International Community in Afghanistan continues....

The Security Council also condemned, in the strongest terms, the horrifying terrorist attacks which took place on 9/11 in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania and regarded “such acts, like any act of international terrorism, as a threat to the international peace and security.” Question, however, remained whether terrorist acts perpetrated by non-state actors trigger Article 51? And whether the responsibilities for the acts of terrorism by Al-Qaeda, a non-state actor, can be thrust upon Afghanistan and thereby allowing self-defence action to be taken against Afghanistan?

As Conte points out that the question of attributing responsibility upon Afghanistan, as a state, for the terrorist attacks of 9/11 by Al-Qaeda, a non-state entity, is by far the most controversial aspect of determining the legitimacy of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Attributing responsibility to a state for the conduct of individuals or groups has been a subject of concern for the international community for as long. There is evidence, in the present context, that the attacks were organised and perpetrated by Al-Qaeda, a terrorist organization established by Osama
Bin Laden in the late 1980s to bring together Arabs who fought in Afghanistan against the Soviet soldiers. Its goal, it is said, is to establish a pan-Islamic Caliphate throughout the world, by working with allied Islamic extremist groups to overthrow non-Islamic regimes and expel westerners and non-Muslims from Muslim countries.

To be continued...