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m →Background: clean up, replaced: author=Meld je aan of registreer je om een reactie te plaatsen! → author= using AWB
to undo some incromprehensive (for English speakers) Dutch comment. It seems nonsense to me anyway
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Meanwhile, southern Afghanistan was under the control of local leaders not affiliated with the central government in Kabul. In 1994, the [[Taliban]] - a movement originating from [[Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam]]-run religious schools for Afghan refugees in Pakistan - also developed in Afghanistan as a politico-religious force.<ref name="Matinuddin, Kamal 1999 pp.25">Matinuddin, Kamal, ''The Taliban Phenomenon, Afghanistan 1994–1997'', [[Oxford University Press]], (1999), pp. 25–26</ref> In November 1994 they took control of the southern city of [[Kandahar]] and subsequently expanded their control into several provinces in southern and central Afghanistan not under the central government's control.<ref name="Human Rights Watch (5)"/>
Meanwhile, southern Afghanistan was under the control of local leaders not affiliated with the central government in Kabul. In 1994, the [[Taliban]] - a movement originating from [[Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam]]-run religious schools for Afghan refugees in Pakistan - also developed in Afghanistan as a politico-religious force.<ref name="Matinuddin, Kamal 1999 pp.25">Matinuddin, Kamal, ''The Taliban Phenomenon, Afghanistan 1994–1997'', [[Oxford University Press]], (1999), pp. 25–26</ref> In November 1994 they took control of the southern city of [[Kandahar]] and subsequently expanded their control into several provinces in southern and central Afghanistan not under the central government's control.<ref name="Human Rights Watch (5)"/>


In late 1994, most of the militia factions which had been fighting in the battle for control of Kabul were defeated militarily by forces of the Islamic State's [[Minister of Defense]] [[Ahmad Shah Massoud]]. Bombardment of the capital came to a halt.<ref name="Afghanistan Justice Project"/><ref name="amnesty.org">Amnesty International. "Document – Afghanistan: further information on fear for safety and new concern: Deliberate and arbitrary killings: Civilians in Kabul." November 16, 1995 Accessed at: [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA11/015/1995/en/6d874caa-eb2a-11dd-92ac-295bdf97101f/asa110151995en.html Amnesty.org]</ref><ref name="International Committee of the Red Cross">{{cite web |year=1995|url=http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jly2.htm |title =Afghanistan: escalation of indiscriminate shelling in Kabul| publisher =International Committee of the Red Cross}}</ref> The Islamic State government took steps to restore law and order.<ref name="BBC Newsnight 1995">{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnia-TUuCDs |title=BBC Newsnight 1995 |publisher=Youtube.com |date= |accessdate=February 4, 2012}}</ref> Courts started to work again.<ref name="BBC Newsnight 1995"/> Massoud tried to initiate a nationwide [[political process]] with the goal of national [[Democratic consolidation|consolidation]] and [[democratic]] elections, also inviting the [[Taliban]] to join the process but they refused as they did not believe in a democratic system.<ref name="Webster University Press Book">{{cite book | last = Marcela Grad| authorlink = | title = Massoud: An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Afghan Leader|edition=March 1, 2009 |page=310 | publisher = Webster University Press| isbn= }}</ref>
In late 1994, most of the militia factions which had been fighting in the battle for control of Kabul were defeated militarily by forces of the Islamic State's [[Minister of Defense]] [[Ahmad Shah Massoud]]. Bombardment of the capital came to a halt.<ref name="Afghanistan Justice Project"/><ref name="amnesty.org">Amnesty International. "Document – Afghanistan: further information on fear for safety and new concern: Deliberate and arbitrary killings: Civilians in Kabul." November 16, 1995 Accessed at: [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA11/015/1995/en/6d874caa-eb2a-11dd-92ac-295bdf97101f/asa110151995en.html Amnesty.org]</ref><ref name="International Committee of the Red Cross">{{cite web |year=1995|url=http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jly2.htm |title =Afghanistan: escalation of indiscriminate shelling in Kabul| publisher =International Committee of the Red Cross}}</ref> The Islamic State government took steps to restore law and order.<ref name="BBC Newsnight 1995">{{cite web|author=Meld je aan of registreer je om een reactie te plaatsen! |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnia-TUuCDs |title=BBC Newsnight 1995 |publisher=Youtube.com |date= |accessdate=February 4, 2012}}</ref> Courts started to work again.<ref name="BBC Newsnight 1995"/> Massoud tried to initiate a nationwide [[political process]] with the goal of national [[Democratic consolidation|consolidation]] and [[democratic]] elections, also inviting the [[Taliban]] to join the process but they refused as they did not believe in a democratic system.<ref name="Webster University Press Book">{{cite book | last = Marcela Grad| authorlink = | title = Massoud: An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Afghan Leader|edition=March 1, 2009 |page=310 | publisher = Webster University Press| isbn= }}</ref>


