Part 3/13:
Before the US arrived, Afghanistan was a haven for warlords, extremist groups, and foreign fighters. Warlords ruled with competing interests, often aligned with external powers like Pakistan and Iran. The Taliban’s rise promised peace but brought its own brutal brand of Sharia, intertwined with foreign terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and others. These factions created a complex, rocky landscape of alliances, enmities, and covert operations.