Afghanistan, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and the United States
The Taliban, led by Mullah Mohammed Omar, implemented in Afghanistan an extremely conservative Islamic regime emphasizing a radically rigid interpretation of Shari'a or Islamic law (Hayes, Bruner, and Rowen 3). Led by Osama bin Laden, the terrorist organization called Al-Qaeda was a source of financial and military support for the Taliban and it is widely recognized that when the Taliban regime faced international scrutiny and condemnation for its policies during the period from 1994 forward, Osama bin Laden and his supporters provided enormous backing for the Taliban. Indeed, Hayes, et al (3) state that "the relationship between the Taliban and bin Laden was close, even familial - bin Laden fought with the Mujahedeen, has financed the Taliban, and one of his daughters is reportedly married to Mullah Mohammed Omar."
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack the United States placed enormous pressure on the Taliban to give up Osama bin Laden who was then known to be living in Afghanistan (Van Linschoten and Kuehn 6). There was apparently considerable disagreement about what the Taliban should do in response to American and allied pressures regarding turning bin Laden over. Van Linschoten and Kuehn (6) state that "significant parts of the senior Taliban leadership, along with rank and file commanders, were outraged at bin Laden's abuse of their hospitality and his blatant disregard for their government." At the same time, the almost unanimous global antagonisms toward the Taliban, the polarization of the Islamic world, and the fear of Mullah Mohammed Omar of losing the few allies they had led the Taliban to defend bin Laden and to resist both internal and external pressures calling for the Taliban to turn bin Laden over to the West.
According to former leaders, Mullah Omar "claimed that bin Laden had sworn he had noting to do with the September 11 attack...