ABSTRACT
On December 25, 1979, 100,000 Soviet troops crossed the border into Afghanistan and began an occupation of the country that would initiate 20 years of internal conflict and would profoundly affect the growing militancy of radical Islamic groups throughout the world. The Soviet invasion and occupation would set the stage for the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the concurrent rise of the alQaeda terrorist network of Osama bin Laden. During the occupation, the United States provided a variety of overt and tacit assistance to the anti-Soviet rebels, or mujahadeen. Once the Soviets withdrew, US strategic interest in Afghanistan ended and the vacuum created by the disengagement of both superpowers created the conditions which produced the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