The Taliban started shelling Kabul in early 1995 but were defeated by forces of the Islamic State government under [[Ahmad Shah Massoud]].<ref name="amnesty.org"/> ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzPcMB9SQz0 see video]) [[Amnesty International]], referring to the Taliban offensive, wrote in a 1995 report:
The Taliban started shelling Kabul in early 1995 but were defeated by forces of the Islamic State government under [[Ahmad Shah Massoud]].<ref name="amnesty.org"/> ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzPcMB9SQz0 see video]) [[Amnesty International]], referring to the Taliban offensive, wrote in a 1995 report:

Revision as of 22:29, 28 April 2012

For other uses, see Northern Alliance (disambiguation).
United Islamic Front
Leaders1996-2001
Ahmad Shah Massoud
Haji Abdul Qadir
Hussain Anwari
Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq
Rashid Dostum (until 1998)
2011-present
Ustad Atta Mohammad Noor
Ahmad Zia Massoud
Abdullah Abdullah
Amrullah Saleh
Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq
Rashid Dostum
Dates of operationSeptember 1996–October 2001
2011-present
Active regionsAfghanistan
IdeologyIslamic democracy
AlliesISAF (from September 2001 onwards)
India
OpponentsPakistan Army
Taliban
Al-Qaeda
Battles and warsWar in Afghanistan (1996-2001), War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Islamic State of Afghanistan
دولت اسلامی افغانستان
1992–2001
Location of Afghanistan
CapitalKabul de facto from 1992 to 1996 then Northern Afghanistan till 2001
Common languagesPersian, Pashto
GovernmentIslamic Republic
• 1992–2001
Burhanuddin Rabbani
History 
• Established
1992
• Disestablished
2001
ISO 3166 codeAF
Preceded by
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

The United Front (in full: United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan; acronym: UF; Persian: ‏ جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان, Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islami-yi Milli bara-yi Nijat-i Afghanistan), known in the West and Pakistan as the Northern Alliance, was a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in late 1996 under the leadership of Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud. The United Front fought as a resistance force against the Afghan Taliban and Al-Qaeda who were supported by the Pakistan military. The UF united all ethnic groups of Afghanistan including Tajiks, Pashtuns, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmen and others.

Commanders and factions

The United Front was established in late 1996 as a resistance force against the Taliban by opposition factions representing all ethnic groups in Afghanistan. Since early 1999, Ahmad Shah Massoud was the only main leader able to defend his territory against the Taliban and their allies and as such remained as the main de facto political and military leader of the United Front recognized by members of all the different ethnic groups. Massoud decided on the main political line and the general military strategy of the alliance. A part of the United Front military factions such as Junbish-i Milli or Hezb-e Wahdat, however, did not fall under the direct control of Massoud but remained under their respective regional or ethnic leaders.

Military commanders of the United Front were either independent or belonged to one of the following political parties:

Military commanders and subcommanders of the United Front included:

The two main political candidates in the Afghan Presidential Elections of 2009 both worked for the United Front:

  • Abdullah Abdullah (was a close friend of Ahmad Shah Massoud and the foreign minister of the alliance)
  • Hamid Karzai (his father was killed by the Taliban, he subsequently went on a diplomatic mission to gather support for Massoud in Europe and the U.S. in 2000/2001)

History

Background

Afghanistan after the Soviet retreat. Shura-e Nazar/Jamiat-e Islami (blue), Hezb-e Wahdat and Harakat-e Islami (yellow), Ittihad-i Islami (violet), communist groups including Junbish-i Milli (red), Hezb-i Islami Gulbuddin (dark green), Hezb-i Islami Khalis (white-green striped), Harakat-i Inqilab including many later Taliban (light green).

After the fall of the Soviet-backed communist Najibullah government in 1992, the Afghan political parties agreed on a peace and power-sharing agreement (the Peshawar Accords). The accords created the Islamic State of Afghanistan and appointed an interim government for a transitional period to be followed by general elections. According to Human Rights Watch:

The sovereignty of Afghanistan was vested formally in the Islamic State of Afghanistan, an entity created in April 1992, after the fall of the Soviet-backed Najibullah government. [...] With the exception of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami, all of the parties [...] were ostensibly unified under this government in April 1992. [...] Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami, for its part, refused to recognize the government for most of the period discussed in this report and launched attacks against government forces and Kabul generally. [...] Shells and rockets fell everywhere.[1]

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar received operational, financial and military support from Pakistan.[2] Afghanistan expert Amin Saikal concludes in Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival:

