Groups and Countries Involved
By Achmad Yudisthira
The September 11 attack acted as a catalyst that sparked the ongoing war between the U.S and insurgent groups who call themselves mujahideen, which means holy warriors. (The 30-Year War in Afghanistan) The U.S formerly aided the Taliban during the Soviet invasion, as they were the leading resistance. Since the Talibans was formed, more insurgent groups were formed in Afghanistan. (ISW) The mujahideen is just a main title of the so-called holy warriors but around the world, mostly in Middle East, they are branched out in many groups with different identities. The longer these groups are given a chance to live, the more they will breed into smaller organizations in different countries. These insurgents are not only dangerous for bombing and killing innocent people, but the most dangerous part of their existence is the fact that they keep spreading and spreading like virus. (Interpol)
By Achmad Yudisthira
The September 11 attack acted as a catalyst that sparked the ongoing war between the U.S and insurgent groups who call themselves mujahideen, which means holy warriors. (The 30-Year War in Afghanistan) The U.S formerly aided the Taliban during the Soviet invasion, as they were the leading resistance. Since the Talibans was formed, more insurgent groups were formed in Afghanistan. (ISW) The mujahideen is just a main title of the so-called holy warriors but around the world, mostly in Middle East, they are branched out in many groups with different identities. The longer these groups are given a chance to live, the more they will breed into smaller organizations in different countries. These insurgents are not only dangerous for bombing and killing innocent people, but the most dangerous part of their existence is the fact that they keep spreading and spreading like virus. (Interpol)
Since the suicide plane crashing in the twin towers, the 43rd President of the United States declared war against “the Axis of Evil”. The United Nations Security Council quickly adopted Resolution 1267, which branded the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and other insurgent groups as terrorists in which they would impose sanctions on their travel, funding, and arm shipments. This tragedy of what we call 9/11 also gained attention worldwide, and governments reacted by tightening their security in planes and declaring a war against terrorism. (George Bush and the Axis of Evil) By this period, many Muslims who had no relation to terrorism whatsoever, were persecuted, harassed, and were discriminated in European countries. Since 9/11, airports also became strict on how Muslims dress, and disallow them from wearing niqab. The event leads the spread of Islamophobia, discrimination towards islam, worldwide (Nadine Epstein)
Al-Qaeda, is the most well known terrorist group for its “achievement” of bombing the twin towers. Al-Qaeda was led by a Saudi Arabian man called Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, who their people would call a true leader of all the organizations. It was unclear whether Osama really did plan for the attacks, but since Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility and took pride in it, the media were certain that this was the man that will be hunted down. The al-Qaeda, which means “the Base” in English, is still alive and well in Afghanistan and other countries, however without the presence of their leader Osama, they have quieted down a bit. (The Wall Street Journal)
Osama was born into a rich bin Laden family, where he was the son of Mohammed bin Awad, a billionaire construction magnate with a close tie to the royal Saudi family. Osama attended university majoring in religious studies, focusing on reciting the Quran and the jihad, which was the term to have a holy war. This term perhaps is what drives his pride in both religion and country, creating a sense of nationalism. It was believed that Osama’s hate towards US, is because of their foreign policy that he claimed has oppressed, killed, and harmed Muslims in the Middle East. (History.com)
For more than a decade, Osama had been playing a “hide and seek” game with the US, but he was discovered in a compound in Peshawar. It was recently said that the US fought the wrong enemy, Afghanistan, when it should’ve been Pakistan instead, who hid Osama for long years. Even though evidence of Pakistani government hiding Osama is still nonexistent, the US continues its war in Afghanistan to end its terrorism, although peace treaties have been considered in recent years. (Biography of Osama Bin Laden)
Apart from the Al Qaeda, now rising as the main political group is the Taliban, this time a political group who pretty much holds the same principles as other insurgent groups, but they are more like a government than stray groups. The Taliban has been a threat to Afghanistan more than the insurgents, because of the fact that they have more power, and are more accepted by the people of Afghanistan. Their main goal is to spread Sharia law across Afghanistan, using violence if necessary. The Taliban are made up mostly of Pashtun tribesmen, where they work shifts, some days fighting for their “religion”, and some days becoming normal farmers. Unlike the stray terrorist groups, Taliban is one strong group that could even be voted for their representative in a presidential election. Their leader was Mullah Mohammed Omar, who was the founder and spiritual leader of the Taliban, but since he was killed, Mullah Faazllulah replaced him. (BBC)
The Afghan war has been long, bloody, and somewhat unnecessary. The US army made very little progress ending the insurgencies in the Middle East, and the only major achievement was killing Osama. There are a lot more leaders, or would be leaders for these terror groups, such as his son, Hamza bin Laden, who was called the Prince of Terror. The Afghan war has just been a chaos that wrecks havoc all over Afghanistan. It was said that the Afghanistan war killed ten times, or more, people than the cause of the war itself in 9/11.
