The Taliban is an infamous organization, having ruled Afghanistan under strict Islamic rule for five years, between 1996 and 2001.  The Taliban is also notorious for harboring the international terrorist Usama bin Laden during its rule of Afghanistan.  Today, the Taliban has been ousted from power but has re-surfaced as a non-state terrorist entity within Afghanistan. <P><br /><br />The Taliban first emerged as a significant force in 1994.  The group was principally comprised of Afghanistan's ethnic Pashtun tribesmen, who had found refuge in Pakistan.  The refugees studied in Pakistan's madrassas (religious schools) and received assistance from Pakistan, specifically from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).  The Taliban's membership also included Mujahideen veterans who had fought the Soviet Union in the 1980s.  <P><br /><br />In 1994, per the request of the Pakistani government, the Taliban served as a security force for a Pakistani convoy, which aimed to open up trade between Pakistan and Central Asia.  The convoy trip would prove to be the first step towards the Taliban's overthrow of the Afghan government.  The Taliban's initial territorial possession was the city of Kandahar, which it wrested away from a Mujahideen group.  The Taliban continued to expand its territorial control, sometimes through armed conflict but also through negotiations and payouts to regional warlords.  In 1996, the Taliban took control of Kabul, Afghanistan's capital city, thus becoming the de facto government of Afghanistan.  By the time the Taliban was ousted in late 2001, they would control 95 percent of the country.  <P><br /><br />The Taliban government immediately imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law throughout Afghanistan.  The group's goal was to establish the most pure Islamic state in the world.  One byproduct of this was the restriction on women to either work or go to school.  The Taliban also enforced amputations and public executions for violating Islamic law.  The Taliban curtailed the flow of information by banning the Internet, television, and radio.  The group forced Hindus and other religious minorities to wear symbols that identified them as non-Muslims and forced Hindus to wear veils as all Muslim women were required.  There was, of course, a certain amount of resentment created by these restrictions, especially the Taliban's arrest of foreign aid workers who were assisting the poor Afghani population.  However, the Taliban did enact certain reforms that garnered support among the people.  First, the Taliban greatly reduced the rampant corruption that had taken hold within the government.  Second, the Taliban stabilized Afghanistan, by reducing the internal fighting between warlords and diminishing the warlords' control of Afghan's civilian population. <P><br /><br />The Taliban is perhaps most infamous for providing safe haven to the terrorist leader Usama bin Laden.  Not only was bin Laden allowed to roam freely within the country, he also established training camps for legions of future terrorists.  The decision to host bin Laden destroyed the Taliban's chance of attaining international credibility.  Only three countries (Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)) recognized the Taliban government.  The United Nations did not recognize the government, and in fact, applied multiple sanctions on the Taliban government.  <P><br /><br />Despite the pressure on the Taliban, they continued to rule the country under strict Islamic law and to allow bin Laden safe haven from 1996 to 2001.   Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, which were orchestrated by Usama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, the Taliban's support of bin Laden could no longer be tolerated.  The Taliban was overthrown by an international coalition and by December 22, 2001, the Afghan Interim Authority (AIA) had replaced the Taliban government.