Taliban
| Details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Center of Gravity | Afghanistan | ||
 | Scope | National | |
| Area of Operation | Pakistan | ||
| Goal | To return to government of Afghanistan | ||
| Leader | Mullah Omar | ||
| Status | Active | |
| Status | Supported by al-Qaeda | |
| Alias(es) | Taleban | |
| Formed | Summer 1994 | ||
| | |||
| Narrative and Notes | |||
| Reliable | Formed in southern Afghanistan in 1994 when locals turned to a mullah, Omar, and his students to defend them against a warlord who raped several girls. The group gained strength and by 1999 controlled 90 percent of the country. Ousted from power and reduced to a guerilla movement in late 2001 after the U.S. began backing the Northern Alliance and other warlords following the Sept. 11 attacks. Allowed Osama bin Laden to relocate to Afghanistan from Sudan in 1996. Destroyed two ancient Buddha statues in Bamian in spring 2001.1 | |
| | |||
| Sources | |||
| 1Tanner, Stephen. 'Afghanistan: A Military History.' New York: Da Capo Press, 2002. | |||
| | |||
| Key to bullets | |||
| High confidence | |||
 Some confidence | |||
 Low confidence | |||
 No confidence | |||
| Page maintained by John Lumpkin | |||
| Click here for a disclaimer and detailed explanation of the confidence ratings. | |||
