Instructions

Name: ____________________________________________________ Due: WED. 28 MAY 2014

Homework: MIDDLE EAST: Afghanistan Global History 2

INSTRUCTIONS: read the following article … then answer the questions which follow

AFGHANISTAN

... Tonight you will read about a country I know all too well. It was a little over 10 years ago that I was "back" in Tampa (FL) after having been deployed to Uzbekistan .. located north of Afghanistan. While deployed I edited a 20 page classified intelligence report each day for five (5) straight months. There weren't any days off. Then again .. there wasn't a lot to do when you were off, as we were confined to the Base because of the security situation of the area. TV … didn’t exist … except for some specially piped in events like the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City .. and even then ... It was pretty much the radio … Internet access … Unclassified … like you’re use to .. was limited.

Afghanistan's ethnically and linguistically mixed population reflects its location astride historic trade and invasion routes leading from Central Asia into South and Southwest Asia. While population data is somewhat unreliable for Afghanistan, Pashtuns make up the largest ethnic group at 38-44% of the population, followed by Tajiks (25%), Hazaras (10%), Uzbek (6-8%), Aimaq, Turkmen, Baluch, and other small groups. Dari (Afghan Farsi) and Pashto are official languages. Dari is spoken by more than one-third of the population as a first language and serves as a lingua franca for most Afghans, though Pashto is spoken throughout the Pashtun areas of eastern and southern Afghanistan. Tajik and Turkic languages are spoken widely in the north. Smaller groups throughout the country also speak more than 70 other languages and numerous dialects.

Afghanistan is an Islamic country. An estimated 80% of the population is Sunni, following the Hanafi school of jurisprudence; the remainder of the population--and primarily the Hazara ethnic group-- predominantly Shi'a. Despite attempts during the years of communist rule to secularize Afghan society, Islamic practices pervade all aspects of life. In fact, Islam served as a principal basis for expressing opposition to communism and the Soviet invasion. Islamic religious tradition and codes, together with traditional tribal and ethnic practices, have an important role in personal conduct and

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dispute settlement. Afghan society is largely based on kinship groups, which follow traditional customs and religious practices, though somewhat less so in urban areas.

Excavation of prehistoric sites suggests that early humans lived in northern Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago and that farming communities in Afghanistan were among the earliest in the world. By the middle of the 6th century BCE the Persian Empire controlled the region of Aryana. About 330 BC, Alexander the Great made his way to the eastern limits of Afghanistan and beyond. After his death in 323 BC several kingdoms fought for control of his Asian empire. In the 7th century AD Arab armies carried the new religion of Islam to Afghanistan. The western provinces of Herât and Sistan came under Arab rule, but the people of these provinces revolted and returned to their old beliefs as soon as the Arab armies passed. In the 10th century Muslim rulers called Samanids, from Bukhoro in what is now Uzbekistan, extended their influence into the Afghan area. A Samanid established a dynasty in Ghaznî called the Ghaznavids. The greatest Ghaznavid king, Mahmud, who ruled from 998 to 1030, established Islam throughout the area of Afghanistan. He led many military expeditions into India. Ghaznî became a center of literature and the arts.

During the 19th century, collision between the expanding British Empire in the subcontinent and czarist Russia significantly influenced Afghanistan in what was termed "The Great Game." British concern over Russian advances in Central Asia and growing influence in Persia culminated in two Anglo-Afghan wars. The first (1839-42) resulted not only in the destruction of a British army, but is remembered today as an example of the ferocity of Afghan resistance to foreign rule. The second Anglo-Afghan war (1878-80) was sparked by Amir Sher Ali's refusal to accept a British mission in Kabul. This conflict brought Amir Abdur Rahman to the Afghan throne. During his reign (1880-1901), the British and Russians officially established the boundaries of what would become modern Afghanistan through the demarcation of the Durand Line. The British retained effective control over Kabul's foreign affairs.

