The Afghanistan-Taliban Project

Featured Posting

Newly Published Documents Cast Doubt on Claims Taliban Will Give Up al Qaeda

Washington, D.C., September 23, 2021 - The Taliban will not – and perhaps cannot – contain al Qaeda, despite hopeful United States government assurances that the Taliban will be…

Sep 23, 2021

Previous Postings

U.S. TROOP LEVELS IN AFGHANISTAN, 2002–2021

Afghanistan 20/20: The 20-Year War in 20 Documents

Aug 19, 2021

The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan 1989

Feb 27, 2019

A New Phase in the Great Game: U.S., Soviets, India, Pakistan vied to shape a new Afghanistan in late 1980s

Feb 1, 2019

The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, 1979: Not Trump’s Terrorists, Nor Zbig’s Warm Water Ports

Jan 29, 2019

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Was Not a Grand Design But a Grand Entanglement Resulting from Faulty Intelligence, Excessive Secrecy, and a Paralyzed Leadership, According to Conference of Former Decision-Makers

Dec 21, 2012

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan a Case of Mission Creep, According to New Book and Original Soviet Documents

Oct 13, 2012

The Haqqani History: Bin Ladin's Advocate Inside the Taliban

Sep 11, 2012

The Central Intelligence Agency's 9/11 File

Jun 19, 2012

The Pakistani Taliban's Coming Divide: How the Death of Its Leader Could Be Bad for the United States

Feb 3, 2012

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About this Project

The Afghanistan-Taliban project at the National Security Archive has submitted thousands of Freedom of Information Act requests in an effort to contribute evidence to the ongoing public debate on the war, U.S. national security and the evolution of politics and interest in this critical region.

The Taliban Biography

One of the most informative documents available to the public about the Taliban is a December 1998 U.S. Embassy cable from Islamabad, Pakistan. Entitled "The Taliban Biography," it details biographical and professional background on more than 40 Taliban officials between 1996 and 2002. The National Security Archive obtained the cable under the Freedom of Information Act.