US Association With al-Qaeda:
From 1979-1989 Afghanistan was at war with the Soviet Union. Interestingly, many people attribute the Soviet Union's collapse to the economic drain caused by its war with Afghanistan. During the years of the Afghan-Soviet war, the United States and the Soviet Union were locked in a cold war. In an effort to thwart its cold war adversary, the United States secretly provided funding and training to Afghani rebels opposing Soviet forces. Osama Bin Laden personally ran one of several of the militias being directly funded by the US.
After the Soviet Union's collapse and subsequent withdrawal from Afghanistan in ~1988, Osama bin Laden created a militant network with the intentions of maintaining organization and association between the militia groups that fought during the Afghan-Soviet War (Anti-Defamation League). That network eventually evolved into al-Qaeda.
United States has a history of being attacked by rebel groups to which it has previously provided support. Bin Laden's al-Qaeda proved to be no exception. Ten years after the United States secretly provided weapons, funding, and training to Osama's network, that very same network claimed responsibility for the bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania (Report of the Accountability Review Boards). The US struck back by launching bombing campaigns against terrorist targets in Sudan and Afghanistan in 1998 (CNN).
It is believed by the authors of this webpage that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were in direct retaliation to the 1998 US bombing campaigns. Al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U.S. support of Israel, the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives for the attacks. It should be noted that countless theories and explanations exist.
After the Soviet Union's collapse and subsequent withdrawal from Afghanistan in ~1988, Osama bin Laden created a militant network with the intentions of maintaining organization and association between the militia groups that fought during the Afghan-Soviet War (Anti-Defamation League). That network eventually evolved into al-Qaeda.
United States has a history of being attacked by rebel groups to which it has previously provided support. Bin Laden's al-Qaeda proved to be no exception. Ten years after the United States secretly provided weapons, funding, and training to Osama's network, that very same network claimed responsibility for the bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania (Report of the Accountability Review Boards). The US struck back by launching bombing campaigns against terrorist targets in Sudan and Afghanistan in 1998 (CNN).
It is believed by the authors of this webpage that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were in direct retaliation to the 1998 US bombing campaigns. Al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U.S. support of Israel, the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives for the attacks. It should be noted that countless theories and explanations exist.
Subsequent Wars, and Bin Laden's Death:
Shortly after the events of September 11, 2001 the United States went to war with Iraq, and Afghanistan.
On May 2, 2011 nearly ten years after the 9-11 attacks, US military forces killed Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan (Phillips).