Pakistan was keen to gear up for a breakthrough in Central Asia. [...] Islamabad could not possibly expect the new Islamic government leaders [...] to subordinate their own nationalist objectives in order to help Pakistan realize its regional ambitions. [...] Had it not been for the ISI's logistic support and supply of a large number of rockets, Hekmatyar's forces would not have been able to target and destroy half of Kabul.[3]

In addition, Saudi Arabia and Iran – as competitors for regional hegemony – supported Afghan militias hostile towards each other.[3] According to Human Rights Watch, Iran was backing the Shia Hazara Hezb-i Wahdat forces of Abdul Ali Mazari in order to "maximize Wahdat's military power and influence".[1][3][4] Saudi Arabia supported the Wahhabite Abdul Rasul Sayyaf and his Ittihad-i Islami faction.[1][3] A publication by the George Washington University describes:

[O]utside forces saw instability in Afghanistan as an opportunity to press their own security and political agendas.[5]

Conflict between the two militias soon escalated into a full-scale war.

Due to the sudden initiation of the war, working government departments, police units or a system of justice and accountability for the newly-created Islamic State of Afghanistan did not have time to form. Atrocities were committed by individuals of the different armed factions while Kabul descended into lawlessness and chaos as described in reports by Human Rights Watch and the Afghanistan Justice Project.[1][6] Because of the chaos, some leaders increasingly had only nominal control over their (sub-)commanders.[7] Human Rights Watch writes:

Rare ceasefires, usually negotiated by representatives of Ahmad Shah Massoud, Sibghatullah Mojaddedi or Burhanuddin Rabbani [the interim government], or officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), commonly collapsed within days.[1]

Meanwhile, southern Afghanistan was under the control of local leaders not affiliated with the central government in Kabul. In 1994, the Taliban - a movement originating from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-run religious schools for Afghan refugees in Pakistan - also developed in Afghanistan as a politico-religious force.[8] In November 1994 they took control of the southern city of Kandahar and subsequently expanded their control into several provinces in southern and central Afghanistan not under the central government's control.[7]

In late 1994, most of the militia factions which had been fighting in the battle for control of Kabul were defeated militarily by forces of the Islamic State's Minister of Defense Ahmad Shah Massoud. Bombardment of the capital came to a halt.[6][9][10] The Islamic State government took steps to restore law and order.[11] Courts started to work again.[11] Massoud tried to initiate a nationwide political process with the goal of national consolidation and democratic elections, also inviting the Taliban to join the process but they refused as they did not believe in a democratic system.[12]

The Taliban started shelling Kabul in early 1995 but were defeated by forces of the Islamic State government under Ahmad Shah Massoud.[9] (see video) Amnesty International, referring to the Taliban offensive, wrote in a 1995 report:

"This is the first time in several months that Kabul civilians have become the targets of rocket attacks and shelling aimed at residential areas in the city".[9]

The Taliban's early victories in 1994 were followed by a series of defeats that resulted in heavy losses which led analysts to believe the Taliban movement had run its course.[7] At that point Pakistan and Saudi Arabia drastically increased their support to the Taliban.[3][13] Many analysts like Amin Saikal describe the Taliban as developing into a proxy force for Pakistan's regional interests.[3] On September 26, 1996, as the Taliban with military support by Pakistan and financial support by Saudi Arabia, prepared for another major offensive against the capital Kabul, Massoud ordered a full retreat from the city.[14] The Taliban seized Kabul on September 27, 1996, and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Creation of the United Front

Map of the situation in Afghanistan in late 1996; Massoud (red), Dostum (green) and Taliban (yellow) territories.

Ahmad Shah Massoud and Abdul Rashid Dostum, former enemies, created the United Front (Northern Alliance) against the Taliban that were preparing offensives against the remaining areas under the control of Massoud and those under the control of Dostum. (see video) The United Front included beside the dominantly Tajik forces of Massoud and the Uzbek forces of Dostum, Hazara troops led by Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq and Pashtun forces under the leadership of commanders such as Abdul Haq and Haji Abdul Qadir. Notable politicians and diplomats of the United Front included Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai, Abdullah Abdullah and Masood Khalili. From the Taliban conquest of Kabul in September 1996 until November 2001 the United Front controlled roughly 30% of Afghanistan's population in provinces such as Badakhshan, Kapisa, Takhar and parts of Parwan, Kunar, Nuristan, Laghman, Samangan, Kunduz, Ghōr and Bamyan.

Pakistani military interference

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf sent tens of thousands of Pakistani nationals to fight alongside the Taliban.

