Australian War Memorial, Research Centre "Terrorist Actions.xml" Guide to theAfghanistan Collection 2001-Present Research Centre Published and Digitised CollectionsCanberra, ACT copyright 2006 Research Centre, Australian War Memorial. All rights reserved. Processed by: Ann Horn August 2006Encoded by: Ann Horn Date completed: August 2006Updated by: Alexandra Orr, April, 2008. Finding aid written in: English Descriptive summary Afghanistan 2001-Present The collection consists of postcards, souvenirs, internet media, leaflets and advertisements, posters, pamphlets, booklets, and selected newspapers and magazines. Most of the items in the collection are unofficial documents. Only one official document is currently included. The collection may be expanded if Australian troops are involved in responses to future 'terrorist actions' in the region or beyond. The contents in the collection were produced in response to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Twin Towers in New York City on the September 11th 2001 and the subsequent Coalition of the Willing "Operation Enduring Freedom" in Afghanistan in September 2001. Highlights of the collection include a collection of United States propaganda leaflets dropped in Afghanistan during the 2001-02 conflict, Australian anti-war leaflets, posters and pamphlets, and United States produced postcards and e-messages produced in the months following the New York terrorist attacks. The Terrorist Actions collection is derived from donations from a range of sources. Many items were collected by Research Centre staff members. The collection consists of approximately 160 items, housed in 17 wallets/folders within 1 solander box. Two items are oversize. Published and Digitised Collections, Research Centre, Australian War Memorial.

Official documents relating to this collection include Department of Defence media releases which can be found at the Department of Defence website. http://www.defence.gov.au/media/index.cfm. These include government briefings, speeches and interviews from October 2001 to September 2002 which provide an understanding of the events relating to September 11, 2001, from the official government perspective.

 Administrative information Processing history:

Records collected by the Australian War Memorial 2001-

 Access:

Open

 Publication rights:

Contact the Senior Curator, Published and Digitised Collections

 Copyright:

Contact the Senior Curator, Published and Digitised Collections

 Preferred citation:

Terrorist Actions and Afghanistan

 Historical background

Although Terrorism had troubled the West for some time before the 11th September 2001, it was that event that transformed the political landscape: the United States was outraged, calling the event "an act of War" and resolved to fight back. Prime Minister John Howard invoked the mutual defence clauses of the ANZUS treaty for the first time in fifty years since its signing. With Britain, Spain and the United States, Australia became part of the International Coalition Against Terrorism.

The justification for the United States war against Afghanistan was that the Taliban regime was providing a haven for al Qaeda, the organisation that plotted the September 11 attacks. Al Qaeda's aim was, amongst other things, to create a single Islamic State and rid the world of Western influence. The American-led Operation Enduring Freedom began on the 7th October 2001. The Australian Government contributed 1,550 troops. In addition, from November 2001 to December 2002, three rotations of 150 SAS troops joined the war. By the end of 2002 all the Australian troops had been withdrawn. However, in July 2005, a Special Forces Task Group of 150 personnel was deployed to perform security tasks. By mid 2007 there were approximately 970 Defence personnel committed to Afghanistan.

Much dispute by the Australian people followed the commitment of Australian troops to war in Afghanistan. This opposition continued into the later Second Gulf War in 2003.

Due to the endorsement of the approach taken to terrorism of the United States Government by the Australian Government, Australia's role in the 'war on terrorism' has been that of a key player. Coupled with this, in more recent times Australia has needed to give attention to the regional dimension of the 'war on terrorism' where Indonesia had been of particular concern, following the Bali bombings in 2002, the bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in 2004, and the 2005 Bali bombings.

References:

Londey, PeterWar without Boundaries in Wartime Wartime Magazine, Australian War Memorial, 2003, http://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/22/article.asp McDougall, DerekAustralia and the War on Terrorism: A Preliminary Assessment in Australian security after 9/11: new and old agendas edited by Derek McDougall and Peter Shearman, Ashgate, 2006 www.defence.gov.au/opslipper/default.htm