Afghanistan remained neutral during World War I, despite German encouragement of anti-British feelings and Afghan rebellion along the borders of British India. The Afghan king's policy of neutrality was not universally popular within the country, however.

Habibullah, Abdur Rahman's son and successor, was assassinated in 1919, possibly by family members opposed to British influence. His third son, Amanullah, regained control of Afghanistan's foreign policy after launching the third Anglo-Afghan war with an attack on India in the same year. During the ensuing conflict, the war-weary British relinquished their control over Afghan foreign affairs by signing the Treaty of Rawalpindi in August 1919. In commemoration of this event, Afghans celebrate August 19 as their Independence Day.

King Amanullah (1919-29) moved to end his country's traditional isolation in the years following the third Anglo-Afghan war. He established diplomatic relations with most major countries and, following a 1927 tour of Europe and Turkey--during which he noted the modernization and secularization advanced by Ataturk--introduced several reforms intended to modernize Afghanistan. Some of these, such as the abolition of the traditional Muslim veil for women and the opening of a number of co-educational schools, quickly alienated many tribal and religious leaders. Faced with overwhelming armed opposition, Amanullah was forced to abdicate in January 1929 after Kabul fell to forces led by Bacha-i-Saqao, a Tajik brigand. Prince Nadir Khan, a cousin of Amanullah's, in turn defeated Bacha-i-Saqao in October of the same year and, with considerable Pashtun tribal support, was declared King Nadir Shah. Four years later, however, he was assassinated in a revenge killing by a Kabul student.

Mohammad Zahir Shah, Nadir Khan's 19-year-old son, succeeded to the throne and reigned from 1933 to 1973. In 1964, King Zahir Shah promulgated a liberal constitution providing for a two-chamber legislature to which the king appointed one-third of the deputies. The people elected another third, and the remainder were selected indirectly by provincial assemblies. Although Zahir's "experiment in democracy" produced few lasting reforms, it permitted the growth of

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unofficial extremist parties on both the left and the right. These included the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), which had close ideological ties to the Soviet Union. In 1967, the PDPA split into two major rival factions: the Khalq (Masses) faction headed by Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin and supported by elements within the military, and the Parcham (Banner) faction led by Babrak Karmal. The split reflected ethnic, class, and ideological divisions within Afghan society.

Zahir's cousin, Sardar Mohammad Daoud, served as his Prime Minister from 1953 to 1963. During his tenure as Prime Minister, Daoud solicited military and economic assistance from both Washington and Moscow and introduced controversial social policies of a reformist nature. Daoud's alleged support for the creation of a Pashtun state in the Pakistan-Afghan border area heightened tensions with Pakistan and eventually resulted in Daoud's dismissal in March 1963.

Amid charges of corruption and malfeasance against the royal family and poor economic conditions created by the severe 1971-72 drought, former Prime Minister Daoud seized power IN A MILITARY COUP on July 17, 1973. Zahir Shah fled the country, eventually finding refuge in Italy. Daoud abolished the monarchy, abrogated the 1964 constitution, and declared Afghanistan a republic with himself as its first President and Prime Minister. His attempts to carry out badly needed economic and social reforms met with little success, and the new constitution promulgated in February 1977 failed to quell chronic political instability.

Seeking to exploit more effectively mounting popular disaffection, the PDPA reunified with Moscow's support. On April 27, 1978, the PDPA initiated a bloody coup, which resulted in the overthrow and murder of Daoud and most of his family. Nur Muhammad Taraki, Secretary General of the PDPA, became President of the Revolutionary Council and Prime Minister of the newly established Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

Opposition to the Marxist government emerged almost immediately. During its first 18 months of rule, the PDPA brutally imposed a Marxist-style "reform" program, which ran counter to deeply rooted Afghan traditions. Decrees forcing changes in marriage customs and pushing through an ill-conceived land reform were particularly misunderstood by virtually all Afghans. In addition, thousands of members of the traditional elite, the religious establishment, and the intelligentsia were imprisoned, tortured, or murdered. Conflicts within the PDPA also surfaced early and resulted in exiles, purges, imprisonments, and executions.

