5 Afghanistan

							Afghanistan
Introduction

• The story of Afghanistan is a very tragic one.
  Afghanistan is one of the most impoverished
  nations of the world. It is one of the most
  war-torn, most ravaged, and most
  beleaguered of nations. It is a nation that has
  been beset by invasion, external pressure
  and internal upheaval since before the time
  of Alexander the Great. For many, all that has
  changed in the last one thousand years are
  the weapons which have been used against
  so many of them.
   Introduction
• Afghanistan, is a landlocked
  country at the crossroads of
  Asia and the Middle East. It
  has historically been the link
  between Central Asia, the
  Middle East and the Indian
  sub-continent. It is therefore a
  nation made up of many
  different nationalities
The Cascade
of Invaders
• The region of
  present-day
  Afghanistan has
  seen many invading
  forces come and go,
  including Persians,
  Greeks, Arabs,
  Turks, Mongols,
  British and Soviets.
Continuing Conflict
• Since 1979, the country
  has suffered almost
  continuous conflict,
  beginning with the
  Soviet invasion followed
  by civil war and finally
  by the 2001 US war on
  terror, in which the
  ruling Taliban regime
  was toppled.
The Soviet Invasion and the
Rise of the Taliban
• The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-
  year conflict involving Soviet forces
  supporting Afghanistan's Marxist People's
  Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA)
  government against the Mujahideen
  insurgents that were fighting to overthrow
  Communist rule. The Soviet Union
  supported the government while the rebels
  found support from a variety of sources
  including the United States, and Pakistan.
Why did the Soviet Union
Invade Afghanistan?
• After the success of the Islamic revolution
  in Iran many nations feared a spread of
  radical Islam to neighbouring countries.
  The Soviet Union’s response was to invade
  Afghanistan in the hope of stopping this
  perceived threat.
The American Response

• Given that the Soviets and the Americans
  were stuck in a protracted Cold War. The
  government of the United States of
  America supported the Mujahideen in their
  fight against the Soviet Union. This foreign
  policy decision had a two-fold result:
The American Response

1. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
   eventually bankrupted the Soviet Union
   allowing for the Americans to win the Cold
   War.
2. The Mujahideen paved the way for the
   Taliban to gain control of the nation after
   the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.
The Taliban Control of
Afghanistan
• By mid-April 1992 the existing Marxist
  government was ousted as Islamic rebels
  advanced on the capital. Almost
  immediately, the various rebel groups
  began fighting one another for control.
  Amid the chaos of competing factions, a
  group calling itself the Taliban—consisting
  of Islamic students—seized control of
  Kabul in Sept. 1996.
Taliban Control of
Afghanistan
• The Taliban imposed harsh
  fundamentalist laws, including
  stoning for adultery and severing
  hands for theft. Women were
  prohibited from work and school,
  and they were required to cover
  themselves from head to foot in
  public. By fall 1998 the Taliban
  controlled about 90% of the
  country and, had turned itself into
  an international pariah.
Taliban Control of
Afghanistan
• On Oct. 7, after the
  Taliban repeatedly and
  defiantly refused to turn
  over Bin Laden, the
  U.S. and its allies began
  daily air strikes against
  Afghan military
  installations and
  terrorist training camps.
• Osama bin Laden and
  Taliban leader Mullah
  Muhammad Omar
  remained at large
NATO Invasion and the
Establishment of Democracy
• In December 2001, (in
  response to the 9/11 terror
  attacks in the US) the United
  Nations Security Council
  authorized the creation of an
  International Security
  Assistance Force. This force,
  composed of NATO troops is
  assisting the government of
  President Hamid Karzai in
  establishing authority across
  the country.