 Series list Series number Series title Postcards Souvenirs Digital media Leaflets/advertisements Posters Pamphlets Booklets Newspapers Magazines/serials Australian War Memorial Greeting Cards Series description SERIES 1: Postcards This collection consists of postcards produced following September 11 2001 (excluding two 1990's postcards regarding antipersonnel mines). It includes Australian and United States produced postcards. 12 items Subseries 1: Australian postcards (2 items) 1/1/1 War what is it good for? The Greens, ACT (2 items) Subseries 2: American postcards (10 items) 1/2/1 Honour our Heroes World Trade Center "To our Heroes we salute you, to those we lost we will always remember you", Alfred Mainzer Inc. (1 item) 1/2/2 September 11 2001 World Trade Center "To our Heroes we salute you, to those we lost we will always remember you", Alfred Mainzer, Inc. (1 item) 1/2/3 America September 11 - Day of Remembrance, designed & printed by Maracom (1 item) 1/2/4 We will never forget September 11, 2001 by Michael Langenstein 2001 (1 item) 1/2/5 Day of Infamy 11 September 2001, postcard by Rick Geary (1 item) 1/2/6 Your wakeup call by W H Kopp 2001, includes "I hear you, and the whole nation hear you, and the people that knocked down these buildings are going to hear all of us soon" George Bush (1 item) 1/2/7 Wanted dead or alive Osama Bin Laden $5,000, 000 reward produced by US Department of Smoke 'm Out, photo Mullar Omar. (1 item) 1/2/8 (Target Osama) produced by the US Department of Smoke' m Out, photo Mullar Omar (1 item) 1/2/9 Wanted dead or alive (crossed out) Osama Bin Laden, $9,000 000 reward, Sept. 11 2001 By Bombs to You Postcard Company (1 item) 1/2/10 Uncle Sam Commemorative Series for Operation Enduring Freedom by pcards@atlantic.net (1 item) SERIES 2: Souvenirs 3 items Subseries 1: Australian souvenirs (3 items) 2/1/1 Anzac Dawn Service, Afghanistan, 2002 (1 item) 2/1/2 Operation Slipper 2001/2 War Against Terrorism, first LPA to OLOC, first LPA to War (1 item) 2/1/3 'Moment of Silence' Operation Enduring Freedom, Air Force Week in Photos, Official website of the United States Airforce, 5/5/2002, http://www.af.mil/news/afwip/wip.html (1 item) 2/1/4 AHQ Prayer Service Remembering TPR David Pearce 2nd/14th Light Horse Regt, KIA 8 Oct 2007 An Australian Army Headquarters (AHQ) Prayer Service Programme for TPR David Pearce, 2nd/14th Light Horse Regt, Australian Army. He was killed in action in Afghanistan on 8th October 2007 while on deployment during Operation Slipper. Includes a colour picture of TPR Pearce. (1 item) SERIES 3 Digital media Internet media, mostly United States generated, and distributed worldwide following the events of September 11 2001. This section is organised by file type, not subject/theme: J Peg Images, Microsoft word documents, M3 format sound, application, Microsoft powerpoint slide show and gif images. 42 items Subseries 1: J-Peg images (21 items) 3/1/1 11 September $20 3/1/2 Afghanistan weather 3/1/3 Bin Laden Toomey Ansett 3/1/4 Bin Laden Airlines 3/1/5 Toyota 3/1/6 Delete Twin Towers? 3/1/7 Divorce September 11 Style 3/2/8 Priceless 1 3/1/9 Priceless 2 3/1/10 George Bush and John Howard Mini-me 3/1/11 How Osama got the idea 3/1/12 Minties 3/1/13 Osamas in pyjamas: Bin 1 and Bin 2 3/1/14 Osama's pizza 3/1/15 Stop asking questions 3/1/16 Spot the difference 3/1/17 Twin Towers homepage 3/1/18 Twin Towers Meeting 3/1/19 When you pay bananas you get George 3/1/20 Won the Toss 3/1/21 Target: New store opening in Empire State Building Subseries 2: Microsoft word documents (7 items) 3/2/1 Bert Bin Laden 3/2/2 Osama Bin Laden University 3/2/3 Pentagon bombing 3/2/4 Public servant joke 3/2/5 The Number 11 3/2/6 The US Government terrorism website 3/2/7 Where was God on 11 September Subseries 3: MP3 format sound (1 item) 3/3/1 Air Force Come Subseries 4: Applications (2 items) 3/4/1 Bin Laden shootout 3/4/2 Trade Centre Defender Subseries 5: Microsoft Powerpoint Slide Show (2 items) 3/5/1 Message from Boeing 3/5/2 Movies 2002 Subseries 6: Gif Image (1 item) 3/6/1 Osama OJ Subseries 7: Australian emails anti war messages (3 items) 3/7/1 "Anti-Terrorist" Laws media release NOWAR (Network opposing war and racism) Monday 11th February 2002 (paper copy) 3/7/2 This is a war against Afghan people NOWAR (Network opposing war and racism) 19 December 2001 (paper copy) (1 copy) 3/7/3 Peace email (word document) (1 copy) Subseries 8: Australian emails (4 items) 3/8/1 Mooseheads 3/8/2 Mundine Bin Laden (1 copy) 3/8/3 Postcard from John Howard By Michael Leunig (1 copy) 3/8/4 Bin lager (paper copy) (1 copy) Subseries 9: Pdf format (1 item) 3/9/1 Fake Liberal Party leaflet, 2007 Election SERIES 4: Leaflets/Advertisements This collection includes Australian anti-war leaflets, advertisements, and leaflets produced by Australian Government Agencies, United States propaganda leaflets, and untranslated Afghani leaflets. 