelligence ] ] had devised a plan for Hekmatyar to conduct a mass bombardment of the Afghan capital Kabul with possible Pakistani troop enforcements . This unilateral ISI - Hekmatyar plan came although the thirty most important mujahideen commanders had agreed on holding a conference inclusive of all Afghan groups to decide on a common future strategy . [ [ Peter Tomsen ] ] reports that the protest by the other mujahideen commanders was like a " firestorm " . [ [ Ahmad Zia Massoud ] ] , the brother of Ahmad Shah Massoud , said that his faction strongly opposed the plan and like other factions would take measures if any " Pakistani troops reinforced Hekmatyar " . [ [ Abdul Haq ( Afghan leader ) | Abdul Haq ] ] was reportedly so angry about the ISI plan that he was " red in the face " . And Nabi Mohammad , another commander , pointed out that " Kabul ' s 2 million could not escape Hekmatyar ' s rocket bombardment – there would be a massacre . " Massoud ' s , Abdul Haq ' s and Amin Wardak ' s representatives said that " Hekmatyar ' s rocketing of Kabul . . . would produce a civilian bloodbath . " The United States finally put pressure on Pakistan to stop the 1990 plan , which was subsequently called off until 1992 . Islamic State and foreign interference . [ [ File : Hezbi Islami . svg | 250px | thumb | right | Flag of Hezb - e Islami . All of the Afghan political parties were unified under the [ [ Islamic State of Afghanistan ] ] in April 1992 except for Hezb - e Islami led by [ [ Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ] ] . Hezb - e Islami supported by Pakistan started a massive bombardment campaign against the Islamic State . ] ] After the fall of Najibullah ' s regime in 1992 , the Afghan political parties agreed on a power - sharing agreement , the [ [ Peshawar Accord ] ] . The Peshawar Accord created the [ [ Islamic State of Afghanistan ] ] and appointed an [ [ interim government ] ] for a transitional period to be followed by general democratic elections . According to Human Rights Watch : Gulbuddin Hekmatyar received operational , financial and military support from Pakistan . Afghanistan expert [ [ Amin Saikal ] ] concludes in " Modern Afghanistan : A History of Struggle and Survival " : In addition , Saudi Arabia and Iran - as competitors for regional hegemony - supported Afghan militias hostile towards each other . According to Human Rights Watch , Iran was assisting the Shia [ [ Hazara people | Hazara ] ] [ [ Hezb - i Wahdat ] ] forces of [ [ Abdul Ali Mazari ] ] , as Iran was attempting to maximize Wahdat ' s military power and influence . Saudi Arabia supported the [ [ Wahhabite ] ] [ [ Abdul Rasul Sayyaf ] ] and his [ [ Ittihad - i Islami ] ] faction . Conflict between the two militias soon escalated into a full - scale war . A publication by the George Washington University describes the situation : Due to the sudden initiation of the war , working government departments , police units or a system of justice and accountability for the newly created Islamic State of Afghanistan did not have time to form . Atrocities were committed by individuals of the different armed factions while Kabul descended into lawlessness and chaos as described in reports by Human Rights Watch and the Afghanistan Justice Project . Because of the chaos , some leaders increasingly had only nominal control over their ( sub - ) commanders . For civilians there was little security from murder , rape and extortion . An estimated 25 , 000 people died during the most intense period of bombardment by Hekmatyar ' s Hezb - i Islami and the [ [ Junbish - i Milli ] ] forces of [ [ Abdul Rashid Dostum ] ] , who had created an alliance with Hekmatyar in 1994 . Half a million people fled Afghanistan . Human Rights Watch writes : Southern Afghanistan was under the control of neither foreign - backed militias nor the government in Kabul , but was ruled by local leaders such as [ [ Gul Agha Sherzai ] ] and their militias . In 1994 , the [ [ Taliban ] ] ( a movement originating from [ [ Jamiat Ulema - e - Islam ] ] - run religious schools for Afghan refugees in Pakistan ) also developed in Afghanistan as a politico - religious force , reportedly in opposition to the [ [ tyranny ] ] of the local governor . [ [ Mohammed Omar | Mullah Omar ] ] started