By the summer of 1978, a revolt began in the Nuristan region of eastern Afghanistan and quickly spread into a countrywide insurgency. In September 1979, Hafizullah Amin, who had earlier been Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, seized power from Taraki after a palace shootout. Over the next 2 months, instability plagued Amin's regime as he moved against perceived enemies in the PDPA. By December, party morale was crumbling, and the insurgency was growing.

By October 1979, however, relations between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union were tense as Hafizullah Amin refused to take Soviet advice on how to stabilize and consolidate his government. Faced with a deteriorating security situation, on December 24, 1979, large numbers of Soviet airborne forces, joining thousands of Soviet troops already on the ground, began to land in Kabul under the pretext of a field exercise. On December 26, these invasion forces killed Hafizullah Amin and installed Babrak Karmal, exiled leader of the Parcham faction, bringing him back from

Following the invasion, the Karmal regime, although backed by an expeditionary force that grew as large as 120,000 Soviet troops, was unable to establish authority outside Kabul. As much as 80% of the countryside, including parts of Herat and Kandahar, eluded effective government control. An overwhelming majority of Afghans opposed the communist regime, either actively or passively. Afghan freedom fighters (mujahidin) made it almost impossible for the regime to maintain a system of local government outside major urban centers. Poorly armed at first, in 1984 the mujahidin began receiving substantial assistance in the form of weapons and training from the U.S. and other outside powers.

In May 1985, the seven principal Peshawar-based guerrilla organizations formed an alliance to coordinate their political and military operations against the Soviet occupation. Late in 1985, the mujahidin were active in and around Kabul, launching rocket attacks and conducting operations against the communist government. The failure of the Soviet Union to win over a significant number of Afghan collaborators or to rebuild a viable Afghan army forced it to bear an increasing responsibility for fighting the resistance and for civilian administration.

The effects of the war on Afghanistan were devastating. Half of the population was displaced inside the country, forced to migrate outside the country, wounded, or killed. Estimates of combat fatalities range between 700,000 and 1.3 million people. With the school system largely destroyed, industrialization severely restricted, and large irrigation projects badly damaged, the economy of the country was crippled. Despite some negative reaction, the presence of so many refugees in neighboring Pakistan and Iran actually improved Afghan relations with those countries. In addition, many of the refugees improved their lives considerably by leaving Afghanistan and the dangers of war therein. Because the majority of the refugees were religious, their fellow Muslims in Iran and Pakistan accepted them, even while the Iranian and Pakistani governments were striving to bring about the fall of the Communist regime in Kâbul.

Soviet and popular displeasure with the Karmal regime led to its demise in May 1986. Karmal was replaced by Muhammad Najibullah, former chief of the Afghan secret police (KHAD). Najibullah had established a reputation for brutal efficiency during his tenure as KHAD chief. As Prime Minister, Najibullah was ineffective and highly dependent on Soviet support. Undercut by deep-seated divisions within the PDPA, regime efforts to broaden its base of support proved futile.

Significantly, the mujahidin were party neither to the negotiations nor to the 1988 agreement and, consequently, refused to accept the terms of the accords. As a result, the civil war continued after the Soviet withdrawal, which was completed in February 1989. Najibullah's regime, though failing to win popular support, territory, or international recognition, was able to remain in power until 1992 but collapsed after the defection of Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostam and

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his Uzbek militia in March. However, when the victorious mujahidin entered Kabul to assume control over the city and

Seeking to resolve these differences, the leaders of the Peshawar-based mujahidin groups established an interim Islamic Jihad Council in mid-April 1992 to assume power in Kabul. Moderate leader Prof. Sibghatullah Mojaddedi was to chair the council for 2 months, after which a 10-member leadership council composed of mujahidin leaders and presided over by the head of the Jamiat-i-Islami, Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani, was to be set up for 4 months. During this 6-month period, a Loya Jirga, or grand council of Afghan elders and notables, would convene and designate an interim administration which would hold power up to a year, pending elections.

