Past
By Nadiya Khaydari, JMU ’22 Political Science and Economics, Woodson Martin Democracy Fellow
History of the Conflict
The war in Afghanistan, which is also once known as War on Terror, has come to an end in the eyes of some after long and painful 20 years. That is far from the truth in the eyes of Afghans, who have suffered and are still suffering for the past 42 years of the unending conflict. To better understand the current situation of Afghanistan, one must look deeper into the history of the formation and revolution of the state.
Empire to Monarchy before 1973
Ahmad Shah Durrani is known as the founder of modern Afghanistan, who established the Afghan Empire in the early 18th century. Durrani’s family ruled for generations until the reign of Barakzay’s family in the 1800s. During the Barakzay’s reign, Afghanistan went from an empire to monarchy and introduced to western ideas as the British became more involved. Even though Afghanistan gained its independence from British India in 1919, Afghanistan was exposed to international powers. Amir Amanullah Khan’s fear of Afghanistan falling behind the rest of the world, prompted him to enact modernization campaigns among tribal powers that resisted any foreign interference and were not ready to self-destruct. Amanullah’s progressive reforms were the cause of his abdication which was followed by the traditional Pashtun aristocracy for a few years. The last two monarchs of Afghanistan and distant relatives of Amanullah attempted, who brought stability to the country for 40 years, once again tried introducing gradual liberal reforms relying on Afghan funds alone but failed, when the prime minister, Mohammad Daod Khan, seized power to become the first president through a bloodless coup in 1973 marking the start of the Republic of Afghanistan. Khan attempts to move away from the Soviet Union and the United States by building new relationships with other Muslim countries. Khan and his family were killed after mass dissatisfaction with the new cabinet that consisted of Khan’s family, relatives and friends.The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was born in 1978 after a communist coup led by the Afghan Communist Party. The communist led government by president Nur Mohammad Taraki struggles with prime minister, Hafizullah Amin, rivalry while declaring themselves independent of Soviet’s influence.
The Soviet Era in Afghanistan (1979-1989)
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan after the killing of Taraki to support the pro-Soviet government. Babrak Karmal becomes the next president of Afghanistan backed by Soviets. Soon, resistance against Soviet invasion and Soviet-backed Afghan Army begins by a guerilla fighter group called mujahideen, consisting of several regional groups. Some of the Mujahideen consisted of Afghan refugees that fled to Pakistan in the 1980s, among them was a young Saudi Arabian, Osama bin Laden. The Mujahideen started receiving support from other countries, like the United States, Pakistan, China and others. Countries that supported the Mujahideen hoped that this conflict would economically hurt Moscow, which eventually happened once the support to Mujahideen increased. Karmal was replaced by president Mohammad Najibullah. Even with the new president and strengthened posts, the Afghan government struggled to find footing as resistance against the Soviets continued, the Afghan military was at an all time low, and the number of Afghan refugees in neighboring countries kept increasing. Peace accord was signed in Geneva by Afghanistan, the U.S., the Soviet Union, and Pakistan. Soon after, the Soviet Union withdrew its troops.
The Mujahideen and Taliban (1992-2001)
The Mujahideen enter the capital and set up a fragile temporary government that is based on the rotation of the president’s position between the different factions. After the second rotation, Burhanuddin Rabbani refused to give up power to his successor. The different factions turned on each other causing unrest and more damage.
Around 1994, the Taliban emerged with the promise of order and security. They quickly gained control as people were tired of war and supported the traditional Islamic values. During the height of their power, the Taliban imposed strict rules, like ‘forbidding most women from working, banning girls from education and carrying out punishments including beatings, amputations and public executions.’ Two opposition groups against the Taliban, known as Northern Alliance, were led by Ahmad Shah Masood with aid of Hamid Karzai.
In 1998, the U.S. retaliated against Al-Qaida for bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya by launching a missile strikes on Khost, Afghanistan that believed to be the training camps for Al-Qaida. The Taliban refused U.S.’s demands to extradite Osama bin Laden, which led the United Nations to impose sanctions on Afghanistan.
In 2001, the Taliban arrested and accused a group of international aid workers to be spreading Christianity, because conversions were punishable by law under the Taliban. They assassinated Ahmad Shah Masood, the leader of Northern Alliance, on September 9th. After 9/11 carried out by Al-Qaeda, the Taliban once again refused U.S.’s demand to hand over bin Laden.
War on Terror (2001-present)
After unanswered demands, the U.S. and Britain launched Operation Enduring Freedom targeting the Taliban and Al-Qaida, while providing support to the Northern Alliance. The U.S. backed Northern Alliance entered Kabul causing the Taliban to flee. Hamid Karzai became the interim president, until he was elected as the President of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. In the process, some warlords and members of the Northern Alliance were given seats in the government. First parliamentary elections take place in more than 30 years.
NATO expanded its peacekeeping mission and took over the American-led forces as Taliban’s attacks and violence increased in 2006. In 2007, the Taliban commander, Mullah Dadullah, was killed by a U.S.-led operation. Number of U.S. troops was increased by President Obama, but all were planned to be withdrawn by 2011 and begin peace talks with the Taliban. Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in 2011. The Afghan forces slowly took over the security operation for NATO forces which were planned to end by 2014. In 2014, Afghanistan elected its new president, Ashraf Ghani, through elections that were called fraudulent by some. NATO ended its combat mission, but they remained alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan to train and advise the Afghan forces. In 2018, military involvement and peace talks continued under President Trump. Peace deal was signed between the U.S. and the Taliban, while the number of troops was dramatically cut. The Taliban began taking over territory in May 2021. In July 2021, the rest of the U.S. troops left Afghanistan. By the end of August 2021, the Afghan government collapsed and Taliban came back to power.
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