his movement with fewer than 50 armed [ [ madrassah ] ] students in his hometown of Kandahar . When the Taliban took control of the city in 1994 , they forced the surrender of dozens of local Pashtun leaders who had presided over a situation of complete lawlessness and atrocities . In 1994 , the Taliban took power in several provinces in southern and central Afghanistan . [ [ File : Kabul during civial war of fundamentalists 1993 . jpg | thumb | 250px | A totally destroyed section of Kabul in 1993 . ] ] In late 1994 , most of the militia factions ( Hezb - i Islami , Junbish - i Milli and Hezb - i Wahdat ) which had been fighting in the battle for control of Kabul were defeated militarily by forces of the Islamic State ' s [ [ Secretary of Defense ] ] [ [ Ahmad Shah Massoud ] ] . Bombardment of the capital came to a halt . Massoud tried to initiate a nationwide [ [ political process ] ] with the goal of national [ [ Democratic consolidation | consolidation ] ] and [ [ democratic ] ] elections , also inviting the [ [ Taliban ] ] to join the process . Massoud had united political and cultural personalities , governors , commanders , clergymen and representatives to reach a lasting agreement . Massoud , like most people in Afghanistan , saw this conference as a small hope for democracy and for free elections . His favourite for candidacy to the presidency was Dr . [ [ Mohammad Yusuf ( prime minister ) | Mohammad Yusuf ] ] , the first democratic prime minister under [ [ Zahir Shah ] ] , the former king . In the first meeting representatives from 15 different Afghan provinces met , in the second meeting there were already 25 provinces participating . Massoud went unarmed to talk to several Taliban leaders in Maidan Shar , but the Taliban declined to join this political process . When Massoud returned safely , the Taliban leader who had received him as his guest paid with his life : he was killed by other senior Taliban for failing to execute Massoud while the possibility was there . The Taliban started shelling Kabul in early 1995 but were defeated by forces of the Islamic State government under [ [ Ahmad Shah Massoud ] ] . Amnesty International , referring to the Taliban offensive , wrote in a 1995 report : The Taliban ' s early victories in 1994 were followed by a series of defeats that resulted in heavy losses . Pakistan provided strong support to the Taliban . Many analysts like [ [ Amin Saikal ] ] describe the Taliban as developing into a [ [ Proxy war | proxy ] ] force for Pakistan ' s regional interests which the Taliban decline . On September 26 , 1996 , as the Taliban , with military support by Pakistan and financial support by Saudi Arabia , prepared for another major offensive , Massoud ordered a full retreat from Kabul . The Taliban seized Kabul on September 27 , 1996 , and established the [ [ Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ] ] . Taliban Emirate against United Front . Taliban rise to power . [ [ File : 1996afghan ( 1 ) . png | thumb | 250px | Map of the situation in Afghanistan in 1996 : Ahmad Shah Massoud ( red ) , Abdul Rashid Dostum ( green ) and Taliban ( yellow ) territories ] ] The Taliban imposed on the parts of Afghanistan under their control their interpretation of Islam . The Physicians for Human Rights ( PHR ) stated that : Women were required to wear the all - covering " burka " , they were banned from public life and denied access to health care and education , windows needed to be covered so that women could not be seen from the outside , and they were not allowed to laugh in a manner that could be heard by others . The Taliban , without any real court or hearing , cut people ' s hands or arms off when they were accused of stealing . Taliban hit - squads watched the streets , conducting arbitrary brutal public beatings . The Taliban began preparing offensives against the remaining areas controlled by [ [ Ahmad Shah Massoud ] ] and [ [ Abdul Rashid Dostum ] ] . Massoud and Dostum , former foes , responded by allying to form the [ [ United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan | United Front ] ] ( Northern Alliance ) against the Taliban . In addition to the dominantly Tajik forces of Massoud and the Uzbek forces of Dostum , the United Front included [ [ Hazara