9781422286005

The Attack on America

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named Osama bin Laden. The al-Qaeda organization had been sheltered in the country of Afghanistan since 1996. The organization operated camps where terrorists were trained, and planned attacks against the United States and other Western countries. The government of Afghanistan supported al-Qaeda’s goal of attacking the West. For many years Afghanistan had been a country in turmoil. Its people had fought against a Soviet invasion during the 1980s, and had waged a civil war during the early 1990s. In 1996 a faction known as the Taliban had gained power in the country. They were Islamists , who wanted to establish a state based on Muslim teachings from the seventh century. In Afghanistan, a Muslim religious student is known as a talib . Most supporters of the Taliban had been educated in religious schools, called madrassas , that were set up for Afghan boys in Pakistan. The madrassas in Pakistan were unlike those in other Muslim countries, however. The teachers were members of a tradition known as Deobandi, which had developed during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when Pakistan and India were ruled as a British colony. The Deobandi move- ment called for a strict interpretation of Islam, and wished to eliminate all foreign influences. Deobandis do not believe in national borders. They claim that a Muslim’s only allegiance should be to Allah (god), and that they should be willing to fight for their religion against those who have

President George W. Bush (center) and Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld (right) look at satellite images after the September 11 terrorist attack. With them is vice president Richard “Dick” Cheney (left).