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The Bamiyan Buddhas wrere built in the 6th Century, when Bamiyan was a holy Buddhist site.

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You have to rememeber that Afghanistan was not on anyones radar.

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TALIBAN DESTROYED BUDDHA STATUE AND YIP KUM FOOK INSULTED BUDDHIST MONKS

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Afghanistan is a mountainous landlocked country. At the crossroads of Central and South Asia.

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Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to the north, and China to the northeast.

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Afghanistan is the 40th largest country in the world with an area of 652,864 square km.
Its population is 31,390,200.
Its GDP per person (Gross domestic product - measure of monetary value of the goods and and services produced in over a year is $493 (Australia's is $54,891).
Its biggest economic strength is the significant amount of lithium, copper, gold, coal, iron ore, and other minerals that are largely undeveloped industries at this stage.

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These gold items were found in the 1978-1979 years during excavations in northern Afghanistan and they reside National Museum, Kabul.

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A rich history - intrinsically and culturally.p

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A rich history - intrinsically and culturally.p

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Afghanistan's history stretches back millennia but its modern boundaries were settled during the 20th Century.

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The Soviet Union was a communist nation to Afghanistan's North 

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During most of the 20th Century Afghanistan had different neighbors.

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For a relatively brief time Afghanistan faced the world with confidence and looked forward to a bright future. The attached article looks at this near-forgotten era.

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Afghanistan once faced the future with confidence. Caught here on film, it's an era the world has forgotten.

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Women have played a huge role in the history of Afghanistan. In 1964, women helped draft the Constitution and there were at least three women legislators in Parliament by the 1970's.
But the freedom implied in this photo was far from the norm. These photos are often used to suggest a level of freedom in Afghanistan for women that was never the case.
That being said in recent years Women fulfilled roles as teachers, government workers, medical doctors, lawyers, judges, journalists, writers and poets up until the early 1990s. And again during the early 2000s. It is telling that all these instances were when Afghanistan was effectively under occupation by other nations.
Does this photo raise any red flags for you? Is it a bit too neat? Do some research on these types of photos. They pop up all the time. How representative are they?
Do you think this is a staged photo? Why?
How might you verify the implied meaning?

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Context: Where to start? The Saur Revolution - 1978

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Context: Where to start? The Saur Revolution - 1978

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This was a revolution led by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan - a political party with a Communist ideology. It overthrew the rule of Afghan President Mohammed Daoud Khan on 27–28 April 1978. Daoud Khan and most of his family were killed at the presidential palace.

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This new government was unpopular even though its communist neighbor to the north supported it. It was not long before it was overthrown by alliances of lots of different groups of Afghani people. The Taliban did not exist at this stage.

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The Soviet Union invaded its southern neighbor after the communist government they had supported there was overthrown to (depending on your perspective) support the overthrown rulers or expand its own 'empire'.

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Aircraft like Helicopters were used with varying degrees of success during the 1979-1989 Soviet-Afghanistan War. Combat helicopters played a crucial role during the initial Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in late 1979 and early 1980, ferrying troops into combat and providing close air support of ground forces.

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The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies which began following World War II. They rarely fought directly but did so through proxy wars.

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US support for Anti-Soviets in Afghanistan

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US support for Anti-Soviets in Afghanistan

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Charles Nesbitt Wilson was a United States politician. Wilson is best known for leading Congress into supporting Operation Cyclone a covert operation which supplied military equipment and training to the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War.

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The Mujahedeen were members of a number of groups operating in Afghanistan during the Afghan War against the Soviet Union (1979–92) that opposed the invading Soviet forces and eventually toppled the Afghan communist government. Here is one of their leaders Massoud with Mujahedeen soldiers. US support helped unify their strategy but providing modern radio communication equipment for example. This was still pre-smart phone and email. Volunteers from other Muslim nations also joined the Mujahedeen to defend fellow Muslims. It would be stereotyping to label all the Mujahideen as radicals or extremists. Some were. Most were not such as the man in the middle here, Ahmad Shah Massoud who would go on to be in opposition to the Taliban.