people | Hazara ] ] factions and Pashtun forces under the leadership of commanders such as [ [ Abdul Haq ( Afghan leader ) | Abdul Haq ] ] or [ [ Haji Abdul Qadir ] ] . Prominent politicians of the United Front were in example diplomat and Afghan prime minister [ [ Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai ] ] or the UF ' s foreign minister [ [ Abdullah Abdullah ] ] . From the Taliban conquest in 1996 until November 2001 the United Front controlled roughly 30 % of Afghanistan ' s population in provinces such as Badakhshan , Kapisa , Takhar and parts of Parwan , Kunar , Nuristan , Laghman , Samangan , Kunduz , [ [ Ghōr Province | Ghōr ] ] and Bamyan . [ [ File : Taliban - Torkham - 2001 . jpg | thumb | right | 250px | Taliban border guard ] ] According to a 55 - page report by the United Nations , the Taliban , while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan , committed systematic massacres against civilians . UN officials stated that there had been " 15 massacres " between 1996 and 2001 . They also said , that " [ t ] hese have been highly systematic and they all lead back to the [ Taliban ] Ministry of Defense or to [ [ Mohammed Omar | Mullah Omar ] ] himself . " In a major effort to retake the Shomali plains , the Taliban indiscriminately killed civilians , while uprooting and expelling the population . Kamal Hossein , a special reporter for the UN , reported on these and other [ [ war crimes ] ] . Upon taking Mazar - i - Sharif in 1998 , about 4 , 000 civilians were executed by the Taliban and many more reported tortured . The Taliban especially targeted people of Shia religious or Hazara ethnic background . Among those killed in Mazari Sharif [ [ 1998 Iranian diplomats assassination in Afghanistan | were several Iranian diplomats ] ] . Others were kidnapped by the Taliban , touching off a hostage crisis that nearly escalated to a full - scale war , with 150 , 000 Iranian soldiers massed on the Afghan border at one time . It was later admitted that the diplomats were killed by the Taliban , and their bodies were returned to Iran . The documents also reveal the role of Arab and Pakistani support troops in these killings . Bin Laden ' s so - called [ [ 055 Brigade ] ] was responsible for mass - killings of Afghan civilians . < ref name = " Ahmed Rashid / The Telegraph " > < / ref > The report by the United Nations quotes eyewitnesses in many villages describing Arab fighters carrying long knives used for slitting throats and skinning people . Role of the Pakistani military . The Taliban were largely founded by Pakistan ' s [ [ Inter - Services Intelligence ] ] ( ISI ) in 1994 . The ISI used the Taliban to establish a regime in Afghanistan which would be favorable to Pakistan , as they were trying to gain [ [ strategic depth ] ] . Since the creation of the Taliban , the ISI and the Pakistani military have given financial , logistical and military support . According to Pakistani Afghanistan expert [ [ Ahmed Rashid ] ] , " between 1994 and 1999 , an estimated 80 , 000 to 100 , 000 Pakistanis trained and fought in Afghanistan " on the side of the Taliban . [ [ Peter Tomsen ] ] stated that up until 9 / 11 Pakistani military and ISI officers along with thousands of regular Pakistani armed forces personnel had been involved in the fighting in Afghanistan . In 2001 alone , according to several international sources , 28 , 000 - 30 , 000 Pakistani nationals , 14 , 000 - 15 , 000 Afghan Taliban and 2 , 000 - 3 , 000 Al Qaeda militants were fighting against anti - Taliban forces in Afghanistan as a roughly 45 , 000 strong military force . Pakistani President [ [ Pervez Musharraf ] ] – then as Chief of Army Staff – was responsible for sending thousands of Pakistanis to fight alongside the Taliban and Bin Laden against the forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud . Of the estimated 28 , 000 Pakistani nationals fighting in Afghanistan , 8 , 000 were militants recruited in [ [ madrassa ] ] s filling regular Taliban ranks . A 1998 document by the U . S . State Department confirms that " 20 – 40 percent of [ regular ] Taliban soldiers are Pakistani . " The document further states that the parents of those Pakistani nationals " know nothing regarding their child ' s military involvement with the