The Canadian Army Journal

54
THE TALIBAN IN AFGHANISTAN
Major Tod Strickland, CD
The dramatic events of 11 September 2001 affected the modern world in ways far
beyond the deaths of several thousand civilians in New York City. Almost immediately
(within two months), the American military found itself confronting an enemy in the
rugged hills of Afghanistan that it knew comparatively little about—the Taliban. In early
2002 the Canadian Forces contributed its first contingent to fight this enemy as part of
Operation Enduring Freedom, and like its neighbour to the south, Canada found itself
engaged in a counter-insurgency against a non-state1 based adversary about whom it
possessed limited, and cursory knowledge. In the intervening five years, this situation
has arguably changed very little.
The Taliban are a force shrouded in myth and mystery whose very existence has
affected both popular opinions and the conventional wisdom of the media, our militaries
and politicians. Yet they are not well understood, with understanding of their background
and formation belonging in the realm more of “urban legend” than hard fact. Their belief
system and primary motivators are often not even discussed or linked to our proposed
means to combat them. Cloaking themselves, both literally and figuratively, in the robes
of Islam, they have first actively sought and held power, and then abandoned their posts
in the face of fallout from their handling of Osama Bin Laden in the wake of 9/11.
Currently they remain one of the principle insurgent groups in Afghanistan, particularly in
the Kandahar Province. The intent of this paper is to examine their background and
formation, as well as to discuss their linkages to several sovereign states, and their
recruiting, financing and employment of full spectrum conflict to achieve their aims. The
article then summarizes some ideas on how the Canadian Army can combat them,
specifically at the strategic and operational levels. Prior to beginning the examination
however, it is worth setting the stage and situating this force both geographically and in
time.
As can be seen on the map (Figure 1),
Afghanistan is a relatively small country to
the immediate north of Pakistan,
sandwiched between Iran to the west,
several former Soviet Republics in the
north and China in the east. 3 Extremely
rugged, landlocked, and possessing a
population that is largely tribal in outlook, it
is an ideal area in which to conduct an
insurgency (as the British, Soviets and
most recently NATO have all found). In
some ways the country is an artificial
construct, with very little national culture;
the tribes making up the country are the
principle social and cultural focus for many
in the population.
From the 18th century until the early
1973, the country was ruled by a
Figure 1: Afghanistan succession of monarchs, with the main
constant being a series of conflicts against
2
Major Tod Strickland, ‘The Taliban in Afghanistan’
Canadian Army Journal Vol. 11.1 (Spring 2008), 54-64