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Mujahedeen soldier with a Stinger Missile

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Stinger Missiles supplied by the USA were shoulder launched rockets that could shoot down planes but especially lower and slower helicopters. This swung the advantage back to the Afghans.

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Even American popular culture got behind the Afghanis.

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US forces also trained Afghans in modern warfare and supplied funding. Osama Bin Laden, a volunteer from Saudi Arabia, received such training. He and his cohort of international volunteers, which would come to be known as Al Queda, were minor figures at this stage. His expertise and service at this time was in construction efforts to help the Mujahedeen soldiers by building roads, bunkers and so on.

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The Soviets were defeated (or gave up) in 1989 but Afghanistan did not win.

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The Soviets were defeated (or gave up) in 1989 but Afghanistan did not win.

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Much of the world cheered. For the Afghans and for the defeat of the Soviets.
Do the motives of the Afghan supporters matter?

Left behind was a completely shattered nation. The Afghani deaths at the hands of the Soviets have been described by Afghan history expert Professor Paul Miller as near genocidal. The death rates were certainly worse than any suffered by European countries during World War One. It was unparalleled. The Soviets destroyed that country. The country and its institutions barely functioned and it’s society was rocked to its core. That damage was not undone and it left legacies.

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Another memory I have is of massive camps filled with refugees at this time. Some turned out to be havens for radicalization. This photo of the Afghan Girl is a 1984 photographic portrait of Sharbat Gula taken by photojournalist Steve McCurry in Nasie Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan. It appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic Magazine and she became the public, if then nameless, face of the masses of refugees.
Whatever happened to Sharbat? Can you find out?

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A civil war broke out following the departure of the Soviet Union. There was tremendous competition for rulership of Afghanistan. Some were advocates for democracy others not so much. There was lots of corruption, crime and the country ceased to function.  This period is where the Taliban come in. They are not a tribe, a race or a religion.  They were Afghanis radicalised in madrassas and seminaries funded by a range of nations where more strict Islamic sects like Saudi Arabia's Wahabism dominated. The divided society was soon overcome. In a nutshell the Taliban with a very clear though radical guiding ideology won. It gave them a significant edge. Their unity and commitment won the day. They came to power in 1996.

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The Taliban were initially welcomed. Crime and corruption ceased and the country started to function. For a while. Electricity was reconnected at points. Water came out of some taps again. There was a peace - of sorts. In short the Taliban were preferred over anarchy.
But the radical Taliban ideology soon surfaced. Music was banned. All men had to wear beards. The enduring image is how women were treated.
However, it is worth noting a comment by Ahmend Massoud on the issue of the treatment of Afghani women during one of his final interviews. He said, “the cultural environment of the country suffocates women. But the Taliban exacerbate this with oppression." (Asia Times).

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The 2017 animated drama is helmed by Nora Twomey and executively produced by Mimi Polk Gitlin and Angelina Jolie. The film is based on the best-selling novel, of the same name, by Deborah Ellis and it depicts the struggles of a young girl struggling to support her family during the Taliban ruling.

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Also (further) radicalised  was Osama Bin Laden. Originally from Saudi Arabia, his organisation, Al Queda, developed into a bona fide terrorist entity. The Taliban let him live in Afghanistan from where he trained his terror organization which launched attacks in Indonesia, Egypt and against the USA. It is a long story but let’s leave it at he launched a massive terror attack on the USA before you were born and its legacy lives.

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Context: September 11 (consider age appropriateness - prebriefing)

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Context: September 11 (consider age appropriateness - prebriefing)

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ON September 11 2001 I woke to this. Note: I’ve selected the least gratuitous examples. I want to give you an impression. Enough to empathise. But no more. This is not entertainment.

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Naudet brothers 9/11 Documentary - 1st plane hits North Tower

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I cannot convey how shocked that the world was.

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0:00 / 5:03•Watch full video

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Chaos and panic as Twin Towers fall on September 11, 2001

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Chaos and panic as Twin Towers fall on September 11, 2001

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It sounds trite but it was like a Hollywood disaster movie.

What do you think this would feel like experiencing?

How do you think this would feel like watching it on tv as it took place?