According to Pakistani Afghanistan expert Ahmed Rashid, "between 1994 and 1999, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 Pakistanis trained and fought in Afghanistan" on the side of the Taliban against the United Front.[15]

In 2001 alone, according to several international sources, 28,000-30,000 Pakistani nationals, 14,000-15,000 Afghan Taliban and 2,000-3,000 Al Qaeda militants were fighting against anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan as a roughly 45,000 strong military force.[16][12][17][18] Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf – then as Chief of Army Staff – was responsible for sending thousands of Pakistanis to fight alongside the Taliban and Bin Laden against the forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud.[12][13][19] Of the estimated 28,000 Pakistani nationals fighting in Afghanistan, 8,000 were militants recruited in madrassas filling regular Taliban ranks.[16] A 1998 document by the U.S. State Department confirms that "20–40 percent of [regular] Taliban soldiers are Pakistani".[13] The document further states that the parents of those Pakistani nationals "know nothing regarding their child's military involvement with the Taliban until their bodies are brought back to Pakistan".[13] According to the U.S. State Department report and reports by Human Rights Watch, the other Pakistani nationals fighting in Afghanistan were regular Pakistani soldiers especially from the Frontier Corps but also from the army providing direct combat support.[20][13]

Human Rights Watch wrote in 2000:

Of all the foreign powers involved in efforts to sustain and manipulate the ongoing fighting [in Afghanistan], Pakistan is distinguished both by the sweep of its objectives and the scale of its efforts, which include soliciting funding for the Taliban, bankrolling Taliban operations, providing diplomatic support as the Taliban's virtual emissaries abroad, arranging training for Taliban fighters, recruiting skilled and unskilled manpower to serve in Taliban armies, planning and directing offensives, providing and facilitating shipments of ammunition and fuel, and ... directly providing combat support.[20]

On August 1, 1997 the Taliban launched an attack on Sheberghan the main military base of Abdul Rashid Dostum. Dostum has said the reason the attack was successful was due to 1500 Pakistani commandos taking part and that the Pakistani air force also gave support.[21]

In 1998, Iran accused Pakistan of sending its air force to bomb Mazar-i-Sharif in support of Taliban forces and directly accused Pakistani troops for "war crimes at Bamiyan".[22] The same year Russia said, Pakistan was responsible for the "military expansion" of the Taliban in northern Afghanistan by sending large numbers of Pakistani troops some of whom had subsequently been taken as prisoners by the anti-Taliban United Front.[23]

In 2000, the UN Security Council imposed an arms embargo against military support to the Taliban, with UN officials explicitly singling out Pakistan. The UN secretary-general implicitly criticized Pakistan for its military support and the Security Council stated it was "deeply distress[ed] over reports of involvement in the fighting, on the Taliban side, of thousands of non-Afghan nationals".[24] In July 2001, several countries including the United States, accused Pakistan of being "in violation of U.N. sanctions because of its military aid to the Taliban".[25]

In 2000, British Intelligence reported that the ISI was taking an active role in several Al Qaeda training camps.[26] The ISI helped with the construction of training camps for both the Taliban and Al Qaeda.[26][27][28] From 1996 to 2001 the Al Qaeda of Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri became a state within the Taliban state.[29] Bin Laden sent Arab and Central Asian Al-Qaeda militants to join the fight against the United Front among them his Brigade 055.[29][30]

With the fall of Kabul to anti-Taliban forces in November 2001, ISI forces worked with and helped Taliban militias who were in full retreat.[31] In November 2001, Taliban, Al-Qaeda combatants and ISI operatives were safely evacuated from Kunduz on Pakistan Army cargo aircraft to Pakistan Air Force bases in Chitral and Gilgit in Pakistan's Northern Areas in what has been dubbed the "Airlift of Evil"[32]

The role of the Pakistani military has been described by international observers as well as by the anti-Taliban leader Ahmad Shah Massoud as a "creeping invasion".[15] The "creeping invasion" proved unable to defeat the severely outnumbered anti-Taliban forces.[15]

Taliban massacres

According to a 55-page report by the United Nations, the Taliban, while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan, committed systematic massacres against civilians.[33][34] UN officials stated that there had been "15 massacres" between 1996 and 2001.[33][34] They also said, that "[t]hese have been highly systematic and they all lead back to the [Taliban] Ministry of Defense or to Mullah Omar himself".[33][34] Al Qaeda's so-called 055 Brigade was also responsible for mass-killings of Afghan civilians.[16] The report by the United Nations quotes eyewitnesses in many villages describing Arab fighters "carrying long knives used for slitting throats and skinning people".[33][34]

Ahmad Shah Massoud

The only thing standing in the way of future Taliban massacres is Ahmad Shah Massoud.[35]

After longstanding battles especially for the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Abdul Rashid Dostum and his Junbish forces alongside allied Hezb-e Wahdat forces were defeated by the Taliban and their allies in 1998. Dostum subsequently went into exile. Ahmad Shah Massoud remained the only major anti-Taliban leader inside Afghanistan who was able to defend vast parts of his territory against the Pakistan army, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

