Download Afghanistan: The Graveyard of Empire

Afghanistan:
The Graveyard of Empire
MR. MARINELLO
Factsheet: Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan

Afghanistan is located in central Asia

East of Iran

South of Tajikistan

West of Pakistan

Population: 32 million people

Capital: Kabul

Main Languages: Pashtu, Dari

Type of Government: Unitary Islamic Presidential Republic

GDP: $65 Billion ($1,994 per capita)
Ancient History

Afghanistan archeological evidence places humans in the region
50,000 years ago.

Afghanistan sat between key trade routes and near major
civilizations of the region


Persians

Indus Valley

Mongol Empire
Alexander the Great invaded Afghanistan in 330 BCE

Brought Greek influence and European attention to the region.
Ancient History

In 642 CE Arabic Muslim invaded and brought Islam to Herat (2nd
largest city)

The faith spread across to country until the 10th century when it
became widespread.

In 1219 Genghis Khan invaded Afghanistan and ushered in an era of
500+ years where Afghanistan was ruled by foreigners.

In the 18th century Afghanistan finally establishes itself as an
independent nation.

The next 150 years saw a succession of rulers and instability in the region.
Near History

In the 1830’s the British Empire held commercial
and political power in India
 Fearing
instability in neighboring Afghanistan the
British invaded the region
 We
call this the First Anglo-Afghan War

The British were successful in conquering the
country but the local population rejected British
rule

In 1841, the citizens of Kabul revolted against the
British driving them out of the capital

The Retreat from Kabul because infamous
Striking the Superpower

During the retreat of British forces from Kabul
afghan soldiers ambushed British soldiers in the
mountain passes between Kabul and Jalalabad.

Of the 16,500 men, women and civilians in the
retreat 16,499 were either killed or captured.

Dr. William Brydon was the lone survivor

The destruction of this force shocked the British
and the world and some say marked the
beginning of the decline of the British Empire.
 In
1858, the Indian Independence Movement began
it’s final push to drive the British out of India.
Afghanistan in the
th
20
Century

The British and Afghans would go on to fight two
more “wars” until 1919.

The treaty of Rawalpindi saw the creation of an
independent and sovereign Afghan state with
Amanullah Khan installed as King.

Khan was eager to modernize his country.
 After
touring Europe and Turkey he brought about
new reforms to his country.
 1923:
Slavery was banned; Compulsory education
was instituted

Khan attempted to ban burqas and open coeducational schools
Afghanistan in the
th
20
Century

Khan’s reforms met stiff resistance from tribal leaders.

Khan was forced to abdicate the throne in 1929.

His son eventually succeeded him in 1933

Zahir Shah reigned until 1973

During WWII, Afghanistan remained neutral in the war
effort

After the war Afghan leaders vied for attention from the
US and Soviets


Both the US and the Soviets poured money into the country to
rebuild roads, airports and infrastructure.
The Soviet Union gave more aid to Afghanistan than any
other country.
The End of the Monarchy

In 1973, in a bloodless coup, Zahir Shah was overthrown.

Beginning in 1978, Afghanistan was thrown into a series
of civil wars that would last until 1992.

The Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 an effort to
support their allies.

The Soviet insertion into an Afghan civil war escalated
the conflict which ultimately resulted in the death of over
1 million people.

The Soviets primarily fought against local insurgents
called Mujahideen (one engaged in Jihad)

The Soviets would withdraw from Afghanistan, defeated,
in 1989.
The US sees an opportunity

During the Cold War, the US took advantage of every opportunity to
deal damage to the Soviet Union.

The US saw the Mujahideen as a natural ally against the Soviets.

If the Soviets were defeated in Afghanistan that would be good for
the US during the Cold War.

Under a CIA program called Operation Cyclone, the US poured $3
billion in military funding to the Mujahideen in their fight against the
Soviets.

The entire operation was made with the Pakistani intelligence
services working as an intermediary.
The US sees an opportunity

In what would become an effort on the part of many more allies the
Mujahideen were given Stinger missiles, shoulder-fired, antiaircraft
weapons that they used against Soviet helicopters.

In total the Pakistanis training and equipped over 100,000
Mujahideen.

When the Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989 there was a power
vacuum and a country awash in US guns.

From 1989 until 1994, Afghanistan was plunged into a series of civil
wars and assassinations while they tried to gain stability.
The Rise of the Taliban

One of the factions in the Afghanistan civil wars that followed the
Soviet retreat called themselves “The Taliban.”

Lead by a religious cleric Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban
instituted a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

Beginning in 1996, the Taliban controlled most of the country

Imposition of their strict interpretation of Sharia meant that Afghan
had to change their way of life

Woman were placed under a virtual house arrest and were forced to
wear full body burqas in public

Dancing and music were banned

Men were forced to grow their beards

All this under penalty of death
The Rise of Al Qaeda

The circumstances around the rise of terror groups like Al Qaeda are
complex.

In 1996, Osama Bin Laden and his newly formed group Al Qaeda
moved from Sudan to Afghanistan.

Taking advantage of the instability in the country

Over time the relationship between Bin Laden and Omar grew
closer.

After the 1998 bombing of the American Embassies in Kenya and
Tanzania the Taliban refused to turn Bin Laden over to the US.

It was from Afghanistan that Al Qaeda planned and launched the
9/11 attacks.
Al Qaeda in Afghanistan

Since Al Qaeda was a group not a state they needed a place to
have safe haven.

Afghanistan provided this

Until the US invasion in 2001the Taliban shielded senior leadership of
Al Qaeda.

Bin Laden wanted to create big terrorist events in the west that
would deal damage to American economic and cultural influence.
Operation Enduring Freedom

Following the attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States
provided Afghanistan with a list of five demands:

Deliver to the U.S. all of the leaders of al-Qaeda

Release all imprisoned foreign nationals

Close immediately every terrorist training camp

Hand over every terrorist and their supporters to appropriate authorities

Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps for
inspection

Omar refused

In October of 2001 the US and 24 allies invaded Afghanistan working
with the local forces called “The Northern Alliance” to unseat the
Taliban.
Afghanistan Today

After 13 years of war the United States removed the last of its
combat troops on December 28, 2014.

The US did not remove all its troops.


The government in Afghanistan has been through several elections
since the early 2000s.


In July of 2016 Obama announced that rather than remove all forces
5,000 troops would remain in country as advisors and trainers.
Current President Ashraf Ghani
The future of the country is by no means settled

The Taliban still controls large parts of the country

Fighting still continues between the central government and the Taliban