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Chaos and panic as Twin Towers fall on September 11, 2001

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Hearing this on the news not long after the attacks I thought “This is going to be a big war.”.
This is the President of the USA at the time (origin).
How would you have felt hearing this as an American at the time?
Who was Bush’s Audience?
What was his purpose?

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The US entered Afghanistan to 'get' Bin Laden and to remove the government that sheltered him. But they then decided to stay. Why? Nation building? Self Defense? Imperialism? Poor planning ahead - how do you leave and to what criteria?
This graph shows the number of US troops deployed to Afghanistan by Presidents Bush and Obama.
It might sound counter-intuative but one criticism of the intervention is that it was not pervasive enough by refraining from building up institutions such as the rule of law. This would have consequesnces in 2021.
Another view is that the USA was too focussed on revenge for September 11. As a result missing early opportunities to enter into talks with rank-and-file Taliban who may have been willing then to end the conflict whilst it’s leadership skulked about Pakistan.
Here is a reasonably good podcasts that is an overview much like this Padlet: What Went Wrong in Afghanistan? | Dan Snow's History Hit on Acast

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A very much hidden aspect was a massive bombing campaign using drones that raged for years. Barack Obama was largely responsible for this phase. Such drones are controlled by ‘pilots’ as far away as the USA. Us President Obama said ‘ … these drones save lives …’ by killing those who would attack the USA.
A very significant increase (5000-10000 is the range cited most often) in civilian casualties went with this.
Afghan society was asking ‘Why is life getting worse?’.

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Challenge your Understanding: Sharbat Gula - The Afghan Woman

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Challenge your Understanding: Sharbat Gula - The Afghan Woman

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Almost 20 years after taking the photo of the Afghan Girl the same photographer sought her out again. This time giving her a name and a voice.
One striking comment Sharbat made when asked if she ever felt safe will challenge many of us. She said:

…life under the Taliban was better. At least there was peace and order.

Reconsider the story so far.

What opinions had you formed about life under the Taliban - especially as a woman?

How do you think Sharbat could come to this conclusion?

What lesson is this teaching us about how we look at the world here and now from a classroom in Australia?

You can read the entire article here (you might even try to find how how her story has progressed since): https://www.fcusd.org/cms/lib/CA01001934/Centricity/Domain/1341/Found%2017%20years%20after.pdf

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The Taliban were removed from power but they never went away.

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The Taliban were removed from power but they never went away.

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Taliban forces retreated to their homes in the mountains or to safe refuge in neighbouring countries. As did Alqueda where its leader was eventually found and killed by US forces. Malala Yousafzai was 15 year old Pakistani advocate for girls and women. She was threatened and eventually shot by Taliban for speaking up against the opression of women. I was teaching about Malala during a Yr 12 Feminism Unit at the time. One lesson we were reading her most recent comments and the next day we arrived hearing she had been shot. It was horrific.

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Zero Dark Thirty is a passingly accurate take on the actions of US forces in the region at this time. There are inaccuracies but the overall tone is representative of the era. To be fair the film does not claim to be history. It is based on the autobiogrpahy of one of the parcipants of Seal Team 6 - a US special Forces group responsible for the mission to capture and or kill Osama bin Laden.

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President Obama, Vice President Biden, along with with members of the national security team follow progress on the mission against Osama bin in real time.

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May 2, 2011 the White House situation room. Ten years after September 11.

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May 2, 2011 the White House situation room. Ten years after September 11.

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Bin Laden was killed by US Special Forces in a heavily fortified home in Abbottabad, a medium-sized city near Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan.

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What if? It is worth pausing for a moment to ask some 'What ifs?'. History is about people and a lot goes into making us, our decisions and our actions. 

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What if? It is worth pausing for a moment to ask some 'What ifs?'. History is about people and a lot goes into making us, our decisions and our actions. 

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Don't just rely on your teacher. Ask yourself: What are the Americans saying about why they left. 

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Don't just rely on your teacher. Ask yourself: What are the Americans saying about why they left. 

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President Joe Biden makes remarks about the situation in Afghanistan. He claims that the past week reinforced that ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan now was the right decision.
What do you think of his reasoning?
Try to empathize from various perspectives. For example:

Americans?

