Afghanistan: Why is one of the world's poorest countries defying the U.S.? (World).

Last month, protesters torched the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, chanting "Death to America!" The embassy had been empty since 1989, but the protesters didn't care. They wanted people to know that they weren't scared of the world's most powerful country.

Afghanistan has rejected U.S. demands that it hand over international terrorist Osama bin Laden. He is suspected of masterminding the September 11 attacks on the U.S. Bin Laden heads a shadowy network of terrorists called Al Qaeda (al-KAY-duh).

In the Grip of the Taliban

Why would a poor country like Afghanistan refuse to give up a terrorist, especially when the U.S. has threatened to attack if it doesn't? The answer lies with an extremist (radical) group called the Taliban, which rules most of the country.

The Taliban practices a militant form of Islam and forces Afghanistan's people to obey strict religious rules. Women may not go to school or hold a job outside the home. Both men and women are subject to beatings or even death for breaking Taliban rules.

Rise To Power

Today's troubles go back to 1979. That's when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, hoping to keep a pro-Soviet government in power. The Soviet Union was then the world's most powerful Communist country.

In an effort to stop the spread of Soviet power, the U.S. trained and aided Afghan rebels fighting the Soviets. The Soviet army suffered huge losses and pulled out in 1989. Two years later, the Soviet Union broke up into Russia and 14 other countries.

Afghanistan's people suffered even more after the Soviet troops left, says Samina Ahmed of Harvard University. "That's when the civil war took a really ugly turn. That's when Afghanistan was demolished [destroyed]."

Rival rebel groups fought for control of Afghanistan, further wrecking their country. The Taliban eventually captured 85 percent of Afghanistan and formed a government.

The Taliban has allowed terrorists to set up training camps in southern Afghanistan (see map, p. 15). Many of the terrorists are former rebels who had been trained by the CIA to fight the Soviets. One of them, the son of a Saudi Arabian billionaire, is Osama bin Laden.

A Formidable Enemy?

Afghanistan's people have endured more than 22 years of war and, most recently, 3 years of famine from drought and failed crops. More than 9 million land mines litter the countryside. Even so, many experts say it would not be easy to defeat the Taliban in war. Why?

Afghanistan has extremely rugged terrain, with towering mountains and scorching deserts. Afghan soldiers know the terrain well, including where to hide among its valleys, caves, and underground tunnels. "You can occupy it, you can put troops there, and keep bombing, but you cannot win," says one former Soviet general.

Enemies of the Taliban

The Northern Alliance is the main group fighting the Taliban. The alliance controls only about 5 percent of Afghanistan. Its leaders hope to work with Western countries to over-throw the Taliban. They also are accused of violating human rights.

The U.S. may need their help if it sends troops to attack terrorist camps, however. "These are people who operate in the shadows, and we have to deal with them in the shadows," says Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense.

The U.S. may use commando raids to target Al Qaeda hideouts. A huge ground war in Afghanistan could lead to many casualties.

Almost every nation in the world has cut off diplomatic relations with Afghanistan. But many experts believe that, to win, the U.S. must gain the support of people hurt by Taliban rule. "The Taliban is already running short on international support and food," says Professor Ghulan Taqi Bougash of the University of Peshawar in Pakistan. "The West will have to quickly fill the void by giving massive relief to the refugees."

According to UN figures, there are about 3.7 million Afghan refugees now living outside Afghanistan. Another million may flee the country if the U.S. attacks.

What Next for Afghanistan?

What will happen if the Taliban government is toppled? Some afghans look to the country's 86-year-old former king, Mohammed Zahir Shah. He was forced into exile in 1953. He may be the only person with enough authority to form a new government to replace the Taliban.

President Bush has already approved aid for anti-Taliban forces. The only hope for Afghanistan, Ahmed told JS, is "a broad-based government that will bring stability to the country."

RELATED ARTICLE: The World of Islam

Islam, which has more than 1 billion followers worldwide, is the world's second-largest religion, after Christianity. While most of its followers live in Asia and Africa, Islam is America's fastest-growing religion, with about 5.8 million followers.

The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon "violate the very foundations of Islamic law," says Yahya Hendi, the Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

The word Islam means submission and commitment to God. The religion's followers believe in one God. Muslims believe that Allah (the Arabic word for God) sent a messenger, or prophet, named Muhammad, to teach people how to follow his ideas. Muslims also believe that Islam's holy book, the Koran, is God's word as spoken to Muhammad.

The Taliban claim that they practice the purest form of Islam in the world, though many Muslims disagree. Under Taliban rule, men can be jailed for not praying five times a day. Women can be beaten or whipped for speaking, laughing, showing their ankles, or wearing hard-soled shoes. Computers, TVs, and cell phones are banned in order to keep out Western influence, which Taliban leaders say is corrupting.

AFGHANISTAN

This landlocked country in Southwest Asia is known for its towering mountains, large deserts, and rugged terrain. Throughout its history, Afghanistan has suffered from foreign invasions, the most recent from the Soviet Union in 1979-1989.

FACTS TO KNOW

AREA: 251,772 square miles, about the size of Texas.

POPULATION: 26,800,000; urban population, 22%.

GOVERNMENT: Ruled by the Taliban, an extremist religious regime.

ECONOMY: A poor country. About 85% of Afghan workers are employed in agriculture. Wheat is the chief crop. Rich in minerals, but most have not been developed.

PER CAPITA GDP (*): $800.

RELIGION: Muslim, 99%.

LITERACY RATE: Males, 47%; females, 15%.

LIFE EXPECTANCY: Males, 46 years; females, 44 years.

(*.) The value of all products produced by the country in a year, divided by the population. (GDP stands for gross domestic product; per capita means per person.)

FYI: Afghanistan--Historical Highlights

Before 500 B.C.: Wandering tribes settle in the high valleys of the Hindu Kush mountains.

500 B.C.: King Darius I of Persia (Iran) conquers tribal Afghanistan.

328 B.C.: Alexander the Great of Macedonia goes through Afghanistan on his way to India. He loses many men along the way.

Late A.D. 600s: Muslim armies sweep through Afghanistan and introduce Islam.

1219: Genghis Khan occupies the area but his empire breaks up in the late 1300s.

1370-1390: The Mongol conqueror Tamerlane (or Timur) adds Afghanistan to his empire. After his death, his sons give it to Persia.

1747: The Pathans of Afghanistan revolt against Persia and create their own kingdom.

1839-42: After years of jockeying with Russia for control of Afghanistan, the British invade the country. They are badly defeated.

1878-80: The British invade again and again are defeated. But they maintain influence by paying yearly sums to Afghanistan's rulers.

1921: British influence ends.

1933-73: Zahir Shah, Afghanistan's last king, makes democratic reforms including free elections, public schools, and rights for women.

1973-1979: Zahir Shah's reforms upset conservative Muslims. The king is ousted by Muhammad Daud Khan who makes the country a republic with himself as President.

1979-1989: Leftist rebels backed by the Soviet Union's seize power. Soviet troops invade to back the new regime. They are opposed by rebel groups. Over ten years, the Soviets suffer heavy losses and finally pull out.

1992-present: After the Soviet pullout, rebel armies fight each other. An extremist Muslim faction called the Taliban gains control of most of the country.