Al-Qaida was involved in a range of activities in Afghanistan not immediately connected to international terrorism. Some of these activities were designed to support the Taliban and other militant groups. The duty to support other Muslims was at the core of al-Qaida’s philosophy as described in its foundation documents from 1988. However, it was not a strategic priority. The main argument presented here is that after bin Laden’s return to Afghanistan in 1996, al-Qaida followed a dual strategy. While a small part of al-Qaida was involved in staging international terrorist attacks, the larger part was involved in building a resilient organization. The strategy was designed not just for the short-term goal of expelling the United States from the Middle East, but for the long-term goal of ousting local Arab governments and replacing them with Islamic ones. Al-Qaida used its sanctuary with the Taliban regime to build a revolutionary vanguard for the Muslim world.