41 items Subseries 1: Leaflets produced by Australian Government Agencies and for use by Australian Defence Personnel (3 items) 4/1/1 Medevac procedures 1 November 2000 (1 item) 4/1/2 Let's look out for Australia: Protecting our way of life from a possible terrorist threat A leaflet with magnet produced by the Australian Government in 2003 which provides useful phone numbers for the public to utilise when they have information on terrorists or terrorism threats. (1 item) 4/1/3 Handy Phrases in Pashtu Language A leaflet with translations of useful phrases in Pashtu, a language widely spoken in Afghanistan. (1 item) Subseries 2: Australian Anti-War Leaflets (27 items) 4/2/1 Justice for Jack Thomas (March 15) (1 item) 4/2/2 Rock for Justice Justice for Jack Thomas Benefit Gig (March 18) (1 item) 4/2/3 NO WaR Network Opposing War and Racism No War Rally (Sept 29) (2 items) 4/2/4 ACT NOW (ACT Network opposing War) No to War (30 Sept) (1 item) 4/2/5 Stop the War Why was the US attacked? (Oct 10) (2 items) 4/2/6 Socialist Worker Public Meeting / What's behind Bush and Howard's drive to war? (Oct 10) (1 item) 4/2/7 Resistance (1 item) 4/2/8 ACT NOW (ACT Network opposing War) No to War (Oct 19) (2 items - 1 large, 1 small) 4/2/9 Spank (Students Protesting Against Needless Killing) (2 items) 4/2/10 Socialist Alliance (Stop the War, How to Vote lealfet) (1 item) 4/2/11 Trade Unionists against the War NO War - Sydney Trade Union Working Group (1 item) 4/2/12 ACT NOW (ACT Network opposing War) No to War (Oct 13) (1 item) 4/2/13 ACT NOW (ACT Network opposing War) Stop the War (Nov 7) (2 items) 4/2/14 ACT NOW and ANU Anti-War Group (Anti-War Teach-in) (Nov 24) (1 item) 4/2/15 ACT NOW (ACT Network opposing War) Rally (Nov 30) (1 item) 4/2/16 Sociallist Alliance (No to war, No to Racism) (3 items) 4/2/17 NO WaR Network Opposing War and Racism (Stop the War) (Dec 9) (1 item) 4/2/18 Green Left Weekly (How can we stop this war?) (2 items) 4/2/19 Refugee Action Commitee (Stop the war on refugees) (1 item) Subseries 3: United States Propaganda leaflets (7 items) 4/3/1 'Al-Qai'da do you think that you are safe in your tomb' … 2002 United States propaganda leaflet, dropped in Afghanistan Leaflet number: AF D69b (1 item) 4/3/2 Up to $25,000 000 Reward for information leading to the whereabouts of capture of these two men' Usama Bin Laden' and 'Aimen Al-Zawahiri'. 2002 United States propaganda leaflet, dropped in Afghanistan. Leaflet number: AF D29o (1 item) 4/3/3 'Taliban and Al-Qai'da use innocent women and children as shields for protection/ Report Taliban and Al-Qaida to Partnership of Nations Forces'. 2002 United States propaganda leaflet, dropped in Afghanistan. Leaflet number: AF D114. (1 item) 4/3/4 'Taliban and Al-Qai'da Leadership Reward. Reward for leading to the whereabouts or capture of Taliban and Al Qaida leadership'. 2002 United States propaganda leaflet, dropped in Afghanistan. Leaflet number: AF D29p. (1 item) 4/3/5 'Many threads make one rug/ Together you can make one Afghanistan'. 2002 United States propaganda leaflet, dropped in Afghanistan. Leaflet number: AF D88. (1 item) 4/3/6 'A united Afghanistan offers peace and prosperity. A new Government offers new freedoms. The future of Afghanistan depends on your support of the new Government'. 