The Continuing Role of the Outside World in Afghanistan 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

Afghanistan has been for years a country struggling with authority issues. These struggles date back to the 16th century of the Mughal Empire and continues with the Taliban today. These historic struggles are responsible of the changing nature of political authority in this volatile region of our world. There have been many attempts from other groups to try and “conquer” the land but

“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.

“Afghanistan was a monarchy ruled by King Zahir Shah. On July 17, 1973, when the king was on away on vacation, a man by the name of Mohammad Daoud Khan attained power. The military takeover did not cause any bloodshed, but as we see through Amir's story, it was still a frightening time for the people of Kabul who heard rioting and shooting in the streets. For six years, Mohammad Daoud Khan was President and Prime Minister of Afghanistan. Then, on April 27, 1978, he was violently overthrown by the PDPA, People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. Daoud was killed in the coup along with most of his family. Even though Afghanistan had long insisted on maintaining its independence from Russia, the PDPA was a Communist party and therefore held close ties to the Soviet Union. The PDPA instituted many

After years of battle, the mujahideen caused a lot of casualties to the Soviet forces which made the war expensive for them. As a result, in 1989 the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan. Unfortunately, this was not the end of the bloodshed. The mujahedin began fighting against each other for control in Kabul.

The Soviet troops entered Afghanistan along two ground routes and one air corridor, quickly taking control of the major urban centers, military bases, and the strategic installations. However, the presence of the Soviet troops did not have the desired effect of pacifying the country. On the contrary, it exacerbated a nationalistic feeling, causing the rebellion to spread further. Babrak Karmal, Afghanistan's new president, charged the Soviets with causing an increase in the country's unrest and demanded that the 40th army steps in, and put an end to the rebellion since his own army had proved untrustworthy. Thus, Soviet troops found themselves drawn into fighting against urban uprisings, tribal armies (called Lashkar), and sometimes against mutinying Afghan army units. These forces mostly fought in the open and Soviet airpower and artillery made short work of

In the history of Afghanistan, a state, in order to be deemed as legitimate, had to satisfy three preconditions. Firstly, it had to be a broker between clans, tribes and ethnic groups. Secondly it had to deliver basic security and ensure secure access to public services and infrastructure. Lastly, it had to embody the concept of Afganistan as an independent Islamic territory .

The country of Afghanistan is entirely landlocked, “Shaped like an irregular leaf with the Wakhan Corridor as its stem, the country is about 647,500 sq km (250,000 sq mi), or about the size of Texas. Extending approximately 1,240 km (770 mi) from west to east, and 1,000 km (630 mi) from north to south”, much of the country is scarcely populated. The largest mountain system is the Hindu Kush. This mountain range runs through the middle of the country dominating about half of the country.

After the invasion of the Soviets in 1979, the next ten years for the civilians of Afghanistan would be tumultuous. Communist Russia had one goal upon entering the country and that was to spread influence about their communist way of life. Several groups joined forces to help take down the Soviets, including the US, Pakistan, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. They offered support to anti-communist Muslim Afghan fighters, also known as the Mujahideen (Aljazeera). It would not be until 1989, exactly ten years after the Soviet invasion, that the Soviets would withdraw from Afghanistan, after losing roughly 15,000 soldiers. After the Soviets leave the country, Afghanistan is split, with several different factions looking to gain control of the country.Fighting ensues and much of the country is left in rubble due to the destruction of these forces. The Taliban gained control in 1996 after former president, Mohammad Najibullah was hanged in Kabul (Aljazeera). In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini depicts the initial invasion of the Soviets in chapter five. One of the characters, Amir, declares that it is “The beginning of the end.” It is described in the story that once the Taliban came to

During the 19th century there was a rivalry for power and domination in Asia between the United Kingdom and the Russian Empire. The British were fearing that the Russian Empire would use Afghanistan as a staging area to initiate an invasion of India, which was the pride of the British Empire. The British send out troops to Afghanistan in order to establish an alliance with them, but the Afghan people felt that the British were invading Afghanistan. The British forces set up a poorly defended cantonment about a mile north of Kabul. The dispute between the Afghans and the British started because a British officer was having an affair with an Afghan woman. The British cantonment was constantly attacked and their supply routes were cut off.

From this point a civil war broke out and many parties wishing to gain control emerged. The most powerful of these parties was the Taliban group. Their reputation allowed them to gain power and instill their belief that they should have a strict Islamic nation. Their policies stated that women were strictly forbidden to attend school. Men who had not grown full beards were not allowed in the same common areas that men with beards preoccupied. In 2001, they went so far as to order that all non-Islamic idols be removed and destroyed. Over a ten to fifteen year period they reigned in Afghanistan. The Taliban went to war with whomever they felt stood in their way. They took over many capitals and defeated many warlords with the help of Osama bin-Laden and his al-Qaida group. They also solicited the help of Pakistan. Following the 1998 terrorist attacks on American embassies in Africa, America launched a missile attack on Al-Qaida training camps. The war wasn’t officially declared until October 7, 2001. On this day, the U.S., along with the support of the British initiated what was called “Operation Enduring Freedom”. During the period from October to November these two powerful nations used submarine missile as well as aerial attacks. Sometime in late November the reign of the Taliban came to an end. Surrounded by opposing forces on all sides, the Taliban gave in and surrendered its last stronghold, the city of Kandahar.

Afghanistan is a mountainous land-locked country, which is one of the central Asian countries. In addition, it is an Islamic country that Islam religion has played a significant role in governing it. In Afghanistan Many governments had been changed in past several decades. For instance, the Kingdom of Amanullah Khan, the Kingdom of Mohammad Nadir Shah, Mohammad Zahir Shah, The Communist Regimes, the Islamic State of Afghanistan, Taliban Regime, Interim Government, Transitional Government, and the Islamic Republic Governments. As most of us agree that the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan changed very much in contrast to passed governments, especially Taliban Regime. This piece of

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

The instability, created by a decade of internal conflict in Afghanistan, allowed for outsider groups, such as the Soviet Union and later the Taliban, to seize power there. Even before the Soviet Invasion, Afghanistan was burdened with political instability, which stemmed from a lack of leadership at the presidential level and a power struggle between America and the USSR for access to the Afghan elites. This period of instability began under President Mohammed Daoud, who himself took power through a military coup against the previous leader, when he attempted to shift Afghanistan away from Soviet influence and towards America and the West. Daoud’s political maneuvering was faced with severe criticism from his main political opponents: the