Australian Veterans?

Families of the 41 Australians killed in the conflict?

Afghanis who assisted US, Australian and other forces?

Regular Afghani’s going about their lives?

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President Joe Biden: Ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan was the right decision

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Taliban at the desk of the President two days ago.

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The Taliban essentially waited the Americans out.  Obama had given a time limit to US commitment (many cite this as the biggest error the US made) and the following  US President, Trump, began citing the US weariness about the War and negotiated and end to US involvement including talks with the Taliban . Whilst not seriously attacking US forces during the final months before the US withdrawal the Taliban waged an assassination campaign against Afghanis that might challenge or hold the Taliban to account. For example journalists and opposition politicians. Particularly, powerful women.
The absence of serious attempts at nation building or effort to correct decades of damage done dating as far back as the 1980s also assisted the return of the Taliban and hindered the Afghan governments resistance and willingness to resist.

The world lost interest in Afghanistan.
Over the 20 years since 2001:
c.150,000 -250,000 Afghanis were killed (at least  50,000 of which were civilians)
There c.52,000 US casualties (c.2500 killed)
There were 302 Australian casualties (41 killed).

Did the USA leave because they achieved their objectives?
Did they lose the will to continue?
Even if they had the will should they stay?
Do we like imperialism or not?
Is it up to Afghans to sort it out?
Should neighbors do more?
Should neighbors do less?

Should countries be invaded? When? How? Why?

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'The Arabs, The U.S. and 9/11' in an Arab newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London). 

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It would be trite and disingenuous to assign responsibility for the events unfolding in Afghanistan to the USA or the Soviet Union or the Afghans (or any individual or group for that matter) alone. History is connected. Rarely can blame be assigned to any one notion. If you are looking for blame or judgment you have come to the wrong subject for answers anyway. Here we do understanding.

How does this cartoon allude to the notion of connectedness in history?

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Long Memories = Mass Exodus and Desperation

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Long Memories = Mass Exodus and Desperation

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Fearing the return of the Taliban hundreds of people, especially those who worked with US, Australian and other forces that have recently departed, desperately run alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane as it moves down a runway of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on Aug.16. 2021.

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Painting over of murals of women outside a shopping complex.

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The Taliban are saying that they have change. But Afghani’s are wary.

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Don't just rely on your teacher. Ask yourself: What are the Taliban Saying? 

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Don't just rely on your teacher. Ask yourself: What are the Taliban Saying? 

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The Taliban are back in power in Afghanistan. What does it mean for the Afghan people? In the 90s, when last they ruled, it was a brutal, utterly ruthless regime that terrorized its people.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

So that's what a Taliban spokesman says they will do. And we'll be reporting in the weeks and months ahead on what they do. And we start right now with NPR international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam. Jackie, good morning.

JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: Good morning, Steve.

INSKEEP: How do you evaluate the statements there?

NORTHAM: Well, you know, there are a lot of big promises being made here. I think the Taliban is trying to convince the world that they're a far different group than when they ruled Afghanistan back in the '90s. You know, it was a brutal, utterly ruthless regime that terrorized its people. So is it any wonder that there's skepticism now that we're going to - you know, we're hearing this is going to be a gentler and more inclusive militant group? You know, the Taliban knows that the eyes of the world are watching them. And they say they don't want to be a pariah state again. So that could motivate them to stick with these promises. But, Steve, it's a really tough sell.

INSKEEP: And he did say there will be no reprisals for Afghans who worked with Americans. And there are thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of people who would fit in that category. What are Afghans saying about their safety right now?

NORTHAM: Well, you pointed out examples of reports from various parts of Afghanistan about revenge killings by the Taliban going after Afghans they see as opposing them and just other acts of violence. It could be that the directives from the senior leadership of the Taliban aren't trickling down. You know, we understand that Taliban is helping with crowd control at the airport in Kabul. And it's having to use force to push back, you know, thousands of people, push back the crowds. But we're also hearing reports of people trying to flee the country who are getting stopped and beaten and robbed at Taliban checkpoints near the airport.

