RASC News Agency: Today Wednesday, September 11, marks the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the United States. On September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four passenger planes in the U.S., crashing two into New York City’s Twin Towers and one into the Pentagon, resulting in nearly 3,000 American deaths. In response to the attacks, President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan, targeting the Taliban due to their association with al-Qaeda and their support for the terrorist network. At that time, as is the case today, the Taliban had a close relationship with al-Qaeda, hosting its members within Afghanistan.
The subsequent military operations led by the U.S. and its international allies resulted in the fall of the Taliban regime and the establishment of a nominally “republican” government in Afghanistan. However, after 20 years, the U.S. and its allies withdrew, leading to the collapse of the republic and the Taliban’s resurgence. This outcome is widely viewed as disastrous, undoing nearly two decades of progress and values. Upon returning to power, the Taliban reinstated severe human rights violations, imposing harsh restrictions on the fundamental rights of Afghanistani citizens, especially women. The latest enactment of their “Law of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” even bans women from speaking in the presence of men in public spaces.
The Taliban have closed schools beyond the sixth grade for girls, barred women from universities, and restricted their access to offices, public baths, parks, beauty salons, and travel without a male guardian. In a related development, as the 23rd anniversary of the September 11 attacks approaches, a federal court in New York has ordered Iran and the Taliban to pay $144.7 billion in damages to thousands of victims and families who lost loved ones in the attacks.
According to Voice of America, Judge George Daniels issued this significant penalty after Iran and the Taliban, now in control of Afghanistan, failed to respond to legal proceedings in U.S. courts.