In 1992 as the resistance closed in on Kâbul, the Najibullah government fell and the Peshâwar groups joined forces with General Abdul Rashid Dostum, an Uzbek, and Ahmad Shah Massoud, a Tajik, in the north and central mountains to assume control in Kâbul. As a result, Burhanuddin Rabbani, an ethnic Tajik, became interim president from July through December 1992, and took office as full president in January 1993. A strong attempt was made to keep the Pashtun leaders, who traditionally held the power in Afghanistan, out of the most important government positions. Kâbul was besieged beginning in 1992, first by various mujahideen factions and then by the Pashtun-dominated Taliban, who sought to reestablish Pashtun dominance in the capital.

But in May 1992, Rabbani prematurely formed the leadership council, undermining Mojaddedi's fragile authority. In June, Mojaddedi surrendered power to the Leadership Council, which then elected Rabbani as President. Nonetheless, heavy fighting broke out in August 1992 in Kabul between forces loyal to President Rabbani and rival factions, particularly those who supported Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami. After Rabbani extended his tenure in December 1992, fighting in the capital flared up in January and February 1993. The Islamabad Accord, signed in March 1993, which appointed Hekmatyar as Prime Minister, failed to have a lasting effect. A follow-up agreement, the Jalalabad Accord, called for the militias to be disarmed but was never fully implemented. Through 1993, Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami forces, allied with the Shi'a Hezb-i-Wahdat militia, clashed intermittently with Rabbani and Masood's Jamiat forces. Cooperating with Jamiat were militants of Sayyaf's Ittehad-i-Islami and, periodically, troops loyal to ethnic Uzbek strongman Abdul Rashid Dostam. On January 1, 1994, Dostam switched sides, precipitating large-scale fighting in Kabul and in northern provinces, which caused thousands of civilian casualties in Kabul and elsewhere and created a new wave of displaced persons and refugees. The country sank even further into anarchy, forces loyal to Rabbani and Masood, both ethnic Tajiks, controlled Kabul and much of the northeast, while local warlords exerted power over the rest of the country.

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Taliban said that their mission was to disarm the county’s warring factions and to impose their strictly orthodox

The term of Rabbani’s government expired in December 1994, but he continued to hold office amidst the chaos of the civil war. Factional fighting since the beginning of January 1994 kept government officers from actually occupying ministries and discharging government responsibilities. In June 1996 Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who had resigned as prime minister in 1994 to launch a military offensive against forces loyal to Rabbani, again assumed the post, this time to help Rabbani’s government fight the Taliban threat. Despite their efforts, the Taliban took Kâbul in September 1996. Rabbani and Hekmatyar fled north, joining other factions in an opposition alliance against the Taliban. In 1997 the opposition coalition took the name United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan and appointed Dostum as chief military commander. By the late 1990s the Taliban controlled roughly three-quarters of Afghanistan, although most other countries had not recognized the group as the legitimate government of the Afghan state. Fighting between the Taliban and the opposition continued in the north despite several diplomatic efforts to resolve the civil war.

The Taliban sought to impose an extreme interpretation of Islam--based upon the rural Pashtun tribal code--on the entire country and committed massive human rights violations, particularly directed against women and girls. The Taliban also committed serious atrocities against minority populations, particularly the Shi'a Hazara ethnic group, and killed noncombatants in several well-documented instances. In 2001, as part of a drive against relics of Afghanistan's pre-Islamic past, the Taliban destroyed two Buddha statues carved into cliff faces outside of the city of Bamiyan.