INSKEEP: Jackie, I think you're correct when you say that the Taliban are trying to sound different. But it was notable to me in that interview that he didn't actually commit to do anything specifically different. I asked, are you going to be cutting off people's hands and putting them up for display? He said, well, it's up to the judge. Is that really that much different?

NORTHAM: Right. And, well, if you look at women, he said that they could go to school and work. But at this press conference yesterday, they were saying that's true. But it has to remain within the framework of Islamic law. And it's a little unclear what that is, you know? There's concern, you know, it's going to go back to the way things were for women in the '90s. And they've come a long way. And you can imagine how tough this is going to be for women who are 18 and 20 years old who have never lived under the Taliban. They could be facing a real different reality now.

INSKEEP: What is the next thing for us to watch for as we try to determine how the Taliban will govern?

NORTHAM: Well, first and foremost is what the new government will look like, you know. Will it be inclusive, as the Taliban say it will be? How will they interpret Islamic law? That's going to give us a sense of how they're going to treat Afghans, and also whether there's going to be widespread reprisals and cracking down.

INSKEEP: NPR international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam. Thanks for your reporting.

NORTHAM: Thanks so much.

INSKEEP: And we will stay on this story.

(SOUNDBITE OF KUPLA AND PHILANTHROPE'S "NAUTICAL")

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Evaluating The Examples Of The Ways The Taliban Say They've Changed

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The Taliban are back in power in Afghanistan. What does it mean for the Afghan people? In the 90s, when last they ruled, it was a brutal, utterly ruthless regime that terrorized its people. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: So that's what a Taliban spokesman says they will do.

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The return of Taliban: Burqa prices surge tenfold in Afghanistan. Resistance to Taliban.

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The return of Taliban: Burqa prices surge tenfold in Afghanistan. Resistance to Taliban.

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From the article above, "A 25-year-old university graduate, who works for a local NGO in Afghanistan's Herat, said she hasn't left home in weeks because of the fighting. From speaking with other residents, she said there were few if any women out on the streets, with even female doctors staying home until the situation is clearer ... I can't face Taliban fighters. I don't have a good feeling about them. No one can change the Taliban's stance against women and girls, they still want women to stay at home ... I don't think I would be ready to wear a burqa ...I can't accept it. I will fight for my rights, whatever happens," she said.

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As per reports, the burqa prices have surged tenfold in Kabul after the Taliban took over. (File photo: Reuters)

The Taliban have recaptured power with a promise of bringing a new era of peace in Afghanistan. But what the fighters have brought with themselves for the people of Afghanistan are the haunting memories of their brutal rule before they were ousted by the US following the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks on the United States.

Among the many fears the Afghans are living with is that of the women in the country who are dreading the loss of the gains they have made over the years in terms of civil rights. The fear reflects in the fact that the demand for burqas, an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions, has skyrocketed in Afghanistan.

During the earlier Taliban rule, women were required to cover their bodies and faces in a burqa, and were barred from school, work or leaving the house without a male relative.

LONG READ | The rise, fall and rise of Taliban. An Afghan Story

With the return of the Taliban and an entire generation's hopes of building a modern, democratic state going down the drain, women in the war-ravaged nation have started going back to burqas, leading to a whopping tenfold surge in the prices of the traditional attire in Kabul, as per reports.

A CNN report quoted a woman in Kabul saying that her household had just one to two burqas to share between her, her sister and their mother.

"If we don't have a burqa, we have to get a bedsheet or something to make it a bigger scarf," she said.

ALSO READ | The recurring tragedy of Afghanistan

While the Taliban leadership has assured that it is open to women's education, rights groups say the rules vary depending on local commanders and the communities themselves.

A 25-year-old university graduate, who works for a local NGO in Afghanistan's Herat, said she hasn't left home in weeks because of the fighting. From speaking with other residents, she said there were few if any women out on the streets, with even female doctors staying home until the situation is clearer.
ALSO READ | The women bureaucrats of Afghanistan
"I can't face Taliban fighters. I don't have a good feeling about them. No one can change the Taliban's stance against women and girls, they still want women to stay at home," news agency AP quoted her as saying.

