After the September 11 attacks on the U.S. and the PENTTBOM investigation, the United States made the following demands of the Taliban,[116]
1.Deliver to the U.S. all of the leaders of Al-Qaeda
2.Release all foreign nationals that have been unjustly imprisoned
3.Protect foreign journalists, diplomats, and aid workers
4.Close immediately every terrorist training camp
5.Hand over every terrorist and their supporters to appropriate authorities
6.Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps for inspection
The U.S. petitioned the international community to back a military campaign to overthrow the Taliban. The U.N. issued two resolutions on terrorism after the September 11 attacks. The resolutions called on all states to "[increase] cooperation and full implementation of the relevant international conventions relating to terrorism" and specified consensus recommendations for all countries. The Security Council did not authorize military intervention in Afghanistan of any kind, and nowhere in the U.N resolutions did it say military operations in Afghanistan were justified or conformed to international law.[117] Despite this, NATO approved a campaign against Afghanistan as self-defense against armed attack.[118]
The Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salem Zaeef, responded to the ultimatum by demanding "convincing evidence"[119] that Bin Laden was involved in the attacks, stating "our position is that if America has evidence and proof, they should produce it."[120][121] Additionally, the Taliban insisted that any trial of Bin Laden be held in an Afghan court.[122] Zaeef also claimed that "4,000 Jews working in the Trade Center had prior knowledge of the suicide missions, and 'were absent on that day.'"[121] This response was generally dismissed as a delaying tactic, rather than a sincere attempt to cooperate with the ultimatum.[119][123][124]
On September 22, the United Arab Emirates, and later Saudi Arabia, withdrew recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan's legal government, leaving neighbouring Pakistan as the only remaining country with diplomatic ties. On October 4, the Taliban agreed to turn bin Laden over to Pakistan for trial in an international tribunal[125] that operated according to Islamic Sharia law, but Pakistan blocked the offer as it was not possible to guarantee his safety.[126] On October 7, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan offered to detain bin Laden and try him under Islamic law if the U.S. made a formal request and presented the Taliban with evidence. A Bush administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, rejected the Taliban offer, and stated that the U.S. would not negotiate their demands.[127]
On October 7, less than one month after the September 11 attacks, the U.S., aided by the United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries including several from the NATO alliance, initiated military action, bombing Taliban and Al-Qaeda-related camps.[128][129] The stated intent of military operations was to remove the Taliban from power, and prevent the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations.[130]