The Afghanistan-Taliban Project

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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

“This was a key moment that raised the Soviet sense of threat”: Declassified Documents Show Moscow’s Fear of an Afghan Flip: FRINFORMSUM 1/31/2019

Jan 31, 2019

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

Jan 29, 2019

Supporters “Are in the Oil Industry”: Declassified DIA Cables Show Haqqani Network Revenue Streams

Sep 13, 2016

Declassified Memo of Rumsfeld’s Post-9/11 Middle East Visit Highlights Logistical Challenges; Unwavering Belief in WMD

Jan 7, 2015

Making Maliki and Karzai: How Washington Produced Unhelpful Allies in the Middle East

Jul 8, 2014

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

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.