The Taliban repeatedly offered Massoud money and a position of power to make him stop his resistance. Massoud declined. He explained in one interview:

"The Taliban say: “Come and accept the post of prime minister and be with us”, and they would keep the highest office in the country, the presidentship. But for what price?! The difference between us concerns mainly our way of thinking about the very principles of the society and the state. We can not accept their conditions of compromise, or else we would have to give up the principles of modern democracy. We are fundamentally against the system called “the Emirate of Afghanistan”".[36]
"There should be an Afghanistan where every Afghan finds himself or herself happy. And I think that can only be assured by democracy based on consensus".[37]

Massoud wanted to convince the Taliban to join a political process leading towards democratic elections in a foreseeable future.[36][38] He also stated:

"The Taliban are not a force to be considered invincible. They are distanced from the people now. They are weaker than in the past. There is only the assistance given by Pakistan, Osama bin Laden and other extremist groups that keep the Taliban on their feet. With a halt to that assistance, it is extremely difficult to survive".[37]

In early 2001 the United Front employed a new strategy of local military pressure and global political appeals.[39] Resentment was increasingly gathering against Taliban rule from the bottom of Afghan society including the Pashtun areas.[39] In total, estimates range up to one million people fleeing the Taliban.[40] Many civilians fled to the area of Ahmad Shah Massoud.[19][41] National Geographic concluded in its documentary "Inside the Taliban": "The only thing standing in the way of future Taliban massacres is Ahmad Shah Massoud".[19] In the areas under his control Massoud set up democratic institutions and signed the Women's Rights Declaration.[12] At the same time he was very wary not to revive the failed Kabul government of the early 1990s.[39] Already in 1999 the United Front leadership ordered the training of police forces specifically to keep order and protect the civilian population in case the United Front would be successful.[12] In early 2001 Ahmad Shah Massoud addressed the European Parliament in Brussels asking the international community to provide humanitarian help to the people of Afghanistan.(see video)[40] He stated that the Taliban and Al Qaeda had introduced "a very wrong perception of Islam" and that without the support of Pakistan and Bin Laden the Taliban would not be able to sustain their military campaign for up to a year.[40] On this visit to Europe he also warned that his intelligence had gathered information about a large-scale attack on U.S. soil being imminent.[42]

On September 9, 2001, two Arab suicide attackers, allegedly belonging to Al Qaeda, posing as journalists, detonated a bomb hidden in a video camera while interviewing Ahmed Shah Massoud in the Takhar province of Afghanistan. Commander Massoud died in a helicopter that was taking him to a hospital. He was buried in his home village of Bazarak in the Panjshir Valley.[43] The funeral, although taking place in a rather rural area, was attended by hundreds of thousands of mourning people. Sad day (video clip).

The assassination of Massoud is considered to have a strong connection to the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. soil which killed nearly 3,000 people and which appeared to be the terrorist attack that Massoud had warned against in his speech to the European Parliament several months earlier. John P. O'Neill was a counter-terrorism expert and the Assistant Director of the FBI until late 2001. He retired from the FBI and was offered the position of director of security at the World Trade Center (WTC). He took the job at the WTC two weeks before 9/11. On September 10, 2001, John O’Neill told two of his friends,

"We're due. And we're due for something big. ... Some things have happened in Afghanistan [referring to the assassination of Massoud]. I don’t like the way things are lining up in Afghanistan. ... I sense a shift, and I think things are going to happen. ... soon".[44]

John O'Neill died on September 11, 2001, when the south tower collapsed.[44]

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, United Front troops ousted the Taliban from power in Kabul with American air support in Operation Enduring Freedom, using intelligence reports offered by Iran during the Six plus Two Group meetings at the United Nations Headquarters. In November and December 2001 the United Front gained control of much of the country and played a crucial role in establishing the post-Taliban interim government of Hamid Karzai in late 2001.

Post 9/11

After the terrorist attacks of September 11 on U.S. soil that killed 3,000 people, the United Front succeeded in retaking most of Afghanistan from the Taliban with air support from the United States Air Force and small embedded NATO Special Forces teams on the ground in Operation Enduring Freedom. Despite fears of a return to the chaos similar to that of the 1992–1996 civil war, all the different UIF factions accepted the new interim Karzai administration led by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

From 2002 to 2004 Afghanistan witnessed relative calm. By 2006, however, with the support of Pakistan, a Taliban insurgency was increasingly gaining strength. At the same time very few officials of the erstwhile United Front remained in the Karzai administration. In 2010, the Afghan President Karzai took a dramatic shift in policy and was convinced only appeasement policy towards the Taliban could bring peace to Afghanistan. United Front officials, by then splintered into several opposition parties, warned that Karzai's appeasement policy could come at the cost of Afghanistan's political and economic development and the progress made in areas such as education and women's rights. As United Front leaders were excluded from secret talks with the Taliban by NATO and the Karzai administration and Karzai's political rhetoric was increasingly adjusted to Taliban demands, United Front leaders, in late 2011, regrouped to oppose a return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan.