Whether it is in the Antarctica or the Middle East, war always results in destruction. The Afghanistan war however, is the exact copy of many other wars in the past, except this time, it is a war in the name of the religion. The Afghanistan war caused more deaths than in the beginning of the war. As we all know Mahatma Ghandi said, “An eye for an eye makes the world go blind.”
Al-Qaeda, is the most well known terrorist group for its “achievement” of bombing the twin towers. Al-Qaeda was led by a Saudi Arabian man called Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, who their people would call a true leader of all the organizations. It was unclear whether Osama really did plan for the attacks, but since Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility and took pride in it, the media were certain that this was the man that will be hunted down. The al-Qaeda, which means “the Base” in English, is still alive and well in Afghanistan and other countries, however without the presence of their leader Osama, they have quieted down a bit. (The Wall Street Journal)
Osama was born into a rich bin Laden family, where he was the son of Mohammed bin Awad, a billionaire construction magnate with a close tie to the royal Saudi family. Osama attended university majoring in religious studies, focusing on reciting the Quran and the jihad, which was the term to have a holy war. This term perhaps is what drives his pride in both religion and country, creating a sense of nationalism. It was believed that Osama’s hate towards US, is because of their foreign policy that he claimed has oppressed, killed, and harmed Muslims in the Middle East. (History.com)
For more than a decade, Osama had been playing a “hide and seek” game with the US, but he was discovered in a compound in Peshawar. It was recently said that the US fought the wrong enemy, Afghanistan, when it should’ve been Pakistan instead, who hid Osama for long years. Even though evidence of Pakistani government hiding Osama is still nonexistent, the US continues its war in Afghanistan to end its terrorism, although peace treaties have been considered in recent years. (Biography of Osama Bin Laden)
Apart from the Al Qaeda, now rising as the main political group is the Taliban, this time a political group who pretty much holds the same principles as other insurgent groups, but they are more like a government than stray groups. The Taliban has been a threat to Afghanistan more than the insurgents, because of the fact that they have more power, and are more accepted by the people of Afghanistan. Their main goal is to spread Sharia law across Afghanistan, using violence if necessary. The Taliban are made up mostly of Pashtun tribesmen, where they work shifts, some days fighting for their “religion”, and some days becoming normal farmers. Unlike the stray terrorist groups, Taliban is one strong group that could even be voted for their representative in a presidential election. Their leader was Mullah Mohammed Omar, who was the founder and spiritual leader of the Taliban, but since he was killed, Mullah Faazllulah replaced him. (BBC)
The Afghan war has been long, bloody, and somewhat unnecessary. The US army made very little progress ending the insurgencies in the Middle East, and the only major achievement was killing Osama. There are a lot more leaders, or would be leaders for these terror groups, such as his son, Hamza bin Laden, who was called the Prince of Terror. The Afghan war has just been a chaos that wrecks havoc all over Afghanistan. It was said that the Afghanistan war killed ten times, or more, people than the cause of the war itself in 9/11.
Whether it is in the Antarctica or the Middle East, war always results in destruction. The Afghanistan war however, is the exact copy of many other wars in the past, except this time, it is a war in the name of the religion. The Afghanistan war caused more deaths than in the beginning of the war. As we all know Mahatma Ghandi said, “An eye for an eye makes the world go blind.”