The war between the United States and Afghanistan began October 7, 2001, as a response to terrorist attacks against the United States and as part of a larger global war against terrorism. The major U. S. military offensive in Afghanistan, an operation known as Enduring Freedom, ended with coalition forces in control of major cities, but with the defeated extremist Islamic Taliban regime and its terrorist allies hiding in remote regions of the country and the mountainous provinces of bordering Pakistan. Although defeated, the Taliban and other militants continued armed resistance against American and allied troops stationed in Afghanistan.
When the international terrorist organization known as al-Qaeda emerged as the prime suspect in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, President George W. Bush demanded that the ruling Taliban government of Afghanistan hand over al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and close its terrorist training camps. The Taliban regime, under the leadership of Mullah Muhammed Omar, had given sanctuary to the Saudi exile and his terrorist organization since 1996, when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan. Bin Laden set up training camps within Afghanistan from which he launched several attacks against the United States before the September 11 attack. Al-Qaeda had been implicated in two 1998 U. S. embassy bombings in Africa and had taken credit for the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole, a Navy destroyer, as it docked in the Yemeni port of Aden, killing 17 American sailors. The Taliban refused to surrender bin Laden to the United States.
Before launching a military offensive, President Bush set out to build an international coalition for his actions against the terrorists. He received support from British prime minister Tony Blair and cooperation from Russia in negotiating for logistical space from which to launch an attack. Pakistan shared a long border with Afghanistan, and its help was considered invaluable; but it was unclear whether the government under President Pervez Musharref would oppose substantial segments of his own population who supported the Taliban regime.
World History
