Afghanistan: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:56, 28 November 2004

Revision as of 06:56, 28 November 2004

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Between the fall of the [[Taliban]] after the [[U.S. invasion of Afghanistan]] and the [[2003 Loya jirga]], Afghanistan was referred to by the West as the ''Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan''. Under its new [[Constitution of Afghanistan|constitution]] the country is now officially named the '''[[Islamic republic|Islamic Republic]] of Afghanistan'''.

==Origin and history of the name==

SUCK IT TALIBAN!

The name '''Afghanistan''' derives from the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] name for the [[Pashtuns]]: ''[[Afghan]]'', being the founders of modern Afghanistan. The remainder of the name originates from the [[Old Persian]]/[[Avestan]] word ''stān'' (''country'').

== History ==

suck it taliban

''Main article: [[History of Afghanistan]]''

Afghanistan, often called the crossroads of [[Central Asia]], has had a very turbulent history. Through the ages, the region today known as ''Afghanistan'' has been occupied by many forces including the [[Persian Empire]], [[Genghis Khan]] and [[Alexander the Great]].

The Afghanistan nation-state as it is known today came into existence in [[1746]] under the [[Durrani Empire]], but control was ceded to the [[United Kingdom]] until King [[Amanullah]] acceded to the throne in [[1919]]. Since then, the country has known many governments and several civil wars.

The historical rulers of Afghanistan belonged to the [[Abdali]] tribe of the ethnic Afghans, whose name was changed to [[Durrani]] upon the accession of [[Ahmad Shah]]. They belonged to the [[Saddozay]] segment of the [[Popalzay]] clan or to the [[Mohammadzay]] segment of the [[Barakzay clan]] of the ethnic Afghans. The Mohammadzay furnished the Saddozay kings frequently with top counselors, who served occasionally as regents, identified with the epithet Mohammadzay.

In the [[20th century]], eleven rulers were unseated through undemocratic means: 1919 (assassination), 1929 (abdication), 1929 (execution), 1933 (assassination), 1973 (deposition), 1978 (execution), 1979 (execution), 1979 (execution), 1987 (removal), 1992 (overthrow) and 1996 (overthrow).

The last period of stability in Afghanistan lay between 1933 and 1973, when the country was under the rule of King [[Mohammed Zahir Shah|Zahir Shah]]. However, in 1973, Zahir's brother-in-law, [[Sardar Mohammed Daoud]] launched a bloodless coup. Daoud and his entire family was murdered in 1978 when the [[communist]] [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan]] lauched a coup and took over the government.

Opposition against, and conflict within, the series of leftist governments that followed was immense, and with the government in danger of collapse, the [[Soviet Union]] intervened on [[December 24]], [[1979]]. Faced with mounting international pressure and losses of approximately 15,000 Soviet soldiers as a result of [[mujahideen]] opposition trained by the [[United States]], [[Pakistan]], and other foreign governments, the Soviets withdrew ten years later in [[1989]]. For more details, see [[Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]].

Fighting subsequently continued among the various mujahidin factions. This eventually gave rise to a state of [[warlordism]] that eventually spawned the [[Taliban]]. The most serious of this fighting occurred in 1994, when 10,000 people were killed from factions fighting in the Kabul area. Backed by Pakistan and her strategic allies, the Taliban developed as a political/religious force and eventually seized power in 1996. The Taliban were able to capture 90% of the country, aside from [[Northern Alliance]] strongholds primarily in the northeast. The Taliban sought to impose an extreme interpretation of [[Islam]]. The Pakistan-Taliban alliance gave safe haven and assistance to Islamic terrorists (especially [[Osama bin Laden]]'s [[Al-Qaeda]]) and was the epicenter of Islamic terrorism.

The [[United States]] and allied military action in support of the opposition following the [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks]] forced the group's downfall. In late [[2001]], major leaders from the Afghan opposition groups and diaspora met in [[Bonn]] and agreed on a [[Bonn Agreement (Afghanistan)|plan]] for the formulation of a new government structure that resulted in the inauguration of Hamid Karzai as Chairman of the [[Afghan Interim Authority]] (AIA) on December 2001. After a nationwide [[Loya Jirga]] in 2002, Karzai was elected President.

In addition to occasionally violent political jockeying and ongoing military action to root out remaining al-Qaida and Taliban elements, the country suffers from enormous poverty, rampant warlordism, a crumbling infrastructure, and widespread land mines.

On March 3 and March 25, 2002, a series of earthquakes struck Afghanistan, with a loss of thousands of homes and over 1800 lives. Over 4000 more people were injured. The earthquakes occurred at Samangan Province (March 3) and Baghlan Province (March 25). The latter was the worse of the two, and incurred most of the casualties. International authorites assisted the Afghan government in dealing with the situation.

See also: [[Afghanistan timeline]], [[Invasions of Afghanistan]]

== Politics ==