Reformation (2011)

The National Front of Afghanistan, which was created by Ahmad Zia Massoud, Abdul Rashid Dostum and Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq in late 2011 to oppose a return of the Taliban to power, is generally considered as a reformation of the military wing of the United Front.[45] Meanwhile, much of the political wing has reunited under the National Coalition of Afghanistan led by Abdullah Abdullah becoming the main democratic opposition movement in the Afghan parliament.[46][47] Former head of intelligence, Amrullah Saleh, has created a new movement, Basej-i Milli, with support among the youth mobilizing about 10,000 people in an anti-Taliban demonstration in the capital Kabul in May 2011.[48][49][50] Former Northern Alliance strongman Qasim Fahim, Vice President, however remains in an alliance with Hamid Karzai.

Human rights (1997–2001)

The human rights situation during combat was heavily dependent on the specific commander and his troops. The situation for different leaders and their troops of the United Front thus shows sharp contrasts. Also, the quality of life of the Afghan population was heavily dependent on the specific leader that was directly controlling the area in which they lived. Sharp contrasts could also be witnessed regarding life and structures in those areas.

Area of Massoud

Massoud directly controlled the Panjshir, some other parts of Parwan and Thakar province. Some parts of Badakshan were under his influence while others were controlled by Burhanuddin Rabbani with whom Massoud had some non-violent disputes. (Badakshan is the home region of Rabbani).

Human Rights Watch cites no human rights crimes or abuses for Massoud's troops in the period from October 1996 until the assassination of Massoud in September 2001. Massoud created democratic institutions which were structured into several committees: political, health, education and economic.[12] In the area of Massoud women and girls did not have to wear the Afghan burqa.[12] They were allowed to work and to go to school.[12] In at least two known instances Massoud personally intervened against cases of forced marriage.[12] While it was Massoud's stated conviction that men and women are equal and should enjoy the same rights, he also had to deal with Afghan traditions which he said would need a generation or more to overcome. In his opinion that could only be achieved through education.[12]

Hundreds of thousands of refugees fled the Taliban to the areas of Massoud.[51] There was a huge humanitarian problem because there was not enough to eat for both the existing population and the refugees. In 2001 Massoud and a French journalist described the bitter situation of the refugees and asked for humanitarian help.[51] see video

Area of Dostum

Until the defeat of Dostum by the Taliban in 1998 he controlled the following provinces: Samangan, Balkh, Jowzjan, Faryab, and Baghlan provinces. According to Human Rights Watch many of the violations of international humanitarian law committed by the United Front forces date from 1996-1998[20] when Dostum controlled most of the north.

According to Human Rights Watch in 1997 some 3,000 captured Taliban soldiers were summarily executed in and around Mazar-i Sharif by Dostum's Junbish forces under the command of Gen. Abdul Malik Pahlawan. The killings followed Malik's withdrawal from a brief alliance with the Taliban and the capture of the Taliban forces who were trapped in the city.[20] With the U.S. War on Terror, troops loyal to Dostum also returned to combat. In December 2001 during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan between 250 and 3,000 (depending on sources) Taliban prisoners were shot and/or suffocated to death in metal truck containers, while being transferred by U.S. and United Front (troops loyal to Dostum) soldiers from Kunduz to Sheberghan prison through the Dasht-i-Leili desert in Afghanistan. This became known as the so-called Dasht-i-Leili massacre[52] In 2009 Dostum denied the accusations.[53][54][55]

Dostum belonged to those commanders making their own, often draconian, laws. Human Rights Watch has released documents alleging widespread crimes targeted against the civilian population.[20] Human Rights Watch asked to actively discourage and refuse support in any way to any group or coalition that includes commanders with a record of serious violations of international humanitarian law standards, specifically naming Abdul Rashid Dostum; Haji Muhammad Muhaqqiq, a senior commander of the Hezb-i Wahdat; Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, leader of the erstwhile Ittihad-i Islami; and Abdul Malik Pahlawan, a former senior Junbish commander.[20]

Legacy

United Front troops lined up next to the runway at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, December 16, 2001.

The United Front, from 1996 to 2001, blocked the Taliban, Pakistan and Al Qaeda from gaining total control over all of Afghanistan. Many refugees found shelter in areas controlled by Ahmad Shah Massoud.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001, on U.S. soil (which killed 3,000 people) ground troops of the United Front ousted the Taliban from power in Kabul. In November and December 2001 the United Front gained control of much of the country. This was facilitated by extensive bombing of Taliban forces and military infrastructure by the United States during the U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan. Had it not been for the United Front the U.S. would have needed to deploy hundreds of thousands of ground troops to Afghanistan already in October 2001.

