Afghanistan's defeat

The UN Security Council passes Resolution 1267, establishing the so-called al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee, which designates the two organizations as terrorist organizations and places restrictions on their financial support, travel, and weaponry shipments. The UN action comes during a time when al-Qaeda and its commander, Osama bin Laden, were on the rise. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Osama bin Laden led the terror organization from Afghanistan and Peshawar, Pakistan, through Sudan and then back to Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda has a haven for its operations thanks to the Taliban, who emerged from the ashes of Afghanistan's post-Soviet civil war.