"I don't think I would be ready to wear a burqa," she said, referring to the all-encompassing blue robe women were forced to wear under Taliban rule. "I can't accept it. I will fight for my rights, whatever happens," she said.

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The return of Taliban: Burqa prices surge tenfold in Afghanistan

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As per reports, the burqa prices have surged tenfold in Kabul after the Taliban took over. (File photo: Reuters) The Taliban have recaptured power with a promise of bringing a new era of peace in Afghanistan.

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Another development has been not just the return of the Taliban but of other groups rushing in to fill the power vacuum left by the departure of the USA and other forces such as Australia. Most notably being Isis-K, the Afghani version of ISIS. For perspective Isis were regarded as too radical to associate with by Alqueda!
Isis-k launched an appalling terror bombing on the waiting crowds at Kabul airport.
This ‘competition’ has been a feature of Afghan life since the departure of the Soviets in 1989. Nothing has been done to seriously address it since. It is hard to see a way forward until this is addressed.
The attached article explains what is known about this other group rearing its head in Afghanistan.

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An attack on a crowd gathered outside Kabul's airport on Aug. 26, 2021, has left at least 100 people dead, including at least 13 U.S. troops. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the coordinated suicide bomb and gun assault, which came just days after President Joe Biden warned that the group - an affiliate of the Islamic State group operating in Afghanistan - was "seeking to target the airport and attack U.S. and allied forces and innocent civilians." Amira Jadoon, a terrorism expert at the U.S. Military Academy West Point, and Andrew Mines, a research fellow at the George Washington University's Program on Extremism, have been tracking ISIS-K for years and answered our questions about who the terrorist group is, and the threat it poses in a destabilized Afghanistan.
Who is ISIS-K?

The Islamic State Khorasan Province, which is also known by the acronyms ISIS-K, ISKP and ISK, is the official affiliate of the Islamic State movement operating in Afghanistan, as recognized by Islamic State core leadership in Iraq and Syria.

ISIS-K was officially founded in January 2015. Within a short period of time, it managed to consolidate territorial control in several rural districts in north and northeast Afghanistan, and launched a lethal campaign across Afghanistan and Pakistan. Within its first three years, ISIS-K launched attacks against minority groups, public areas and institutions, and government targets in major cities across Afghanistan and Pakistan.

By 2018, it had become one of the top four deadliest terrorist organizations in the world, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace's Global Terrorism Index.

But after suffering major territorial, leadership and rank-and-file losses to the U.S.-led coalition and its Afghan partners - which culminated in the surrender of over 1,400 of its fighters and their families to the Afghan government in late 2019 and early 2020 - the organization was declared, by some, to be defeated.

Can you tell us a little more about the group's background?

ISIS-K was founded by former members of the Pakistani Taliban, Afghan Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Over time, though, the group has poached militants from various other groups.

One of the group's greatest strengths is its ability to leverage the local expertise of these fighters and commanders. ISIS-K first started to consolidate territory in the southern districts of Nangarhar province, which sits on Afghanistan's northeast border with Pakistan and is the site of al-Qaida's former stronghold in the Tora Bora area.

ISIS-K used its position on the border to garner supplies and recruits from Pakistan's tribal areas, as well as the expertise of other local groups with which it forged operational alliances.

Substantial evidence shows that the group has received money, advice, and training from the Islamic State group's core organizational body in Iraq and Syria. Some experts have placed those figures in excess of US$100 million.

What are its aims and tactics?

ISIS-K's general strategy is to establish a beachhead for the Islamic State movement to expand its so-called caliphate to Central and South Asia.

It aims to cement itself as the foremost jihadist organization in the region, in part by seizing the legacy of jihadist groups that came before it. This is evident in the group's messaging, which appeals to veteran jihadist fighters as well as younger populations in urban areas.

Like the group's namesake in Iraq and Syria, ISIS-K leverages the expertise of its personnel and operational alliances with other groups to carry out devastating attacks. These attacks target minorities like Afghanistan's Hazara and Sikh populations, as well as journalists, aid workers, security personnel and government infrastructure.