And the women of Afghanistan have disappeared. It has been the "ethnic cleansing" of an entire gender from a country: 10 million women denied education, work, hospital care. Women are forced to cover themselves from head to toe, denied acess to education & proper health care, forbidden to work in order to support their families, and face brutal beatings if they do not comply with the rules set forth for them by their oppressors.

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  Since the Taliban takeover, women are not allowed to attend school and others have been forced to leave their jobs.
  
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  The Taliban have issued edicts forbidding women from working outside the home, except in limited circumstances in the medical field. Hardest hit have been over 30,000 widows in Kabul and others elsewhere in the country, who are the sole providers for their families.
  
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  The Taliban prohibit girls from attending school. There are a few home based schools and some schools in rural areas which quietly operate to educate girls. They fear closure.

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  Women and girls are not allowed to appear outside the home unless wearing a head to toe covering called the burqa. A three inch square opening covered with mesh provides the only means for vision. Although the burqa was worn in Kabul before the Taliban took control, it was not an enforced dress code and many women wore only scarves that cover the head. Women are also forbidden from appearing in public with a male who is not their relative.
  
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  Women’s and girls’ access to medical services has been drastically cut back. Women are treated primarily by female doctors and the number of female doctors has been greatly reduced. It is also dangerous for women to leave their homes. For example, one mother in the city of Farah reportedly was shot by the Taliban militia for appearing in public to take her toddler to a doctor. The child was acutely ill and needed immediate medical attention.
  
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  Taliban militia mete out punishment for violations of these rules on the spot. For example, women have been beaten on the street if an inch of ankle shows under their burqa. They have been beaten if they are found to move about without an explanation acceptable to the Taliban. They have been beaten if they make noise when they walk. According to one report, a women struggling with two small children and groceries in her arms was reportedly beaten by the Taliban with a car antenna because she had let her face covering slip a fraction.
  
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  Taliban edicts require that windows in houses that have female occupants be painted over.
  

One "final commentary" - Taliban officials took a more assertive line, arguing that they are the true champions of women's liberation. ``In Kandahar a man cheated on his wife, so we gave a Kalashnikov to the woman and she shot him," enthused the head of Kabul's anti-vice department, Mullah Qalamuddin. ``This is women's rights.'' (AFP)

... Note: On Friday, October 12th, 2001 I received word I was to report to MacDill AFB (Air Force Base), Tampa, Florida by Monday, October 15th.

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you might call a "ring side seat" for what was to go on to the south in Afghanistan. ... The catch ... this wasn't sightseeing .. it was military work .. 24/7 ... and highly classified at that. As for accommodations .. "Army field conditions .. and yes I am Air Force .. so it was slight shock .. then again so was the day we bolted from work in the middle of a shift to save our gear .. because the tent we were living in was being flooded .. and slowly sinking into the mud. … the comforts of home were a long way away …

… … Anyway ... back to Afghanistan and the Taliban in 2001. …. Afghan factions opposed to the Taliban met at a United Nations-sponsored conference in Bonn, Germany in December 2001 and agreed to restore stability and governance to Afghanistan--creating an interim government and establishing a process to move toward a permanent government. Under the "Bonn Agreement," an Afghan Interim Authority was formed and took office in Kabul on December 22, 2001 with Hamid Karzai as Chairman. The Interim Authority held power for approximately 6 months while preparing for a nationwide "Loya Jirga" (Grand Council) in mid-June 2002 that decided on the structure of a Transitional Authority. The Transitional Authority, headed by President Hamid Karzai, renamed the government as the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (TISA). One of the TISA’s primary achievements was the drafting of a constitution that was ratified by a Constitutional Loya Jirga on January 4, 2004.

On October 9, 2004, Afghanistan held its first national democratic presidential election. More than 8 million Afghans voted, 41% of whom were women. Hamid Karzai was announced as the official winner on November 3 and inaugurated on December 7 for a five-year term as Afghanistan's first democratically elected president. On December 23, 2004, President Karzai announced new cabinet appointments, naming three women as ministers.

