At the time of the 9/11 attaches, Afghanistan was under the control of the Taliban.  The Taliban is a fundamentalist Islamic militia that had seized power in 1996. ” Because of their extreme interpretation of Islamic law, they banned most leisure activities and entertainment such as music, dancing, picnics, television, and sports.  Also forbidden were children’s toys, including dolls and kites; card and board games: cameras and photographs” (2).  The Taliban enforced harsh penalties for reading novels, magazines, and newspapers.  They beat adult men for grooming their beards and women for making noise when they walked.  Women were forbidden to attend school or hold jobs other than the health-care field.  People accused of even minor infractions were whipped by canes.   For more serious offenses, the Taliban chopped off hands and held public hangings and stonings at soccer fields. ” Brainwashing and propaganda were used to fuel people’s hatred of the Western world” (2).

Justin Gerade- Evaluation