AFGHANISTAN-TALIBAN AND THEIR DOWNFALL
5. Geo-Strategic Importance of Afghanistan. Afghanistan is Central Asia’s land locked country, spread over an area of 253, 861 miles. Bordered on the North by the Republics of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, North-East by the Chinese province of Sinkiang, on the South-East by Pakistan, and on the West by Iran. Afghanistan’s geopolitical importance has been that of a buffer state first between the Tsarist Russian and the British Indian Empires and later between the Soviet Union and the American allies. In addition to it’s close proximity to the oil rich Persian Gulf and the erstwhile Soviet Union’ soft under belly added to its geopolitical significance. Though landlocked, Afghanistan’s Southern most tip is a mere 350 miles from the Arabian Sea, thus providing an anchor for any potent force heading towards the warm waters of the Arabian Sea.
6. Sociological Features of Afghanistan. The inhabitants of Afghanistan mostly are Muslims. 80% of population belongs to Sunni Sect, 18% are Shias, and 2% are of Ismaili Sect. It seems that religion is the real force in Afghan’s life, permeating complete social structure.
7. Ethnic Division. Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 170th out of 174 in UNDP’s Human Development Index. The ethnic division of Afghanistan is as under:-
a. Pashtuns 51%
b. Tajiks 27%
c. Hazaras 7.5%
d. Uzbeks 7.5%
The Essay on Afghanistan War
... Towers. Barack Obama dramatically increased the military troop presence in Afghanistan to have a larger force to protect the population ... now fought each other in complex coalitions for control of Afghanistan. The Third Phase lasted from September 11, 2001-present ... their recognition of the Taliban as the legal government of Afghanistan, leaving neighboring Pakistan as the only remaining country with ...
e. Other 7%
8. Afghan’s Brief History. Darius I and Alexander the Great were the first to use Afghanistan as the gateway to India. Islamic conquerors arrived in the 7th century, and Genghis Khan and Tamerlane followed in the 13 th and 14 th centuries. In the 19 th century, Afghanistan became a battleground in the rivalry between imperial Britain and Czarist Russia for control of Central Asia. Three Anglo- Afghan wars ended inconclusively. In 1893 Britain established an unofficial border, the Durand Line, separating Afghanistan from British India, and London granted full independence in 1919 and Amir Amanullah founded an Afghan monarchy in 1926.
9. Russian Invasion. During the cold war, King Mohammed Zahir Shah developed close ties with the Soviet Union, accepting extensive economic assistance from Moscow. He was deposed in 1973 and was succeeded by Mohammed Daoud, Noor Taraki, Hafizullah Amin and Babrak Karmal respectively. In 1979 Soviets, and the Soviet-backed Afghan government, were met with fierce popular resistance. Guerrilla forces, calling themselves mujahideen, pledged a jihad, to expel the invaders and they soon. became a focus of U.S. cold war strategy against the Soviet Union. In 1986, Karmal was replaced by Mohammad Najibullah. In April 1988 the USSR, U.S, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed accords calling for an end to outside aid to the warring factions. In return a Soviet withdrawal took place in Feb. 1989, but the pro-Soviet government of President Najibullah was left in the capital Kabul.
10. Consequences of Soviet Withdrawal
a. Emergence of Unipolar World/Disintegration of USSR.
b. Estb of a New World Order
c. Predilection to Former USSR States
d. Image of Soviet Armed Forces
e. Rise of Civil War and Anarchy in Afghanistan
f. Destruction of Economy
g. Rise of Fundamentalism
h. War Casualties
i. Refugee Problems for Pakistan including :-
(1) Law and Order problems
(2) Economic burden
(3) Drug culture
(4) Flow of illegal weapons
(5) Disturbed demography of N.W.F.P and Balochistan Province
(6) Partial control over small businesses particularly in N.W.F.P and Balochistan.
(7) Burden on civic amenities
The Essay on American Intervention in Soviet-Afghan War
During the Cold War, the United States resolved to take a shot at the Soviet Union by siding with Afghanistan and taking great measures to stop Soviet influence and communist ideology. In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to expand its influence in the Middle East with the absence of American influence. At this point in the Cold War the United States and Soviet Union were ...
