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Afghanistan:

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Population: 24,792,000
Land Area: 250,000 sq. mi.
(647,500 sq. km.)
Somewhat larger than Texas
Capital: Kabul (pop. 1,050,000)
People: Pashtun 38%, Tajik 25% Hazara 19%
Religion: Sunni Muslim 84%, Shia Muslim 14%

Located in central Asia, Afghanistan borders on China, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Iran. After the Sawr Revolution in 1978, the country was devastated by a brutal war with the Soviet Union, followed by civil war and repressive rule by the Taliban regime. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks America, Afghanistan became ground zero in America’s war on terror. The U.S. launched a bombing campaign to support an alliance of tribal rebels to force Taliban from power and to track down Usama bin Laden and his Al-Queda terrorist group. Since 1978, the death toll is estimated at more than 1,000,000 people, with up to 6,000,000 refugees.

Afghanistan is an agricultural land, divided by rugged mountains – a land of complex and fluid social relationships, developed over centuries. The people of Afghanistan generally maintain a tribal culture, where loyalties are somewhat temporary and determined more by the personality of leaders than by political ideology. It is not a fertile land for western political concepts and institutions, nor a people willing to submit to authority.

Afghanistan had been under the control of the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan, before falling under British influence after the British-Afghan Wars of 1838-42 and 1878-1880. Under Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, the country evolved from a tribal confederation to central state control. With British assistance Khan built an army and used it ruthlessly to quash dissent. Afghanistan gained independence from Britain in 1919 and Amanullah Khan was proclaimed king in 1926. Khan and his successors ruled until overthrown by a military coup in 1973.


	DISPATCHES:

			Ahmad Shah Massoud An interview, tribute and statement to America, By A. Raffaele Cirriello in Postcards from Hell www.ciriello.com/46main.html

The 1970’s brought a degree of economic advancement. The pro-Communist, People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) emerged and gained power within the military. In the 1978 Sawr Revolution, the PDPA overthrew the government and assumed power, and an anti-Communist, counter-revolution quickly developed. The Soviets provided aid to the PDPA, while the US provided support to resistance groups. Fearing American influence on its borders, the USSR sent Soviet troops into Afghanistan, hoping to restore order and develop support for communism. This invasion, subsequent occupation and civil war became known as Russia’s Viet Nam.

Afghanistan became a pawn in the Cold War, with the PDPA a client of the Soviets. The mujahedin, (Afghani rebels) resistance was recognized and supported by Pakistan, acting as an agent for the US.

The Soviets used their air superiority, bombing rural villages in pursuit of the mujahedin, inflicting heavy civilian death tolls. Communist forces won control of the cities and roadways, while hardened guerilla forces held control of rural and rugged mountain areas. In 1986, after seven years of frustration without victory, the Soviets announced plans for withdrawal by 1989. Skeptical of Soviet intentions, the US continued supplying massive quantities of arms to the rebels. The head of the Afghan secret police, Najibullah was appointed president prior to Soviet withdrawal in 1989.

With the Soviets out, American interest dissipated, leaving Afghanistan one of the most heavily armed nations on earth. Najibullah’s government was expected to fall, however the rebels were left in disarray and unable to consolidate power. With the jihad (holy war) against the foreign Soviet infidels complete, Najibullah, ironically, turned these same motivations against the Pakistani/Saudi supported mujahedin. As a result the pro-Communist government was able to retain power until Kabul eventually fell to the rebels in 1992. But which rebels?

In the fluid, transitory system of Afghan alliances, four rebel factions emerged, representing different Islamic groups, (Sunni, Shia, Salafi Sunnis), each with external support. A coalition government was organized in 1993, and R. Rabbani was named president, but a fundamentalist Islamic faction fought on in its quest for power. Fighting continued through 1993, when, in a conciliatory gesture, Islamic rebel leader Hekmatyar was offered the position of Prime Minister. Again fighting resumed, prompting the UN to sponsor negotiations of a new coalition government plan, the Islamabad Accords, which were never implemented.


	DISPATCHES:

			The Plight of the Afghan Women A Photojournalists Portfolio © A. Raffaele Ciriello

Before any meaningful progress could be made, a new force, the Taliban, appeared, captured Kandahar and marched toward Kabul, forcing existing rebel groups to realign themselves in opposition. It’s widely believed that Taliban’s military support was channeled through Pakistan by the US and Saudi Arabia. The Taliban captured Herat, then Jalamabad and ultimately Kabul. In 1995, the Taliban declared Afghanistan an Islamic state, under Islamic Law. While exerting control over much of the country, other rebel groups remained active, in an ever-changing kaleidoscope of conflict.

Mullah, Mohammed Omar, a former muhajedin, was proclaimed the amir ul-momineen, or "leader of the faithful", sanctioning him as both a religious and political leader. The Taliban ruthlessly, enforced a strict moral code, but lacked both the will and ability to form and administer a government. Taliban continued to receive substantial support from Pakistan including arms, ammunition and troops.

Given its years of guerrilla warfare, Afghanistan became a training ground for rebels and terrorists from many other regions. Millionaire Saudi Arabian terrorist, Usama bin Laden moved his Al-Queda organization’s base of operations to Afghanistan and sponsored training of an international terrorist network. In 1998, bin Laden issued a fatwa against the United States, calling on faithful Muslims to attack Americans and their property.

The Taliban became a destabilizing influence throughout the region that could provoke regional conflict if they were able to export their fundamentalist Islamic movement and attract popular support in neighboring states. Afghan based drug trafficking, mainly heroin, also threatened security in a very insecure region. It was anticipated that new covert efforts would be undertaken to destabilize the Taliban regime, which could lead to renewal of the civil war.

Surprisingly, prior to the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks on America, the US did not officially list any terrorist groups in Afghanistan, nor designate the country as a state-sponsor of terrorism, presumably because there was no state. Just days before the infamous terrorist attacks, the Taliban killed Ahmad Shah Massoud, a leader of the Afghan resistance and a voice of reason.

Within weeks after the destruction of New York’s World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 the U.S. launched an unrelenting series of air strikes against the Taliban and drove them from power. By the end of 2001, a new power-sharing government was installed with the guidance and oversight of the international community and headed by Hamid Karzai. The question remains whether this war-stricken, tribal society can convene a functioning government, representing the interests of diverse ethnic and tribal groups, or whether the country will again revert to internal warfare.

Equally uncertain is the question whether the international community will commit to a long and expense nation-building and redevelopment process. Instability in Afghanistan contributes to the turmoil and conflict in Kashmir between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. To the west, Iran with a fundamentalist Islamic government and an appetite for nuclear weapons could seek to expand its influence into Afghanistan to enhance its regional power. The collapse of the USSR in 1989 caused the international community (namely the U.S.) to turn its back on Afghanistan; today, the prospect of an oil pipeline connecting Caspian Sea oil fields to the Far East may attract sufficient interest to ensure a viable future for this impoverished, war-torn country.

Related Resources:

Afghanistan Online

http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/

Al-Jazeera (Arab News)

http://www.aljazeera.net/

Hezb-e-Wahdat (Hazara Press)

www.hazara.com

Afghan Radio (Links)

http://www.afghanradio.com/link.htm

Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan

http://www.hezb-e-islami.org/

Women’s Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan