Mullah+Mohammad+Omar,+Taliban+Chief

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Perspective on Afghanistan

Mullah Mohammed Omar Brian M. Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader of the Taliban, and the Taliban flag. || Under the Taliban, Women were forced to wear burqas that only showed a little bit of their bodies. || A quality perspective will: •Answer the questions in extended power paragraphs. •Draw evidence from two high quality, credible sources. •Cite evidence internally and in a Works Cited •Post your entry on the wiki by Friday, December 9th.
 * [[image:mullahomar.jpg]] [[image:talibanflag.jpg]]

**1. Introduce your person and explain why he/she has a credible opinion on the War in Afghanistan.** **2. Describe your person's perspective on the U.S.'s involvement in Afghanistan.** Your answer should address following bullet points: •Why is he/she interested in Afghanistan? Is it personal, political, social, economic, religious, humanitarian, etc? •How was this person affected when the Taliban controlled Afghanistan •How has this person been affected by the United States presence in Afghanistan? •How would this person's life change if the United States left Afghanistan abruptly? **3. How would your person answer the question: When should the United States leave Afghanistan?**

Mullah Mohammed Omar is the spiritual leader of the Taliban. When the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan drew to a close, the ensuing power vacuum left many different Afghan factions vying for control. Legend states that Omar had a dream where "a woman told him: 'We need your help; you must rise. You must end the chaos. God will help you.'" (Filkins 30). Omar then gathered less than 50 followers and started a movement against the oppressive warlords. Using the name "Taliban" ("students" in arabic), the group quickly gained support from those citizens wary of the oppressive rule of warlords. His first victory came when he led a group of 30 men against a local warlord that had kidnapped and raped two young girls. He succeeded in rescuing the girls and hanged the warlord in revenge (Daniel). He soon gained control of his region and then became the leader of Afghanistan. He sheltered Osama Bin Laden before and after the 9/11 attacks and that brought war to Afghanistan.

Being a militarily ousted leader, Omar probably has an interest in regaining control of his country. Also, Taliban rule was completely against most Western ideals and sought to go back to a more conservative way of life. Women were "strongly discouraged from leaving their homes, denied schooling and jobs and forced to fully cover themselves" (BBC). Also there were stonings and his forces destroyed the buddhist temples in Afghanistan. The way of life we are trying to bring back to Afghanistan goes completely against Omar's ideas, so he has a religious stake in this as well. When the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, Omar was in control, so life was better for him under Taliban rule. When we came in and deposed Omar, he was exiled and forced to take refuge in the mountains in Afghanistan. If we left Afghanistan immediately, I think that Karzai's government would collapse relatively quickly. The Taliban really has more control over the people and their way of life than the government does. Even though we have had a surge of troops into the country, "the Taliban have steadily extended their influence, rendering vast tracts of Afghanistan insecure, and violence in the country has returned to levels not seen since 2001" (BBC). Therefore, if we left now, the Taliban could take control relatively quickly and easily and Mullah Mohammed Omar would be the dominant leader in Afghanistan.

WC:

Dexter Filkins, The Forever War (New York: Vintage Books/Random House, 2009; orig. ed. 2008)

Benjamin, Daniel & Steven Simon. "The Age of Sacred Terror", 2002

//Profile: Mullah Mohammed Omar//, BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13501233), 24 May, 2011