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Who are the Taliban? | Start Here
May 30, 2021
Who are the Taliban? The Taliban have been fighting the Afghan government and its allies for decades. Now the US is pulling its soldiers out of Afghanistan and the Taliban seem stronger than ever. Who are the Taliban really? And how is it that they have so much power?

Taliban move to seal off Kabul airport as Biden warns attack 'highly likely'

The Taliban has deployed extra forces around Kabul's airport to prevent large crowds from gathering after a devastating suicide attack two days earlier, as the massive US-led airlift winds down ahead of its August 31 deadline.

Aug. 29 - New checkpoints have appeared on roads leading to the airport, some manned by uniformed Taliban fighters with Humvees and night-vision goggles captured from Afghan security forces.

It comes as Joe Biden said another terrorist attack on Kabul's airport is "highly likely in the next 24-36 hours"

The US Embassy in Kabul issued a security alert saying "Due to a specific, credible threat, all U.S. citizens in the vicinity of Kabul airport (HKIA), including the South (Airport Circle) gate, the new Ministry of the Interior, and the gate near the Panjshir Petrol station on the northwest side of the airport, should leave the airport area immediately."

Areas where large crowds of people had gathered over the past two weeks in the hope of fleeing the country following the Taliban takeover are now largely empty... more

The Taliban (/ˈtælɪbæn, ˈtɑːlɪbɑːn/; Pashto: طالبان‎, romanized: ṭālibān, lit. 'students' or 'seekers'),[60][61] which refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA),[62] is a Deobandi Islamist religious-political movement and military organization in Afghanistan. It is currently one of two entities claiming to be the legitimate government of Afghanistan, alongside the internationally recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The Taliban's ideology has been described as combining an "innovative" form of Sharia Islamic law based on Deobandi fundamentalism[63] and militant Islamism, combined[63] with Pashtun social and cultural norms known as Pashtunwali,[1][2][64][65] as most Taliban are Pashtun tribesmen.

1996 to 2001, the Taliban held power over roughly three-quarters of Afghanistan, and enforced a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law.[66] The Taliban emerged in 1994 as one of the prominent factions in the Afghan Civil War [67] and largely consisted of students (talib) from the Pashtun areas of eastern and southern Afghanistan who had been educated in traditional Islamic schools, and fought during the Soviet–Afghan War.[68][10][11][69] Under the leadership of Mohammed Omar, the movement spread throughout most of Afghanistan, shifting power away from the Mujahideen warlords. The totalitarian [6][70] Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was established in 1996 and the Afghan capital was transferred to Kandahar. It held control of most of the country until being overthrown after the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in December 2001 following the September 11 attacks. During the group's previous rule parts of the northeast were held by the Northern Alliance, which largely maintained international recognition as a continuation of the interim Islamic State of Afghanistan.[71] At its peak, formal diplomatic recognition of the Taliban's government was acknowledged by only three nations: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The group later regrouped as an insurgency movement to fight the American-backed Karzai administration and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the War in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have been condemned internationally for the harsh enforcement of their interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, which has resulted in the brutal treatment of many Afghans.[72][73] During their rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban and their allies committed massacres against Afghan civilians, denied UN food supplies to 160,000 starving civilians, and conducted a policy of scorched earth, burning vast areas of fertile land and destroying tens of thousands of homes.[74][75][76][77][78][79] While the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, they banned activities and media including paintings,[80] photography,[81] and movies that depicted people or other living things.[82] They also prohibited music using instruments, with the exception of the daf, a type of frame drum.[83] The Taliban prevented girls and young women from attending school,[84] banned women from working jobs outside of healthcare (male doctors were prohibited from treating women),[85] and required that women be accompanied by a male relative and wear a burqa at all times when in public.[86] If women broke certain rules, they were publicly whipped or executed.[87] Religious and ethnic minorities were heavily discriminated against during Taliban rule. According to the United Nations, the Taliban and their allies were responsible for 76% of Afghan civilian casualties in 2010, and 80% in 2011 and 2012.[88][89][90][91][92][93] The Taliban also engaged in cultural genocide, destroying numerous monuments including the famous 1500-year-old Buddhas of Bamiyan.[94][95][96][97]

The Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and military are widely alleged by the international community and the Afghan government to have provided support to the Taliban during their founding and time in power, and of continuing to support the Taliban during the insurgency. Pakistan states that it dropped all support for the group after the 11 September attacks.[98][99][100][101][102][103] In 2001, reportedly 2,500 Arabs under command of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden fought for the Taliban.[104] Following the Fall of Kabul on 15 August 2021, the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan. from Wikipedia

U.S. President Joe Biden arrives for a virtual briefing with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on preparations for Hurricane Ida at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 28, 2021. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

Biden says he has coordinated with governors, electric utilities on Hurricane Ida

WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday said he has spoken to governors of states in the Gulf of Mexico region and has coordinated with electric utilities in preparation for Hurricane Ida, the powerful storm expected to make landfall late Sunday.

"We've prepositioned food, water, generators and other supplies in the area. Power restoration and mobile communications support teams are also en route. We've also closely coordinated with the electric utilities to restore power as soon as possible," Biden said at a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Hurricane Ida intensified on Saturday and the reach of its winds expanded over warm Gulf of Mexico waters, prompting tens of thousands to jam Louisiana highways as they fled the seashore. Utilities were bringing in extra crews and equipment to deal with expected power losses from the storm. read more

Biden said FEMA deployed 500 emergency response personnel in Texas and Louisiana ahead of the storm, in addition to 2,000 FEMA workers already supporting the COVID response in the region. source from

Republicans hit Biden over Afghanistan, with eye on midterms

Aug. 29 - Republicans in Congress want President Biden out of office after 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 others were killed in a terrorist attack during the Afghanistan evacuation.

They’re calling for his resignation, impeachment and even for the 25th Amendment to be invoked to end his presidency.

Some of the GOP lawmakers pushing for Biden’s ouster are familiar Trump loyalists like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who called for impeachment; Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), who urged Biden’s Cabinet to remove him from office via the 25th Amendment; and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who demanded Biden resign... more