2002 United States propaganda leaflet, dropped in Afghanistan. Leaflet number: AF G105. (1 item) 4/3/7 'Osama Bin laden sacrifices the Afghan people for his own pride. He used the Taliban to exterminate whole communities opposed to his fanaticism' United States propaganda leaflet, dropped in Afghanistan Leaflet Number: AF D93a. (1 item) Subseries 4: Afghanistan leaflets (4 items) 4/4/1 Leaflet, Tora Bora, Eastern Afghanistan Leaflet with Arabic writing on one side and two photographs on the other. (1 item) 4/4/2 Leaflet, Tora Bora, Eastern Afghanistan Leaflet with Arabic writing on one side and two photographs on the other. (1 item) 4/4/3 Leaflet, Tora Bora, Eastern Afghanistan Leaflet in Arabic folded into quarters to form a booklet. One section appears to give instructions for a Rocket Propelled Grenade. (1 item in 2 parts) 4/4/4 Leaflet, Tora Bora, Eastern Afghanistan Leaflet in Arabic. One side has information in a tabular form. (1 item) SERIES 5: Posters This collection of posters include Australian anti-survellience and anti-war posters, as well as posters from the United States concerning the Terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. 25 items Subseries 1: Australian Posters (21 items) 5/1/1 Get Smart Say No to a Secret Police! AO 1 (1 item) 5/1/2 Socialist Alternative Marxism and Terrorism (Feb 5) (1 item) 5/1/3 Can there be a world without war? (March 19) (4 items) 5/1/4 Who will the US invade next? (March 31) (2 items) 5/1/5 Standing up to Imperialism and War (April 15-17 2005) (3 items) 5/1/6 Justice for Jack Thomas Campaign Justice for Jack (March 15) (4 items) 5/1/7 ACT Network Opposing War (Human Rights Day Anti-War Rally) (Dec 9) (1 item) 5/1/8 Marxism 2002 (Sept 6) (1 item) 5/1/9 Friends of the Earth (Expose the Gap) (1 item) 5/1/10 Refugee Action Committee (Free the Refugees) (1 item) 5/1/11 31st Resistance National Conference (Sept 27-30) (1 item) 5/1/12 Marxism 2002 (Global War, Global Revolt) (Sept 6-8) (1 item) Subseries 2: Posters from the United States (4 items) 5/2/1 The World Trade Centre Area: Before and After (1 item) 5/2/2 In Commemoration of 37 Port Authority Police Officers, New York, 2001. (1 item) 5/2/3 Image of area affected by 11 September 2001. (1 item) 5/2/4 Aerial view of the Pentagon. (1 item) SERIES 6: Pamphlets This collection consists of Australian pamphlets 6 items Subseries 1: Australian Anti-War pamphlets (6 items) 6/1/1 Socialist Alternative Standing up to Imperialism and War (5 items) 6/1/2 RACanberra The New Social Disease: "The Ruddocks" (1 item) SERIES 7: Booklets 1 item Subseries 1: Australian booklets (1 item) 7/1/1 Afghanistan Handbook Handbook issued to Australian Military personnel. Provides information on the culture, customs, structure, geography, climate, language and history of Afghanistan. Also includes information on threats and health issues. (1 item) SERIES 8: Newspapers 6 items Subseries 1: Foreign magazines/serials (6 items) 8/1/1 Vecherni Bishkek (The Bishkek Observer), Azamat Kasybekov 3 May 2002 (5 items) 8/1/2 English translation, Vecherni Bishkek,(The Bishkek Observer), 'A tribute to the memory' 3 May 2002. Press release relating to ANZAC Day 2002. (1 item) SERIES 9: Magazines/serials 23 items Subseries 1: Australian magazines/serials (8 items) 9/1/1 The Bulletin September 25, 2001 (1 item) 9/1/2 The Bulletin October 2, 2001 (1 item) 9/1/3 The Bulletin January 22, 2002 (1 item) 9/1/4 The Bulletin July 16, 2002 (1 item) 9/1/5 Time October 22, 2001 (1 item) 9/1/6 Time October 29, 2001 (1 item) 9/1/7 Women's Day September 24, 2001 (1 item) 9/1/8 Oxfam Horizons vol. 2 no. 1 February 2002 (1 item) Subseries 2: International magazines/serials (15 items) 9/2/1 The World Today vol. 57 no. 10 October 2001 (1 item) 9/2/2 Desert Voice, Serving the Military Community in Iraq December 11 2002 (3 items) 9/2/3 Desert Voice, Serving the Military Community in Iraq August 7, 2002 (1 item) 9/2/4 Desert Voice, Serving the Military Community in Iraq August 21, 2002 (1 item) 9/2/5 Desert Voice, Serving the Military Community in Iraq August 28, 2002 (1 item) 9/2/6 Ganci Gazette vol. 1 no. 11 (4 items) 9/2/7 Ganci Gazette vol. 1 no. 13 (1 item) 9/2/8 Maclean's September 24, 2001 (1 item) 9/2/9 Profiles Presents "Attack on America" Issue 3, 2001 (1 item) 9/2/10 God Bless America: "The day that changed America". Vol. 11, No. 3 (1 item) SERIES 10: Australian War Memorial material 1 item Subseries 1: Australian War Memorial material (1 item) 10/1/1 Exhibition flyer, War without boundaries: Australia and the war against terrorism, Australian War Memorial 20 March - 31 August 2003, Special Exhibitions Gallery (1 item) Colour. SERIES 11: Greeting Cards 1 item Subseries 1: Australian Greeting Cards (1 item) 11/1/1 Merry Christmas from Afghanistan From 1 Reconstruction Task Force. (1 item)