Taliban until their bodies are brought back to Pakistan . " According to the U . S . State Department report and reports by Human Rights Watch , the other Pakistani nationals fighting in Afghanistan were regular Pakistani soldiers especially from the [ [ Frontier Corps ] ] but also from the army providing direct combat support . [ [ File : Pervez Musharraf - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2008 number3 . jpg | thumb | 250px | Former Pakistani President [ [ Pervez Musharraf ] ] sent more troops against the United Front of [ [ Ahmad Shah Massoud ] ] than the Afghan Taliban ] ] Human Rights Watch wrote in 2000 : On August 1 , 1997 the Taliban launched an attack on Sheberghan the main military base of Abdul Rashid Dostum . Dostum has said the reason the attack was successful was due to 1500 Pakistani commandos taking part and that the Pakistani air force also gave support . In 1998 , Iran accused Pakistan of sending its air force to bomb [ [ Mazar - i - Sharif ] ] in support of Taliban forces and directly accused Pakistani troops for " war crimes at [ [ Bamiyan ] ] " . In 2000 , the UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo against military support to the Taliban , with UN officials explicitly singling out Pakistan . The UN secretary - general implicitly criticized Pakistan for its military support and the Security Council stated it was " deeply distress [ ed ] over reports of involvement in the fighting , on the Taliban side , of thousands of non - Afghan nationals . " In July 2001 , several countries including the United States , accused Pakistan of being " in violation of U . N . sanctions because of its military aid to the Taliban . " The Taliban also obtained financial resources from Pakistan . In 1997 alone , after the capture of [ [ Battle of Kabul ( 1992 – 1996 ) | Kabul ] ] by the Taliban , Pakistan gave $ 30 million in aid and a further $ 10 million for government wages . In 2000 , [ [ Secret Intelligence Service | British Intelligence ] ] reported that the ISI was taking an active role in several Al Qaeda training camps . The ISI helped with the construction of training camps for both the Taliban and [ [ Al Qaeda ] ] . From 1996 to 2001 the [ [ Al Qaeda ] ] of [ [ Osama Bin Laden ] ] and [ [ Ayman al - Zawahiri ] ] became a state within the Taliban state . Bin Laden sent Arab and Central Asian Al - Qaeda militants to join the fight against the United Front , among them his [ [ 055 Brigade | Brigade 055 ] ] . Anti - Taliban resistance . [ [ File : Ahmad Zia Massoud 1 . jpg | thumb | right | 250px | [ [ Ahmad Zia Massoud ] ] ( left ) , the brother of anti - Taliban leader Ahmad Shah Massoud ] ] [ [ Abdul Rashid Dostum ] ] and his forces were defeated by the Taliban in 1998 . Dostum subsequently went into exile . The only leader to remain in Afghanistan , and who was able to defend vast parts of his area against the Taliban , was [ [ Ahmad Shah Massoud ] ] . In the areas under his control [ [ Ahmad Shah Massoud ] ] set up democratic institutions and signed the [ [ Women ' s Rights ] ] Declaration . In the area of Massoud , women and girls did not have to wear the Afghan burqa . They were allowed to work and to go to school . In at least two known instances , Massoud personally intervened against cases of forced marriage . To Massoud there was reportedly nothing worse than treating a person like an object . He stated : Author Pepe Escobar wrote in " Massoud : From Warrior to Statesman " : While it was Massoud ' s stated conviction that men and women are equal and should enjoy the same rights , he also had to deal with Afghan traditions which he said would need a generation or more to overcome . In his opinion that could only be achieved through education . Humayun Tandar , who took part as an Afghan diplomat in the 2001 [ [ International Conference on Afghanistan ] ] in Bonn , said that " strictures of language , ethnicity , region were [ also ] stifling for Massoud . That is why . . . he wanted to create a unity which could surpass the situation in which we found ourselves and still find ourselves to this day . " This applied also to strictures of religion . Jean - José Puig describes how Massoud often led prayers before a meal or at times asked his fellow Muslims to lead the prayer but also