(8) Increased unemployment
11. Rise of Taliban. By mid April 1992 Najibullah was ousted as Mujahideen 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. It imposed strict 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 only three countries Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government.
12. Pre and Post 9/11 Scenario. On Aug 20 1998. U.S. cruise missiles struck a terrorist training complex in Afghanistan believed to have been financed by Osama bin Laden a wealthy Islamic radical sheltered by the Taliban. The U.S. asked for the deportation of Bin Laden whom it believed was involved in the bombing of the U.S embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on Aug . 7, 1998. The UN also demanded that the Taliban should hand over Bin Laden for trial. In Sep 2001 legendary guerrilla leader Ahmed Shah Masoud was killed by suicide bombers, a seeming death knell for the anti-Taliban forces a loosely connected group referred to as the Northern Alliance. Days later terrorists attacked New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and Osama Bin Laden emerged as the primary suspect in the tragedy. 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. Five weeks later with the help of U.S. air support, the Northern Alliance managed to capture with breathtaking speed cities of Mazar-I-Sharif and Kabul, the capital. On Dec 7 the Taliban regime collapsed entirely when its troops fled their last stronghold Kandahar. However al-Qaeda members and other mujahideen from various parts of the Islamic world who had earlier fought alongside the Taliban persisted in pockets of fierce resistance forcing U.S. and allied troops to maintain a presence in Afghanistan. Osama Bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omer remained at large.
The Essay on Current Event on Political Contention: Bush Winning the Political War by Vennochi
An example of newspaper article critiques that is a recent political contention or argument can be the article written by Joan Vennochi entitled ‘Bush Winning the Political War’. This item appeared at the Opinion section of the Boston. com News (http://www. boston. com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/05/06/bush_winning_the_political_war/). It is obvious that what the author had to ...
13. Causes of Taliban Failure. There were no of inherent and allied problems with Taliban movement itself which caused their rapid collapse. Their limited political foresightedness and understanding also brought them to a point where they stood alone in the entire world community. The structural and political causes can be described as under:-
a. Unexpected Success. The sudden fall of most of the territories to Taliban was beyond the expectations of their leadership. They could not really manage the things well as they did not have any plans for dealing with such a huge responsibility.
b. Absence of Political Manifesto. They did not have a political manifesto as they were not trained people in the art of running the government. Due to unexpected success and no political manifesto their approach remained confined and no political reforms could be introduced nor implemented. Thus their regime suffered inherent political shortfalls.
c. Rigid Approach. They were rigid in their approach towards cosmetic Islamic principles where as Islam teaches flexibility and equal rights for every one. Their rigid approach brought them nothing but a worldwide condemnation. Taliban leadership did not allow the outside interference and never accepted the interference even from Pakistan on the issues like handing over of statues of Buddha and Osama Bin Laden.
d. Lack of Art of Governance. Taliban leaders were small village Ulmaas and were not at all trained in the art of running government. They did not know much about governing a country, they could have had some political advisor who could have advised them on the art of governing and running the government. They relied mainly on their own wisdom.
e Deficiency of Competent Leadership. Declaration of Mulla Umar as Amir Ul Momineen was a factor which also caused them setback. Due to his limited foresightedness and lack of knowledge regarding the requirements of modern day, he was not fit for such an appointment.
f Lack of Support of Even Muslim Countries. It was only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and UAE who recognized them as a state. Rest of the world, even the Muslim Countries did not support the Taliban government in Afghanistan. This point was also related to the treatment of Sunni dominated Taliban towards Shiite in Afghanistan which has really not been very good and condemned by Iran and certain other Muslim countries.
The Essay on Third World Countries
World' Countries today? Who should be held responsible for these problems? Why? What has Canada done to help 'Third World Countries'? There has always been a dominant country in the world that sets the economic standard throughout powerful countries. Canada has always been a top rated economic country, usually behind the United States and other large Commonwealth countries. Starting back in the ...
g No Foreign Diplomacy. As they were not recognized as a legitimate state by the world community therefore remained isolated from the rest of world. No foreign policy was formulated to mould the world opinion into their favor.