An election was held on September 18, 2005 for the “Wolesi Jirga” (lower house) of Afghanistan’s new bicameral National Assembly and for the country’s 34 provincial councils. Turnout for the election was about 53% of the 12.5 million registered voters. The Afghan constitution provides for indirect election of the National Assembly’s “Meshrano Jirga” (upper house) by the provincial councils and by reserved presidential appointments. The first democratically elected National Assembly since 1969 was inaugurated on December 19, 2005. Younus Qanooni and Sigbatullah Mojadeddi were elected Speaker of the Wolesi Jirga and Meshrano Jirga, respectively.

The government's authority is growing, although its ability to deliver necessary social services remains largely dependent on funds from the international donor community. Between 2001-2006, the United States committed over $12 billion to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. At an international donors’ conference in Berlin in April 2004, donors pledged a total of $8.2 billion for Afghan reconstruction over the three-year period 2004-2007. At the end of January 2006, the international community gathered in London and renewed its political and reconstruction support for Afghanistan in the form of the Afghanistan Compact.

With international community support, including more than 40 countries participating in Operation Enduring Freedom and NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the government’s capacity to secure Afghanistan’s borders to maintain internal order is increasing. Responsibility for security for all of Afghanistan was transferred to ISAF in October 2006. As of November 2006, some 40,000 Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers had been trained along with some 60,000 police, including border and highway police.

Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) has also helped to further establish the authority of the Afghan central government. The DDR program, after receiving 63,000 military personnel, stopped accepting additional candidates in June 2005. Disarmament and demobilization of all of these candidates were completed at the end of June 2006. A follow-on program targeting illegal militias, the Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG), was begun in

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2005, under the joint auspices of Japan and the United Nations. The DIAG program is still ongoing.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 provided the kingdom with an ideal opportunity to sponsor a bona fide holy war that would showcase Wahhabi ideals and quiet Iranian-inspired Islamist opposition to the monarchy. Madrasas (religious schools for boys) around the Arab and Islamic world produced shock troops for this jihad. After the Russians were driven out of Afghanistan, these "Arab Afghans" began trickling home and looked for other jihads. The Saudis had created a monster; to be sure they did not wreak havoc inside the kingdom, bin Laden and other Saudi Islamists were encouraged to wage holy war abroad. When the Clinton administration cornered Osama bin Laden in the Sudan in 1998, the Saudis refused to allow his extradition back home, where he could be neutralized. Instead, the Saudi intelligence chief – Prince Turki – reportedly offered bin Laden $200 million to go to Afghanistan, on the condition that he not target the Saudi royal family. Bin Laden honored his promise – there has not been a single attack by Al-Qaeda against the Al-Saud family. Inside the kingdom, Al-Qaeda has only operated against the Americans and the British. Over time, the understanding became that bin Laden would leave the Saudis alone only if they allowed the network of charities funding Al-Qaeda to operate unhindered. On the day after the September 11 attacks, the first thing Riyadh did was evacuate two dozen members of the bin Laden family residing in the US on the private jet of its ambassador, Prince Bandar.

From the very moment of the September 11 attacks, suspicion turned toward al-Qaida, whose leadership and training bases were under the protection of the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan. From the outset, the US Government was faced with the need to overcome the Taliban in order to disrupt furtheral-Qaida activities. For the first 30 days following the September 11th attacks, the United States led by President George Bush II, tried to get the Afghan, Taliban led government, to turn over Bin Ladin and his associates (Al Qa'ida). The Taliban Government refused.

