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The Politics of Afghanistan

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The Politics of AfghanistanEthnic Groups • Pashtun 42%Religion: Sunni Islam• Tajik 27%Religion: Sunni Islam• Hazara 9%Religion: ShiaGeography •Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers•Recourses: natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones.Note: Despite these resources, they remained largely untapped, due to the USSR invasion. •Afghanistan is landlocked; the Hindu Kush mountains that run northeast to southwest divide the northern provinces from the rest of the country; the highest peaks are in the northern Vakhan (Wakhan Corridor)Pashtun• They have ruled Afghanistan for over 300 Years, both as the larges ethnic minority and in terms of tribal strength (Quick lesson: Only a Pashtun can rule Afghanistan)• They are warriors by nature, and adhere to no forum of outside or central governance."The Pathan tribes are always engaged in private or public war. Every man is a warrior, a politician and a theologian Every large house is a real feudal fortress....Every family cultivates its vendetta; every clan, its feud.... Nothing is ever forgotten and very few debts are left unpaid."- Winston Churchill The Three main principles of the Pashtun Honor Code•Melmastia- Hospitality •Nanawatai- Asylum •Badal- JusticePashtun Influence in AfghanistanFirst Anglo Afghan War 1839-1842Causes• Governor-General of India Lord Aukland issued the Simla Manifesto, which outlined the reasons for invading Afghan. • The British wanted to secure the Western flank of India • Sought to create a buffer state between Russian Empire and British Empire. • Wanted to support Shah Shujah, which would have made Afghanistan pro-British and thus help them maintain majority control over the North-West Frontier. • The British planned on withdrawing as soon as Shah Shviah was installed, however, the Afghan leader needed large amounts of British support to maintain power. Players• William George Keith Elphinstone • Dōst Moḥammad• Shah Shujah• Mohammad Akbar Khan• Ghazi’sResult- The British driven from Kabul (They later returned and decimated it as a forum of reprisal before withdrawing again)- Shvjah assassinated - Dost Mohammad returns to powerReasons for the British being pushed out of Afghanistan • Failure to secure the boarder region• Failure to pay tribute to the tribal leaders • Support of Shah Shujah, who was seen by most Afghan's as corrupt and inept.• Not enough troops in the country (Only 8,000 British soldiers at the peak of the occupation).• Cutting subsidies to Pashtun tribes to maintain a standing Army.• Inability to catch and kill Dōst Moḥammad • A violent insurgency in Helmand Province. • Cutting of wages paid to local contractors during a time of high grain prices. • Ignoring cultural imperatives and thus creating a cultural clash between the Afghans and the British.Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan • The Soviets believed that the US was beginning to solidity control over the Middle East with allies in Egypt, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. • They saw the Marxist regime in Afghan as a key to securing a foothold in Central Asia/Middle East. • Soviets invade to support the Marxist PDPA and to quell a growing insurgency. • The PDPA had instituted several reforms such as: Land reform, cancellation of debts. However, many of the western soviet style reforms were not well received and the brutality at which they were applied fueled a growing insurgency. • Soviet Union expected the invasion to be short, and quickly sets out to quell insurgency groups. • Although the Soviets quickly gain control of major urban centers, as much as 80 percent of the country remained outside of government control.Soviet Union in Afghanistan • Babrak Karmal, leader of the People's Democratic Party Parcham faction, is installed as ruler, and backed by Soviet troops. • Insurgency grows after gaining funding from Western Powers such as the US and UK. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan also lend large amounts of support to insurgency. • In 1985, Gorbachev expresses concerns that the LCOSF (Limited Contingent of Soviet Forces), isn't working and therefore forces are increased to over 108,000 troops. These troops arrive equipped to fight a conventional war, a costly mistake that will hurt the Soviet Union in this growing guerrilla war. • In 1988, the USSR begins to drawn down its forces and by February 15 1989, no Soviet forces remained in Afghanistan. • The war resulted in 15,000 Soviets killed and tens of thousands wounded.• Nearly 1million Afghans died and at least 5 million refugees. • The civil war that followed the Soviet withdraw resulted in the Taliban rising to power.Mujahideen • Militant Islamic fighters who fought against Soviet forces• There was never one cohesive Mujahideen group, but rather many groups with different leaders. • Many fighters were not indigenous to Afghanistan, but rather they came from other Muslim countries such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.• Majority of the funding came from the US. • The CIA provided billions of dollars to fighters and during the Reagan administration, funding for the Mujahideen became official US policy. • NSA Brzezinski believed that by funding the Mujahideen the US could trap the Soviets into a “Vietnam.”Afghan/Pak Boarder • It was annexed during the 19thCentury and afforded the British protection from Afghanistan• The British were never able to fully gain control of the region• Most tribes in the region view the boarder as an artificial line• The region has served as a safe haven for the Mudhjeen in the 1980’s and now the Taliban• The Tribal regions have allowed for the Taliban to conduct cross boarder raids into Afghanistan without fear of reprisal.North and South Waziristan • The high and difficult terrain makes it ideal for Taliban fighters to find shelter• Pashtun tribes dominate Waziristan and tribal culture dominates all forms of life• The different tribes frequently war with each other and often enlist the help of outside sources in score settling• With the fall of the Taliban in 2001, Pakistan failed to seal the Waziristan region, and thus Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters flooded into the area. • The Taliban have decimated the tribal region and instituted Taliban type governments • The growing insurgency in both Afghanistan and Pakistan is a direct result


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