Includes bibliographical reference and index.

Chronology of events -- Historical background -- The theory of mass mobilization -- Traditional political system -- The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan -- The phenomena of civil war in Afghanistan -- Zonal division of Afghanistan -- The Afghan mujahideen and mass mobilization -- The first phase of civil war -- The formation of a third movement -- Missing the only chance -- The rise of the Taliban -- The source of Taliban forces in Afghanistan -- Taliban tactics and strategies -- The political ideology of the Taliban -- The Taliban advance toward Mazar-e-Sharif -- The road into the future -- Afghanistan in the international system -- Epilogue: the Afghan connection to September 11.