If there is one country that proves the saying, "familiarity breeds contempt, it is Afghanistan." Learning about political Islam, or in this case the Taliban, must happen according to the “life cycle” model: “a strong focus on how groups are formed, who they recruit, how their goals change (or not) over time, what they "really" believe, who they collaborate with, whether they participate in elections, and so on." This allows us to create a unique identity for each political Islamic group, rather than simply grouping them all together. The Taliban is one of these groups that could use a “life cycle” model diagnosis, because for many it is an enigma. Born from the ashes of the conflict, it refuses to disappear or surrender of Afghanistan due to the religious strength of the Taliban, the history of insurrections that characterizes the Middle East and the mistakes of the Western world. The first questions of who, what, when and where must be answered before anything else. In the 1980s the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and the legend of Mohammed Omar was born. In a street battle between the Soviets and the mujahideen, or Afghan rebels, a six-foot-tall mullah named Mohammad Omar was hit by shrapnel and had his eye gouged out, hanging from its socket as he continued to fight the invaders. . . Somehow, he survived the battle, the legend was born, and the future leader of the Taliban emerged from the rubble to begin his reign. Afghanistan was a peaceful country with very progressive beliefs. Described as "the father of the nation" in the current Constitution and "loved by many people... a mixture of Afghan and Western culture", in his obituary, King Zahir Shah ruled for 40... half the paper. ..... ernment. But also for this reason, the Taliban have promised to "use all force... to interrupt these upcoming sham elections". The Taliban are still strong. Camped in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal agency, the Taliban are comfortably biding their time. The United States has tried for years to dismantle these sanctuaries, but to no avail. It still manages to recruit new members – reportedly, “militants continue to pour into Afghanistan.” And finally, the Taliban are not the only thing fighting against democratized Afghanistan. Militia commanders continue to terrorize local populations, many of whom compete in elections. Afghanistan's warlord state is nowhere near dismantled, and interstate arguments and duels could easily lead to more instability for Afghanistan – meaning, another point where the Taliban could swoop in to take over. upper hand..