Mujahideens In Afghanistan

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on December 1979, the goal was to help Afghan communist forces set up a communist government. The Soviet Union felt Afghanistan had key resources and a foothold in the Middle East to spread communist ideas. The result would be a war that the Soviet Union wishes it never got involved in and likened to their “Vietnam War”, meaning winning a number of battles but not the war like what happened to the U.S. in Vietnam. The background of the war, outcome of the war, and impact on the United States are key to understanding the Soviet-Afghan War.

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

Afghanistan, a country landlocked in the middle east. A key trade route to and from Asia, It has been fought over since the first traders traveled from their homelands following the Silk Roads. There first were tribes that squabbled over petty territory and game but then they started to learn and grow and become more organized. Soon all of them became united under the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th Century, but shortly after they became embroiled in war again after the death of the prophet and who should be the next heir of his position. Then the foreigners came, and realising the necessity for cohesion to protect themselves. A new sense of nationalism arose and they finally united under one barrier. But that banner was too good

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.

Afghanistan was once a country of peace and stability. When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 everything

    “Operation Enduring freedom” was a US led attack against the people behind September 11th, 2001. People like Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda organization. His organization was based in the country. The Taliban had been ruling all over since about 1996, and they were strong supporters of Osama and his Al-Qaeda organization. During their rule they tried to enforce as much Islamic religion as they could. Much of the country was in poverty

On December, 24th 1979 Soviets invaded Afghanistan, starting a nationwide rebellion by Islamic fighters and extremist, the fierce gorilla style fighting aided to the overall withdrawal of soviet force a decade after the initial attack on the country (Witte, Griff). Within a few years of the country relieving it’s self of Soviet rule the country focused their anger on themselves, starting a mass Civil War. In the mid-1990s, the Taliban began defeating local warlords and received support from Pakistan, by 1995, the Taliban is looked at as the government of Afghanistan (PBS.com). This would start phase one for The United States, the United States refusing that the Taliban held rule in Afghanistan as well as wanting to topple the Taliban. The two bomb bombings on American embassies in Africa led to the cruise missile attacks against Al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan later on that year. On September 9, 2001, two men associated with the killing of the Northern Alliance leader, Ahmad Shah Massoud, who looked toward the United States for bigger financial backing, with his murder the coordinated attacks on September 11, 2001 where in motion (Witte,

The Soviets had been helping Afghanistan since the 1920s to be a buffer state and to stop the influence of Iran and Pakistan, which were backed by the United States, later when Iran got a new leader it resulted in a challenge for the Soviets and Communism, this made the Soviets and Afghans hate each other. In 1979 Afghans rebels and the soviets started a war with each other. Soviet leaders wanted to kill the afghan leader and replace him with a new one that supports communism. The Soviets having over 75,00 people were still not able to take down the Afghan rebels. Although Soviets tried to stop this from happening, the Islamic groups in Pakistan which were backed by the United States helped the Afghans get weapons. With the war going on for many more years in 1984 The United States president released a ground to air missiles called Afghan freedom fighters. These missiles were one of the causes for the war to end in 1989, with 20,000 soviet deaths and 1,000,000 afghan deaths, The

Before the US invasion, life for the population of Afghanistan was hell under the rule of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban. This imposed reactionary religious restrictions and the suffocating social relations under the death penalty with a savagery that was recorded in the collective memory of the world through the stoning in stadiums against women accused of "crimes" like adultery. In addition, the Taliban imposed a feudal economic relations that kept shackled and impoverished peasants. While his schedule sometimes entered strong conflict with that of the United States, essentially the Taliban did not object to the general rule of Afghanistan by imperialism. In fact, he had been eager to make deals with the United States on pipelines and on other fronts. After the September 11, 2001, the Taliban government in Afghanistan did not become intolerable for the US imperialists because of its completely reactionary nature and all the horrors it brings to the people of Afghanistan. Indeed, a factor that contributed to the rise of the Taliban and other Islamic fundamentalist forces were economic support, military organization and provided the Islamic Mujahideen from the United States and Saudi Arabia (on many occasions by the Pakistani intelligence services) in their fighting against the Soviet Union in the 80s when the United States sought to beat a rival imperial power and more control over the Middle East and Central Asia. Moreover, the US government directly supported the

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.

I know that this conflict between America and Afghanistan has been going on since 2001 after the September 11 attacks on the U.S. Pentagon and the New York Twin Towers. It was shortly after this that then President George W. Bush requested the Taliban to turn in Osama bin Laden for his role in orchestrating the attack. As expected the Taliban would not cooperate and hand him over the United States officials. President George W Bush then called in air strikes around October of 2001. The United States eventually won the war by overthrowing the Taliban and al-Qaeda. They were also successful in setting up military bases in or close proximity to the cities of Afghanistan. This war has led to a lot of freedom for those that lived in Afghanistan as well as a lot of deaths of innocent individuals that live in the country. However the United States were unsuccessful in capturing Osama bin Laden until 2011. By that time our country was under the leadership of President Barack Obama. In 2011 the U.S. Navy SEALS set up a raid in Pakistan in attempt to locate and capture Osama bin Laden. I have not saw it or read exactly how they knew he was hiding out in Abbottabad, Pakistan but the leader of the SEALS Team Six ordered the attack. The United States honored the tradition of Islamic culture by giving his body the proper burial at sea. The war was supported by many but criticized by others. People wanted to know that it was really bin Laden that was killed. Al-Qaeda responded

The government lost ground to the mujahideen or the “holy warriors” after the Soviet Union pulled their forces out. The mujahideen set up new governments and elected presidents, but when the other factions wouldn’t cooperate, they feel fighting each other. Afghanistan then became a group of territories held by competing warlords.

They invaded on the 27th of December, 1979, killing the Marxist head of state.They used as many as 100,000 troops for this invasion. The United States viewed this as a very disrespectful violation of international law, therefore taking the Soviet’s actions as a threat to their resources such as oil, vital sea lanes, etc. Because of this, in 1980, The United States and various other countries such as Egypt and Pakistan saw this as a great opportunity to prove to the Afghans that they are the “good” countries. Consequently, they decided to help them out. The countries (mainly the United States) provided aid for the Afghans in one of their lowest moments in all of history. They Afghans accepted their generous help and decided to join the cause. The Soviets viewed this alliance as the US just trying to strengthen their army (which it was) which was taken as an offensive gesture. Not everything went according to plan however, a plague of sickness swept through the lands of Afghanistan, once again giving the USSR the advantage point. As the Cold War continued, so did the age of decivilization. Although they did fall many times to the Soviets, the Afghans played a major role in helping the United States throughout the Cold

After massive fraud during the 2014 presidential elections in Afghanistan, in September 2014 against the constitution a deal to form a national unity government (NUG) has been signed by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdulah. Absence of a functioning security and economic strategy, reckless foreign policy and weakened diplomacy has resulted to increased foreign interference, massive corruption, poverty, unemployment, aid reduction and increased casualties, violence and insecurity in the country. Lack of a political opposition, weak political parties, dependent parliament and fragile civil society organizations are not in a position to hold the government accountable. The leaderships of the country try to veil the reality and keep the nation in gloom. If firm and immediate measures are not taken by the Afghan people, the internal conflict and power sharing by the leaderships of the government will jeopardize the massive investment made in last one decade by Afghans and their allies.