did not hesitate to ask a Christian friend Jean - José Puig or the Jewish Princeton Professor Michael Barry : " Jean - José , we believe in the same God . Please , tell us the prayer before lunch or dinner in your own language . " Human Rights Watch cites no human rights crimes for the forces under direct control of Massoud for the period from October 1996 until the assassination of Massoud in September 2001 . One million people fled the Taliban , many to the area of Massoud . [ [ National Geographic Magazine | National Geographic ] ] concluded in its documentary " " Inside the Taliban " " : The Taliban repeatedly offered Massoud a position of power to make him stop his resistance . Massoud declined . He explained in one interview : And in another : Massoud with his Proposals for Peace wanted to convince the Taliban to join a political process leading towards nationwide democratic elections in a foreseeable future . Massoud also stated : In early 2001 Massoud employed a new strategy of local military pressure and global political appeals . Resentment was increasingly gathering against Taliban rule from the bottom of Afghan society including the Pashtun areas . Massoud publicized their cause of " popular consensus , general elections and democracy " worldwide . At the same time he was very wary not to revive the failed Kabul government of the early 1990s . In 1999 , he began training police forces specifically to keep order and protect the civilian population , in case the United Front was successful . In early 2001 Ahmad Shah Massoud addressed the European Parliament in Brussels asking the international community to provide humanitarian help to the people of Afghanistan . ( see video ) He stated that the Taliban and [ [ Al Qaeda ] ] had introduced " a very wrong perception of Islam " and that without the support of Pakistan and Bin Laden the Taliban would not be able to sustain their military campaign for up to a year . On this visit to Europe he also warned that his intelligence had gathered information about a large - scale attack on U . S . soil being imminent . The president of the European Parliament , [ [ Nicole Fontaine ] ] , called him the " pole of liberty in Afghanistan " . On September 9 , 2001 , Massoud , then aged 48 , was the target of a [ [ suicide attack ] ] by two Arabs posing as journalists at Khwaja Bahauddin , in the Takhar Province of Afghanistan . Massoud died in a helicopter taking him to a hospital . The funeral , though in a rather rural area , was attended by hundreds of thousands of mourning people . The assassination was not the first time Al - Qaeda , the Taliban , the Pakistani [ [ Inter - Services Intelligence | ISI ] ] , and before them the Soviet [ [ KGB ] ] , the Afghan Communist [ [ KHAD ] ] and [ [ Hekmatyar ] ] had tried to assassinate Massoud . He survived countless assassination attempts over a period of 26 years . The first attempt on Massoud ' s life was carried out by Hekmatyar and two Pakistani ISI agents in 1975 , when Massoud was only 22 years old . In early 2001 , Al - Qaeda would - be assassins were captured by Massoud ' s forces while trying to enter his territory . The assassination of Massoud is considered to have a strong connection to the [ [ September 11 , 2001 attacks ] ] on U . S . soil , which killed nearly 3000 people , and which appeared to be the terrorist attack that Massoud had warned against in his speech to the European Parliament several months earlier . [ [ John P . O ' Neill ] ] was a counter - terrorism expert and the Assistant Director of the FBI until late 2001 . He retired from the FBI and was offered the position of director of security at the World Trade Center ( WTC ) . He took the job at the WTC two weeks before 9 / 11 . On September 10 , 2001 , O ’ Neill told two of his friends , " We ' re due . And we ' re due for something big . . . Some things have happened in Afghanistan . [ referring to the assassination of Massoud ] I don ’ t like the way things are lining up in Afghanistan . . . I sense a shift , and I think things are going to happen . . . soon . " O ' Neill died on September 11 , 2001 , when the [ [ South Tower ] ] collapsed . After the [ [ 9 / 11 attacks | terrorist attacks ] ] of September 11 , 2001 , Massoud ' s United Front troops , with