For more than 30 years, Afghanistan has been plagued by war and violence. In October 2001, the United States sent troops to Afghanistan in order to remove the Taliban, a group of Muslim fundamentalists that had gained control of the country and were sheltering and assisting terrorist groups like Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization. It did not take long for the U.S. military to force the Taliban from power, but creating a peaceful and stable Afghanistan has proven to be a much greater challenge. This book in the MAJOR U.S. HISTORICAL WARS series examines the events that led up to the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan by the United States and its allies, and their subsequent efforts to rebuild this war-torn state. It discusses the political and military strategies that U.S. and Taliban forces employed, and provides information about key people, battles, and events. Although most U.S. troops have been withdrawn from Afghanistan, the Taliban continues to fight for control over the state.
