Democratization And Afghanist Changes Essay

For over 2 centuries, Afghanistan has known virtually no time without war. Beginning around 326 B.C. with the conquests of Alexander the Great, to the Persians, British, Russians and most recently, America and our NATO allies, Afghanistan has been cultivated into the country that it is today through a trial by fire. Regardless of this relentless onslaught of foreign military power, the Afghan people have tirelessly defended their homeland with no outside power ever being able to subdue them completely. Following the withdrawal of the Soviet Union in 1989, the country fell into civil war, torn even further apart by fiercely dedicated tribal warlords. This power vacuum led to the rise of a group called the Taliban. Led by a one eyed man

With the tales of these three individuals told, it is hard not to feel a sense of pity and uncertainty about Afghanistan and especially the United States’ role in Afghanistan. With the consensus of entering Afghanistan originally being to stop terrorism, throughout Gopal’s book it seems that the goal, or better yet, the idea of wiping terrorism away had certainly been lost. No longer does it seem that the United States is helping, rather that the U.S. is one of the main problems in the country. The details and facts listed in the book open a

As America find herself in today’s “War on Terrorism,” one can easily find a number of similarities between today’s situation and the war in Vietnam. As the Taliban steadily loses control and power over Afghanistan, it becomes exceedingly important to discuss potential replacement governments. Afghanistan is, like Vietnam in the 50’s and 60’s, a very volatile country full of a variety of people speaking different dialects and practicing different religions. It is very important, then, that the government that is installed is one that is capable of maintaining some type of control or authority over its diverse people.

“We lost the war in southern Afghanistan and it broke my heart.” This statement used by Graeme Smith in the introduction to his book, The Dogs are Eating Them Now: Our War in Afghanistan, sets the tone for the rest of the book. Although foreign forces had, arguably, the best of intentions going into the war, the Taliban always regrouped and reappeared, often larger and harder to defeat than before, no matter how tremendous their losses were in previous battles. International forces did what they thought was essential for rebuilding of Afghanistan, including the elimination of the Taliban through air strikes and poppy eradication, even though they did not truly understand the needs and priorities of Afghan citizens and were constantly perceived negatively by the Afghan civilians. In an accessible method, Smith provides general knowledge about how the intervention on the behalf of the international community impacted the country and its people. This book also leaves me with reflections on the dynamic between insurgents and villagers and how the international forces could have helped to prevent a power vacuum from occurring during the years where most foreign forces pulled out of Afghanistan.

The war between Afghanistan and the United States has been one that has lasted longer than any war; the civil war combined with both World War I and World War II do not match the duration the United States currently faces with Afghanistan. With both countries engaging little to no military conflict, the U.S. continues to be on Afghanistan’s territory, securing the country from the rise of militias potentially threatening our counterpart’s sovereignty. Many people have been arguing whether the US should withdraw from Afghanistan and when. Currently, as the U.S. plans to withdraw from the Afghan nation, the issue is not one that pertains to the U.S. and Afghanistan, for they are not the only two involved. American forces had planned to leave the opponent’s nation but fear the security along with the sovereignty of Afghanistan continues to be one that is porous. The initiation of the war was the 9/11 attack and has been lasting for 13 years. However, many people complain about the extreme high cost of the war The United States should withdraw completely from Afghanistan because of the high cost of the war, popular opinion’s support, and very few al-Qaeda members are left.

The modern nation of Afghanistan, as we come to know it today emerged during the eighteenth century. Pashtun tribes in response to the depletion of the Indian and Persian empires within their lands began to band together to form its very own nation, the nation of Afghanistan. “Afghanistan has been a strategic prize for foreign empires for more than two hundred years. The British, Russians the United States have all fought across its inhospitable terrain, in conflicts variously ruthless, misguided, and bloody. This violent history is littered with broken promises and underestimations” (Loyn 1). Many other nations have tried to conquer this rugged region of the world. All of which involved great nations far more superior in weapons and technology than Afghanistan.