American air support , ousted the Taliban from power in Kabul in [ [ Operation Enduring Freedom ] ] . In November and December 2001 the United Front gained control of much of the country and played a crucial role in establishing the post - Taliban interim government of Hamid Karzai in late 2001 . Islamic Republic and NATO . [ [ File : GW Bush and Hamid Karzai in Kabul 2006 - 03 - 01 . jpg | thumb | right | 250px | U . S . President [ [ George W . Bush ] ] and [ [ Hamid Karzai ] ] at the Presidential Palace in Kabul , Afghanistan . ] ] The [ [ War in Afghanistan ( 2001 – present ) | US - led war in Afghanistan ] ] began on October 7 , 2001 , as [ [ Operation Enduring Freedom ] ] . It was designed to capture or kill [ [ Osama bin Laden ] ] and [ [ al - Qaeda ] ] militants as well as replace the Taliban with a US - friendly government . The [ [ Bush Doctrine ] ] stated that , [ [ Foreign policy of the George W . Bush administration | as policy ] ] , it would not distinguish between al - Qaeda and nations that harbor them . Several Afghan leaders were invited to Germany in December 2001 for the UN sponsored [ [ Bonn Agreement ( Afghanistan ) | Bonn Agreement ] ] , which was to restore stability and governance in their country . In the first step , the [ [ Afghan Transitional Administration ] ] was formed and was installed on December 22 , 2001 . Chaired by [ [ Hamid Karzai ] ] , it numbered 30 leaders and included a [ [ Supreme Court of Afghanistan | Supreme Court ] ] , an Interim Administration , and a Special Independent Commission . [ [ File : Afghan soldiers . jpg | thumb | 250px | Soldiers of the [ [ Afghan National Army ] ] , including the [ [ ANA Commando Brigade ] ] standing in the front . ] ] A [ [ loya jirga ] ] ( grand assembly ) was convened in June 2002 by former King [ [ Zahir Shah ] ] , who returned from exile after 29 years . Hamid Karzai was elected President for the two years in the jirga , in which the Afghan Interim Authority was also replaced with the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan ( TISA ) . A constitutional loya jirga was held in December 2003 , adopting the new [ [ Constitution of Afghanistan | 2004 constitution ] ] , with a presidential form of government and a bicameral legislature . Karzai was elected in the [ [ Afghan presidential election , 2004 | 2004 presidential election ] ] followed by winning a second term in the [ [ Afghan presidential election , 2009 | 2009 presidential election ] ] . Both the [ [ Afghan parliamentary election , 2005 | 2005 ] ] and the [ [ Afghan parliamentary election , 2010 | 2010 parliamentary election ] ] s were also successful . In the meantime , the reconstruction process of Afghanistan began in 2002 . There are more than 14 , 000 reconstruction projects under way in Afghanistan , such as the [ [ Kajaki Dam | Kajaki ] ] and the [ [ Salma Dam ] ] . Many of these projects are being supervised by the [ [ Provincial Reconstruction Team ] ] s . The World Bank contribution is the multilateral Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund ( ARTF ) , which was set up in 2002 . It is financed by 24 international donor countries and has spent more than $ 1 . 37 billion as of 2007 . Approximately 30 billion dollars have been provided by the international community for the reconstruction of Afghanistan , most of it from the United States . In 2002 , the world community allocated $ 4 billion at the Tokyo conference followed by another $ 4 billion in 2004 . In February 2006 , $ 10 . 5 billion were committed for Afghanistan at the [ [ International Conference on Afghanistan ( 2006 ) | London Conference ] ] and $ 11 billion from the United States in early 2007 . The UN Security Council established the [ [ International Security Assistance Force ] ] ( ISAF ) in December 2001 to provide basic security for the people of Afghanistan and assist the [ [ Karzai administration ] ] . Since 2002 , the total number of ISAF and U . S . forces have climbed from 15 , 000 to 150 , 000 . The majority of them belong to various branches of the [ [ United States armed forces ] ] , who are not only fighting the [ [ Taliban insurgency ] ] but also training the [ [ military of Afghanistan ] ] and the [ [ Afghan National Police ] ] . They are scheduled to withraw slowly