Terrorism in general forms a serious and long-term threat to the international security where the terrorist operations are transnational and affect at least two or more countries.
Jakarta, IO – Terrorism in general forms a serious and long-term threat to international security, inasmuch as terrorist operations are transnational and will affect at least two or more countries.
Hence, a new form of terrorism has shifted geopolitical dynamics, demanding a new style of collaboration and an effective and all-rounded approach to the challenge. Unsurprisingly, Afghanistan occupies a central position in discussions related to transnational terrorism, given the country’s challenging history and geographic position that make it both a target and a key actor in the counterterrorism fight.
Afghanistan engagement in transnational terrorism can be dated back to the later part of the last century, in the context of the Soviet-Afghan War between 1979 and 1989. This conflict witnessed a flow of foreign fighters into the Afghanistan theater; international players offered their support to fight against the Soviets. Not only was the country’s infrastructure and economy wiped out but the environment provided a fertile ground for extremism to thrive. The consequent withdrawal of Soviet troops and a failure to stabilize the political situation resulted in civil strife and the appearance of the Taliban movement, which took Kabul in September 1996.
During 1996 to 2001, when the Taliban was in power, it gave shelter to several terrorist groups, with al-Qaeda being the most prominent. Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda trained militants arriving from across the global region in Afghanistan, especially with the training camps that were launched during that time. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda were linked in a successful nexus that brought about the September 2001 tragedy, which highlighted the world menace of international terrorism from Afghanistan. A military intervention, led by the United States of America in Afghanistan in October of 2001 had the objectives of disbanding the al-Qaeda forces and deposing the Taliban regime. This marked the start of a war that would persist for two decades.
Afghanistan’s involvement in transnational terrorism is rather versatile. First, it helps terrorist groups to establish a logistical base, where the actors can organize, recruit and plan their next operation. Lengthy and relatively-open borders with Pakistan, Iran, and other Central Asian countries make it easier for militants and their supporters to move people, weapons, and other contraband items, thus escalating the terrorist threat. Second, another reason empowering jihadist groups in Afghanistan to attract fresh fighters from around the world is their ideological power. The account of the struggle for freedom from foreign domination and the formation of an Islamist state has appeal to such people, so a constant stream of new recruits is thus guaranteed.
Furthermore, the subject country, Afghanistan and more to the point, conflict-saturated regions often imply dire ramifications. A number of neighboring countries, and especially Pakistan, have been both recipients and players in Afghan terrorism patterns, ranging along tribal areas on the Afghan-Pakistan border which serve as bases for different acts of militants. The affection and animosity between Pakistan and the Taliban group is cyclical, making the relations extremely strained, revealing how politics within the region have given birth to transnational terrorism.
The international community is concerned to counter transnational terrorism threats in Afghanistan. The first mission, which was NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), followed by the Resolute Support Mission, sought capacity-building of Afghan security forces and resultant political stability. However, corruption continued, there were governance issues and Taliban insurgency impeded these steps from being carried out. Former negotiations in the U. S.-Taliban peace talks, aimed at the signing of the Doha Agreement in February 2020, aimed to achieve a political solution. However, following the disintegration of the Afghan government within the space of a month in August 2021, and the resurgence of Taliban authority, numerous new challenges surfaced.
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Taliban insurgency in 2021 aroused the potential of Afghanistan reverting to a safe haven for terrorists. Although Taliban leadership has signed agreements stating that they will not allow terrorist groups to have a foothold in Afghanistan, people have their doubts. The world can ill afford for a fragile and dysfunctional state to develop in Afghanistan, after the Americans and their allies and partners abandoned it, after having uncomfortably shared power with the Taliban for so many years; thus, the international community needs to find a way to work with the Taliban to provide needed humanitarian assistance while at the same time denying the group the opportunity to once again turn the country into a safe haven for terrorists with global ambitions.
It may be stated that Afghanistan’s involvement in transnational terrorism is a multifaceted process, one that involves historical and present political, geographical, and ideological aspects. The geographical position of the country, accompanied by socio-political instabilities over the decades, puts it in a central nexus of terrorism posing a serious threat to international security. To successfully deal with this challenge, a coordinated strategy that involves counter-terrorism measures, international coordination and solutions to the radicalization processes need to be developed. The continuation of political and Islamist violence in Afghanistan and the future contributions of the country to transnational terrorism have a great bearing on the global counter-terrorism outlook, and hence global players must continue with keen interest and active engagement in their counter-terrorism efforts.
Sahibzada M. Usman, Ph.D. Research Scholar and Academic; Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Pisa, Italy. Dr. Usman has participated in various national and international conferences and published 30 research articles in international journals.