Terrorism, Insurgency, and Afghanistan
Abstract
Over the last decade, Afghanistan and terrorism have become synonymous in the eyes of many analysts and policymakers. Afghanistan, of course, was the first campaign stop-- Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)--of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), and has since been viewed as a hotbed for global terrorists and jihadists. Strictly speaking, however, regional conditions including bad governance, poverty, oppression, corruption, and radical Islamic movements throughout Afghanistan and its neighbors are the primary source of terrorism in this country. This is not meant to suggest that Afghan groups, such as the Taliban, are not directly responsible for terrorism in Afghanistan. Rather, it is to suggest that the Taliban are encouraged, enabled, funded, and driven by foreign sources and interests and are outsourcing their logistics and suicide missions via regional networks. To view them merely as an indigenous Afghan movement is to ignore critical aspects of their organization, support, behavior, and actions and the aforementioned conditions in South Asia. Today, after 27 years of continuous war, Afghanistan is struggling. President Karzai's post-Taliban government is finding it extremely difficult to extend its control and mandate outside the capital of Kabul and into the country's vast impoverished hinterland. Several forces are undermining Karzai's efforts to build a truly national government with national control, including a rising tide of narcotics production now responsible for approximately 60 percent of the country's economy, and a resurgent Taliban backed by al Qaeda who are mounting an increasingly virulent insurgency in the east and south of the country.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA485138
Entities
People
- Chris Mason
- Thomas H. Johnson
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School