ISIS-K's goal is to create chaos and uncertainty in a bid to push disillusioned fighters from other groups into their ranks, and to cast doubt on any ruling government's ability to provide security for the population.

What relationship does ISIS-K have with the Taliban?

ISIS-K sees the Afghan Taliban as its strategic rivals. It brands the Afghan Taliban as " filthy nationalists " with ambitions only to form a government confined to the boundaries of Afghanistan. This contradicts the Islamic State movement's goal of establishing a global caliphate.

Since its inception, ISIS-K has tried to recruit Afghan Taliban members while also targeting Taliban positions throughout the country.

ISIS-K's efforts have met with some success, but the Taliban have managed to stem the group's challenges by pursuing attacks and operations against ISIS-K personnel and positions.

These clashes have often occurred in tandem with U.S. and Afghan air power and ground operations against ISIS-K, although the full extent to which these operations were coordinated is still unclear.

What is clear is that the majority of ISIS-K's manpower and leadership losses were the result of U.S. and Afghan-led operations, and American air strikes in particular.

How much of a threat is ISIS-K in Afghanistan and to the international community?

As a relatively weakened organization, ISIS-K's immediate goals are to replenish its ranks and signal its resolve through high-profile attacks. Doing so can help ensure that the group doesn't become an irrelevant player in the Afghanistan-Pakistan landscape. It is interested in attacking U.S. and allied partners abroad, but the extent to which the group is able to inspire and direct attacks against the West is an issue that has divided the U.S. military and intelligence community.

In Afghanistan, however, ISIS-K has proved itself to be a much greater threat. In addition to its attacks against Afghan minorities and civilian institutions, the group has targeted international aid workers, land-mine removal efforts and even tried to assassinate the top U.S. envoy to Kabul in January 2021.

It is still too early to tell how the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will benefit ISIS-K, but the attack on the Kabul airport shows the continued threat posed by the group.

In the short term, ISIS-K will likely continue its efforts to sow panic and chaos, disrupt the withdrawal process and demonstrate that the Afghan Taliban are incapable of providing security to the population.

If the group is able to reconstitute some level of territorial control in the longer term and recruit more fighters, it will most likely be poised to make a comeback and pose threats on the national, regional and international levels.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 8 a.m. EST on Aug. 27, 2021 to reflect the latest information on casualties at that time.
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What is ISIS-K? Two terrorism experts on the group behind the deadly Kabul airport attack and its rivalry with the Taliban

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An attack on a crowd gathered outside Kabul's airport on Aug. 26, 2021, has left at least 100 people dead, including at least 13 U.S. troops. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the coordinated suicide bomb and gun assault, which came just days after President Joe Biden warned that the group - an affiliate of the Islamic State group operating in Afghanistan - was "seeking to target the airport and attack U.S.

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The newly appointed Prime Minister of Afghanistan, Muhammad Hassan Akhund, appointed 12/9/21.

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Taliban Prime - Minister Muhammad Hassan Akhund

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Taliban Prime - Minister Muhammad Hassan Akhund

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Akhund is probably best known as one of the architects of the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan (mentioned on the first slide of this padlet) the giant cliff statues destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
The wonder of the world had stood since the 6th Century.

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Ahmad Massoud, the son of Ahman Shah Massoud (assassinated around the time of September 11), like his father has emerged as the last leader of Anti-Taliban resistance in Afghanistan. However, unlike his father Ahmad faces exceptionally well equipped Taliban forces which 'inherited' the military material of the US equipped Afghan Government forces.

Could a lack of opposition against the Taliban be a good thing in the short term and/or Long term?
Without a viable opposition to the Taliban what checks on its behaviour can be brought to bear?
Is this just more bad news?

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The leader of the Afghan opposition group resisting Taliban forces in the Panjshir valley, north of Kabul, says he welcomes proposals from religious scholars for a negotiated settlement to end the fighting.

Ahmad Massoud says the NRF is willing to talk with the Taliban and put an immediate end to fighting

Afghan media outlets report that religious scholars called on the Taliban to accept a negotiated settlement

The Taliban say they have fought their way into Panjshir's provincial capital Bazarak

Ahmad Massoud, head of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), made the announcement on the group's Facebook page.