until the end of 2014 but Joe Biden has proposed to retain an unknown number of U . S . [ [ military personnel ] ] s after the 2014 deadline if the security situation required and the Afghan government and people desired . Germany has announced that they will continue training Afghan police recruits after the 2014 withdrawal date for military troops . [ [ File : US Navy 100628 - N - 0475R - 287 Seabees , Marines , Soldiers and members of the Afghan National Army take a tour of an area surrounding a newly completed Mabey - Johnson Bridge project . jpg | right | thumb | 250px | U . S . and Afghan troops prepare for a mission in 2010 . ] ] In recent years , NATO and [ [ Afghan National Army | Afghan troops ] ] have led many offensives against the Taliban , but proved unable to completely dislodge their presence . By 2009 , a Taliban - led shadow government began to form complete with their own version of mediation court . In 2010 , U . S . President [ [ Barack Obama ] ] deployed an additional 30 , 000 soldiers over a period of six months and proposed that he will begin troop withdrawals by 2012 . At the [ [ International Conference on Afghanistan ( 2010 ) | 2010 International Conference on Afghanistan ] ] in London , Afghan President [ [ Hamid Karzai ] ] said he intends to reach out to the Taliban leadership ( including [ [ Mohammed Omar | Mullah Omar ] ] , [ [ Sirajuddin Haqqani ] ] and [ [ Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ] ] ) . Supported by senior U . S . officials Karzai called on the group ' s leadership to take part in a [ [ loya jirga ] ] meeting to initiate peace talks . According to the Wall Street Journal , these steps have been reciprocated so far with an intensification of bombings , assassinations and ambushes . Many Afghan groups ( including the former intelligence chief [ [ Amrullah Saleh ] ] and opposition leader Dr . [ [ Abdullah Abdullah ] ] ) believe that Karzai ' s plan aims to appease the insurgents ' senior leadership at the cost of the democratic constitution , the democratic process and progess in the field of human rights , especially women ' s rights . Dr . Abdullah stated : According to a report by the United Nations , the Taliban were responsible for 76 % of civilian casualties in 2009 . Afghanistan is currently struggling to rebuild itself while dealing with the results of 30 years of war , corruption among high level politicians and the ongoing [ [ Taliban insurgency ] ] which according to different scientific institutes such as the London School of Economics , senior international officials such as former United States Joint Chief of Staff [ [ Mike Mullen ] ] and some Taliban commanders is backed by Pakistan ' s intelligence service . At the end of July 2010 , the Netherlands became the first NATO country to end its combat mission in Afghanistan after 4 years deployed . They withdrew 1 , 900 troops . The Atlantic Council described the decision as " politically significant because it comes at a time of rising casualties and growing doubts about the war . " Canada withdrew troops in 2011 , but about 900 were left to train Afghani soldiers . In February 2012 , a small number of American servicemembers [ [ 2012 Afghanistan Quran burning protests | burned several copies ] ] of the Quran . Some Afghans responded with massive demonstrations and riots in Kabul and other areas . Assailants killed several American military personnel , including two officers in the Interior Ministry building . On March 11 , 2012 , an American soldier killed 16 civilians in the [ [ Kandahar massacre ] ] . According to [ [ ISAF ] ] there were about 120 000 Nato led troops in Afghanistan per December 2012 , of which 66 000 were US troops and 9 000 British . The rest were from 48 different countries . A process of handing over power to local forces has started and according to plans a majority of international troops will leave in 2014 . External links . [ [ Category : Afghan Civil War | * ] ] [ [ Category : Communism - based civil wars ] ] [ [ Category : Cold War military history of the Soviet Union ] ] [ [ Category : Cold War rebellions ] ] [ [ Category : Warlordism ] ] [ [ Category : Wars involving the Taliban ] ] [ [ Category : Revolution - based civil wars ] ] [ [ Category : Religion - based civil wars ] ]