The United Front was extremely influential in the transitional Afghan Government of Hamid Karzai from 2001 until 2004. Notably, Mohammed Qasim Fahim became the Vice President and Minister of Defense, Yunus Qanuni became the Minister of Education and Security Advisor and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah became the Foreign Minister. Most foreign observers expected this dominance to continue and for Fahim or Qanuni to be selected as Karzai's Vice President in the 2004 elections. However, Karzai instead selected Ahmad Zia Massoud, younger brother of the former United Front leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. Karzai easily won the 2004 Presidential election with 55.4% of the vote, followed by three former leaders of the UIF, Quanuni (16.3%), Mohaqiq (11.7%) and Dostum (10%).

Some of the military strength of the UIF has now been absorbed into the Military of Afghanistan, while many of the remaining soldiers were disarmed through a nationwide disarmament program. The existence and strength of the Afghan National Army has significantly reduced the threat of the former UIF elements attempting to use military action against the new NATO-backed government. Most of the country's senior military personnel are former members of the UIF, including Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and General Bismillah Khan.

Some members of the alliance are now part of the United National Front (Afghanistan) which is led by Rabbani and includes some former leaders of the UIF such as Parliamentary Speaker Yunus Qanuni, Mohammed Fahim, and Abdul Rashid Dostum. The United National Front has positioned itself as a "loyal" opposition to Karzai. Others like Abdul Sayyaf claim to be loyal to Hamid Karzai while, however, following their own agenda. Sayyaf has strong ties to the Saudi establishment and wants to create a strong Wahhabi influence on Afghanistan.

Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, a doctor of medicine and one of Ahmad Shah Massoud's closest friends (who is said to have been close to him politically also), ran as an independent candidate in the 2009 Afghan presidential election and came in second place. On November 1, 2009, Abdullah, however, quit the runoff election because of widespread allegations of election fraud against Hamid Karzai.[56] His followers wanted to take to the streets but Abdullah held them back in order not to endanger the fragile stability of the government. Massoud Khalili, another of Ahmad Shah Massoud's close friends, became ambassador to India and subsequently to Turkey, while the younger brother of Massoud, Ahmad Wali Massoud, serves as ambassador to the United Kingdom. Massoud's ex-commander Bismillah Khan was army chief of staff for a long time rebuilding the Afghan armed forces until he was shifted to the position of interior minister in 2010 by Karzai. One of Massoud's close intelligence agents, Amrullah Saleh, became director of the Afghan National Directorate of Security in 2004 but had to resign in 2010 because of disagreements with Hamid Karzai over how to proceed against the Taliban and Pakistani support to the Taliban.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Blood-Stained Hands, Past Atrocities in Kabul and Afghanistan's Legacy of Impunity". Human Rights Watch.
  2. ^ Neamatollah Nojumi. The Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan: Mass Mobilization, Civil War, and the Future of the Region (2002 1st ed.). Palgrave, New York.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Amin Saikal. Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival (2006 1st ed.). I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd., London New York. p. 352. ISBN 1-85043-437-9.
  4. ^ GUTMAN, Roy (2008): How We Missed the Story: Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban and the Hijacking of Afghanistan, Endowment of the United States Institute of Peace, 1st ed., Washington D.C.
  5. ^ "The September 11 Sourcebooks Volume VII: The Taliban File". gwu.edu. 2003.
  6. ^ a b "Casting Shadows: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity: 1978–2001" (PDF). Afghanistan Justice Project. 2005.
  7. ^ a b c "II. BACKGROUND". Human Rights Watch.
  8. ^ Matinuddin, Kamal, The Taliban Phenomenon, Afghanistan 1994–1997, Oxford University Press, (1999), pp. 25–26
  9. ^ a b c Amnesty International. "Document – Afghanistan: further information on fear for safety and new concern: Deliberate and arbitrary killings: Civilians in Kabul." November 16, 1995 Accessed at: Amnesty.org
  10. ^ "Afghanistan: escalation of indiscriminate shelling in Kabul". International Committee of the Red Cross. 1995.
  11. ^ a b Meld je aan of registreer je om een reactie te plaatsen!. "BBC Newsnight 1995". Youtube.com. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Marcela Grad. Massoud: An Intimate Portrait of the Legendary Afghan Leader (March 1, 2009 ed.). Webster University Press. p. 310. Cite error: The named reference "Webster University Press Book" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b c d e "Documents Detail Years of Pakistani Support for Taliban, Extremists". George Washington University. 2007.
  14. ^ Coll, Ghost Wars (New York: Penguin, 2005), 14.
  15. ^ a b c Maley, William (2009). The Afghanistan wars. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 288. ISBN 978-0230213135. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  16. ^ a b c "Afghanistan resistance leader feared dead in blast". London: Ahmed Rashid in the Telegraph. September 11, 2001.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  17. ^ Edward Girardet. Killing the Cranes: A Reporter's Journey Through Three Decades of War in Afghanistan (August 3, 2011 ed.). Chelsea Green Publishing. p. 416.
  18. ^ Rashid 2000, p. 91
  19. ^ a b c "Inside the Taliban". National Geographic Society. 2007. Cite error: The named reference "National Geographic" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  20. ^ a b c d e f "PAKISTAN'S SUPPORT OF THE TALIBAN". Human Rights Watch. 2000. Cite error: The named reference "Human Rights Watch" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  21. ^ Clements, Frank (2003). Conflict in Afghanistan: a historical encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 54. ISBN 978-1851094028.
  22. ^ "Afghanistan: Arena for a New Rivalry". Washington Post. 1998.
  23. ^ "Pak involved in Taliban offensive - Russia". Express India. 1998.
  24. ^ "Afghanistan & the United Nations". United Nations. 2012.
  25. ^ "U.S. presses for bin Laden's ejection". Washington Times. 2001.
  26. ^ a b Atkins, Stephen E. (2011). The 9/11 Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 540. ISBN 978-1598849219.
  27. ^ Litwak, Robert (2007). Regime change: U.S. strategy through the prism of 9/11. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 309. ISBN 978-0801886423.
  28. ^ McGrath, Kevin (2011). Confronting Al-Qaeda. Naval Institute Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-1591145035. the Pakistani military's Inter-services Intelligence Directorate (IsI) provided assistance to the taliban regime, to include its military and al Qaeda–related terrorist training camps
  29. ^ a b "Book review: The inside track on Afghan wars by Khaled Ahmed". Daily Times. 2008.
  30. ^ "Brigade 055". CNN. unknown. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ Hussain, Zahid (2007). Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle With Militant Islam. Columbia University Press. p. 49. ISBN 0 85368 769 2. However, Pakistani intelligence agencies maintained some degree of cooperation with the Taliban elements fleeing the fighting.
  32. ^ Hersh, Seymour M. (2002-01-28). "The Getaway". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2008-02-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ a b c d Newsday (2001). "Taliban massacres outlined for UN". Chicago Tribune. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  34. ^ a b c d Newsday (2001). "Confidential UN report details mass killings of civilian villagers". newsday.org. Retrieved October 12, 2001. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  35. ^ Inside the Taliban National Geographic
  36. ^ a b "The Last Interview with Ahmad Shah Massoud". Piotr Balcerowicz. 2001.
  37. ^ a b "The man who would have led Afghanistan". St. Petersburg Times. 2002.
  38. ^ "Proposal for Peace, promoted by Commander Massoud". peace-initiatives.com. 1998.
  39. ^ a b c Steve Coll. Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (February 23, 2004 ed.). Penguin Press HC. p. 720.
  40. ^ a b c "Massoud in the European Parliament 2001". EU media. 2001.
  41. ^ "Inside the Taliban". National Geographic. 2007.
  42. ^ Defense Intelligence Agency (2001) report http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB97/tal31.pdf
  43. ^ "Rebel Chief Who Fought The Taliban Is Buried"
  44. ^ a b "The Man Who Knew". PBS. 2002.
  45. ^ "There is more to peace than Taliban". Asia Times. January 12, 2012.
  46. ^ "Afghan opposition says new parliament can check Karzai". Reuters. November 24, 2010.
  47. ^ "2010 Afghan Parliamentary Election: Checks and Balances of Power". Khaama Press. December 9, 2010.
  48. ^ Rubin, Alissa J. (2011-05-05). "Thousands of Afghans Rally in Kabul". New York Times.
  49. ^ "Anti-Taliban rally". BBC Persian. 2011-05-05.
  50. ^ "Govt Opposition Warn of Taking to Streets". Tolo TV. 2011-05-05.
  51. ^ a b "Massoud in the European Parliament 2001". EU media. 2001.
  52. ^ "Starved, hurt and buried alive in Afghanistan". Independent Online. 2002-05-02. Archived from the original on 2009-08-07. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  53. ^ "'It Is Impossible Prisoners Were Abused' "
  54. ^ Afghan Warlord Denies Links to ’01 Killings "
  55. ^ "A Response To General Dostum"
  56. ^ Afghan's Karzai effectively handed 2nd term
Wikimedia Commons has media related to United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (Northern Alliance).
Starving to Death Afghanistan (documentary report March 1995) by Journeyman Pictures/ABC Australia
Massoud's Last Stand - Afghanistan (documentary report 1997) by Journeyman Pictures/ABC Australia
Inside the Taliban (documentary film 2007) by the National Geographic
Other
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