U.S. President George Bush II determined that this called for military action on a grand scale. The US Central Command (CENTCOM), under the command of General Tommy Franks, set to work developing a plan and assembling forces to carry out actions in Afghanistan, which was located in the area of the world under CENTCOM's purview. First priority went to eliminating the Taliban's air defense, command and control, and mobility capabilities. On 7 October, assisted by Special Operations teams spirited into the country to identify targets, Air Force, Navy, and Marine aircraft began systematically and surgically destroying Taliban and al-Qaida warfighting equipment and positions. In a parallel effort, the United States soon began delivering the first of what was to become over two million humanitarian daily rations to alleviate the suffering of Afghans beyond reach of food supplies. Note: One week later (October 15th) I was ordered to report for military duty. My first stop: Tampa, Florida. I lasted all of 1 week before I was deployed to Uzbekistan (which is just north of Afghanistan) for 5 months.

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From the very beginning, the United States was joined in its war against global terrorism by other countries who saw the events of September 11 as an attack on their own way of life. Countries around the globe offered military and other assets to the growing antiterrorism Coalition. By year's end, forces from 55 countries, including some from the Muslim world, had augmented US forces in the effort to subdue al-Qaida and the Taliban. Each member brought to the Coalition a unique contribution of military assets and expertise.

The focus of the bombing campaign gradually shifted from destroying al-Qaida and Taliban equipment and facilities to disrupting the ground forces opposing the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. On 10 November, Northern Alliance troops entered the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, signaling the end of Taliban control over the northern provinces. In the following days, the Taliban military forces in most of the country collapsed, many of them fleeing toward the southern city of Kandahar, where the Taliban originated. On 13 November, Northern Alliance forces entered the capital city of Kabul unopposed.

Although US Army Rangers had raided a Taliban command-and-control site near Kandahar as early as 19 October, the United States generally restricted its ground combat units to roles that did not involve assaults against fixed Taliban positions. On 26 November, US Marines established an operating base southwest of Kandahar and began conducting patrols aimed at preventing the escape of al-Qaida and Taliban leaders. Kandahar, the last city held by the Taliban, finally succumbed to pressure from incessant Coalition bombing and ground action by anti-Taliban Afghan forces on 6 December. Taliban leader Mullah Omar, however, was able to escape.

Meanwhile, Coalition and Afghan forces were searching for al-Qaida leader Usama Bin Ladin in a cave-riddled stronghold in the mountains near Tora Bora, along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. After a tough, uphill, cave-by-cave battle, Tora Bora was finally subdued, but Bin Ladin, for the moment, also had evaded capture.

In the following weeks, anti-Taliban forces throughout Afghanistan continued to pursue the remaining Taliban and al-Qaida forces, capturing over 5,000 of them. Those identified as of special interest to the United States—key Taliban and al-Qaida leaders—were moved to US-controlled detention facilities to await further disposition.

On 26 November, representatives of numerous Afghan factions met in Bonn to negotiate a governing agreement. The resulting Afghan Interim Authority, led Hamid Karzai, took office in Kabul on 22 December. To provide security for the nascent Afghan Government, several countries contributed forces to the British-led International Security Assistance Force established under the auspices of UN Security Council Resolution 1386 of 20 December. ... Side note .. I was in Uzbekistan while all of this was going on ... about I can say is that myself & other Intelligence analysts tried to predict what would happen next & WHEN it would occur ... and also write a military, albeit "classified" account of what was going on. We were turning out 20 pages a night.

On October 9, 2004, Afghanistan held its first national democratic presidential election. More than 8 million Afghans voted, 41% of whom were women. Hamid Karzai was announced as the official winner on November 3, 2004, and inaugurated on December 7, 2004, for a five-year term as Afghanistan's first democratically elected president. On December 23, 2004, President Karzai announced new cabinet appointments, naming three women as ministers. In early 2005, the Karzai government selected members of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), an independent body responsible for the oversight of elections in Afghanistan. Three of the nine IEC members are women. ...

The government's authority beyond the capital, Kabul, is slowly growing, although its ability to deliver necessary social services remains largely dependent on funds from the international donor community. Between 2001 and 2004, the United States committed over $4 billion to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. At an international donors’ conference in Berlin in April 2004, donors pledged $4.5 billion for Afghanistan over the next year, and a total of $8.2 billion over the next three years.

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