Known as the cross road and graveyard of empires, in the last three millennia Afghanistan has been invaded many times. Some of these invaders include Alexander the Great, Indians, Genghis Khan, Timur, Mughal Empire, Persian Empires, British Empire and the Soviet Union. These invaders have paid a significant price of fighting in Afghanistan. In the 19th century during the first Afghan-Anglo war in a massacre majority of around 16000 Indian and British military and civilians were captured and killed by Afghan warriors and the only couple of them survived. The former USSR invasion of Afghanistan resulted in the defeat and collapse of the entire Soviet Union. During these warfares, Afghans have gained immense experience at tactical, operational and strategic level.

The current instability and political turmoil in the nation of Afghanistan is a result of an attempted mix between an eclectic group of cultures and traditions and an attempted modern western style government. The collective Afghan people consist of hundreds of ethnicities including Pashtuns, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and the Balochs, each with a distinctive cultural identity and belief system. Coupling thousands of years of tradition and belief with modernization and imperialist influence has lead to a war torn and politically unstable nation.

he Middle East is a large and diverse geographical area located in southwest Asia and northeast Africa.

The Taliban—a Muslim fundamentalist group--first took control on the Afghanistan government in 1996, and even after the US-led invasion in 2001, they have maintained a strong influence in rural regions. When they first became present, many Afghans believed they would bring light to the years of corruption introduced by the Russians, and for a while that was true. The Taliban brought stability to Afghanistan, reduced infighting between warlords, and cracked down on the corruption that had been present in the government for many years. However, as years past the presence of the fundamentalist group changed Afghanistan and its people for the worse, displacing many people, and many Hazara, women, and children were murdered. Before Taliban arrive

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001. The Taliban was ejected out of power by the U.S. military and other forces in December 2001 because of the terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001.

It covers a great scope of material beyond the history of Afghanistan, though I have concluded that the essence lied in the first few chapters, which focused on the invasion of the Soviet army and their assistance to the Afghanistan government against the Afghan rebels (mujahedeen). Some of the main aspects includes the Soviet Union’s withdrawal of its army from the ongoing civil war in Afghanistan, because too many of the Soviet’s soldiers died in battle against the mujahedeen. Although the Soviet Union had signed a friendship treaty with the Afghanistan government, they still abandoned them in the end when things worked unfavorably for them. The importance of this book is to inform its readers the historical events that shaped the current Afghanistan they know today. Overall, this book will provide the foundation on which I can convincingly construct an argument that sets up the context of my central text I will evaluate: The Kite

Afghanistan has a high percentage of Muslims in the country, about 99%. This has affected the country a great deal throughout history. The effects of Islam in Afghanistan are numerous, including - but not limited to - The Taliban’s rise to power, the discrimination against different sects of Islam and other religion, and the treatment of women. Many of these effects have lasted for years and have spread throughout the world.

Afghanistan, is located in Southern Asia. It borders the countries of Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan,Uzbekistan, China and Pakistan. It’s capital is Kabul. Afghanistan contains a very mountainous terrain. The Hindu Kush Mountains cut across the country. Due to these mountains, the area is divided into three major regions. The biggest region, the Central Highlands take up ⅔ of Afghanistan’s area and are part of the himalayan mountains. The second largest, is the Southwestern Plateau, which is ¼ of all Afghani land. Finally, we have the smallest region, the Northern Plains area. However, while being the smallest, it is filled with fertile soil. Afghanistan is filled with natural resources. They are known for their copper, coal, natural gas, petroleum,

Within the beginning of the 21st century, the discord within Afghanistan had been observed first and foremost as a possible cultural battle. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia seemed to be bankrolling a Pashtun takeover in the region simply by assisting the Taliban (Mujtaba, 2013). Then again, Iran, Russia, some Central Asian states and India backed the fundamentally non-Pashtun Northern Alliance, to avoid an entire Taliban triumph when the fundamentalist militia currently managed in excess of 90 % of Afghanistan’s area (Mujtaba, 2013). Peace building initiatives after that aimed at the development of a representative government.