Earlier, Taliban forces said they had fought their way into the provincial capital of Panjshir after securing surrounding districts.

The Taliban took control of the rest of Afghanistan three weeks ago, taking power in Kabul on August 15 after the Western-backed government collapsed and president Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

"The NRF in principle agree to solve the current problems and put an immediate end to the fighting and continue negotiations," Mr Massoud said in the Facebook post.

"To reach a lasting peace, the NRF is ready to stop fighting on condition that Taliban also stop their attacks and military movements on Panjshir and Andarab," he said, referring to a district in the neighbouring province of Baghlan.

A large gathering of all sides with the Ulema council of religious scholars could then be held, he said.

Panjshir forces have been fighting the Taliban.(
AFP: Ahmad Sahel Arman
)

Earlier, Afghan media outlets reported that religious scholars had called on the Taliban to accept a negotiated settlement to end the fighting in Panjshir.

There was no immediate response from the Taliban.

Read more about the Taliban's advance in Afghanistan:

Mr Massoud, who leads a force made up of remnants of regular Afghan army and special forces units as well as local militia fighters, called for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban before the fighting broke out around a week ago.

Several attempts at talks were held but they eventually broke down, with each side blaming the other for their failure.

Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said earlier on Sunday that their forces had fought their way into the provincial capital Bazarak and had captured large quantities of weapons and ammunition.

Panjshir's history of resistance

On Sunday, the NRF confirmed that its main spokesman, Fahim Dashti, had been killed during the day.

Mr Dashti had survived the suicide attack that killed Mr Massoud's father, Ahmad Shah Massoud, on September 9, 2001, just days before the September 11 attacks on the United States.

He had been one of the main sources of updates from the area as the Taliban pressed in on opposition forces, issuing a defiant series of statements on Twitter, vowing that resistance would continue.

Kabul's women say Taliban vengeance has begun

After retaking Afghanistan, the Taliban asked women to trust them. But among Kabul's female residents, faith in the conquerors is hard to find.

Read more

Panjshir, a rugged valley in the mountains north of Kabul that is still littered with the wreckage of Soviet tanks destroyed during the war in the 1980s, has proved very difficult to overcome in the past.

Under Mr Massoud's late father the region resisted control by both the invading Soviet army and by the Taliban government that previously ruled from 1996 to 2001.

But that effort was helped by supply routes leading north to the border, which were closed off by the Taliban's sweeping victory last month.

The Panjshir fighting has been the most prominent example of resistance to the Taliban.

But small individual protests for women's rights or in defence of the green, red and black tricolour flag of Afghanistan have also been held in different cities.
Reuters

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Afghan resistance leader Massoud open to talks with Taliban

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The leader of the Afghan opposition group resisting Taliban forces in the Panjshir valley, north of Kabul, says he welcomes proposals from religious scholars for a negotiated settlement to end the fighting.

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Where is the HOPE? Don’t look to me for an answer. What would ultra-safe people in Australia really know? Listen to perspectives of those on the ground.

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Where is the HOPE? Don’t look to me for an answer. What would ultra-safe people in Australia really know? Listen to perspectives of those on the ground.

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Afghan women protest for their rights in Kabul as Taliban return. A group of Afghan women, holding signs and protesting for their rights on the streets of Kabul.

Women and girls in Afghanistan are desperate not to lose their freedoms now that the Taliban are back in power.

Afghan activist Pashtana Durrani runs an organization that provides access to learning materials for 7,000 girls, mostly in rural areas across Afghanistan.

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Afghan women protest for their rights in Kabul as Taliban return

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What do you understand more now than before we started?

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What do you understand more now than before we started?

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There have been many comparisons between what has happened this past few weeks to the last days of the Vietnam War. However I’ll put to you that the more relevant ‘repetition’ took place in Afghanistan itself.
What happened after the Soviets left is largely similar to what happened after the US and co. left.

Explain the missed opportunity?

What lessons went unheeded?

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Do you see an opportunity for meaningful action?

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Do you see an opportunity for meaningful action?

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Is this realistic or does it just make a nice gif?