Afghanistan

1. Afghanistan …and its history, World War II to the 1990s

2. Intro to Afghanistan: People • An extremely poor country with a life expectancy of 45 and low rates of literacy, • Has some of the Muslim world’s most restrictive policies on women, • Mix of Sunni Muslims and Shiites (mostly in the north), • Became a Kingdom in the 1700s, and controlled by the British in the 1800s and early 1900s. • Largest ethnic group is the Pashtuns, with many Pashtuns in neighboring Pakistan, (See map handout) • 13 main ethnic groups with little history of cooperation

3. Afghanistan in the Cold War 1 • Both the Soviet Union and United States wanted influence over Afghanistan because of its strategic position on the map, • Soviets gained influence through massive amounts of aid—much of it military,

4. Afghanistan in the Cold War 2: Democracy Fails • Democracy was tried in 1964, but did not advance the country as: • A Constitution meant nothing to illiterate tradition-bound villagers, • Communists and radical Islamists refused to work with the government, • The economy failed to develop and 100,000 starved to death, • In 1973 the King was overthrown, and the new government cared more about eliminating those opposed to it than working to develop the country.

5. Afghanistan in the Cold War 3: Here Come The Soviets! • In 1978, Communist Afghanis in its army who were supported and trained by the Soviet Union (Russia) overthrew the government, and with a great deal of Soviet financial, technical and military aid they tried to create a government and economy based on the Soviet Communist model. • When this government was about to collapse, the Soviets invaded to keep this Communist government in power.

6. Afghanistan in the Cold War 4:When Will I Be Loved? • Even before the Soviets invaded, the Communist government of Afghanistan was extremely unpopular because… • It brutally treated opponents including intellectuals, religious leaders and supporters of the old government(s).10,000 were executed. • The government tried to take land from farmers, • Few supported or even understood the idea of Communism, • Efforts to deemphasize religion and change Afghanis’ traditional culture were extremely unpopular, • “Foreign” leaders were treated with deep suspicion, • Increasingly few Afghanis were willing to serve in to cooperate with the new government, making development all but impossible.

7. Afghanistan in the Cold War 5: Results of the Soviet Invasion (1979-1989) • One million Afghanis killed, • 15,000 Soviets killed, 37,000 Soviets wounded • 5-7 million Afghanis fled the country, • For once Afghanis were united and working together…to defeat the Soviets and keep them out, • World opinion turned heavily against the Soviets • The population of the capital (Kabul) tripled from villagers fleeing the fighting • Foreign fighters (hardcore Muslims including a young Saudi named Osama bin Laden) flooded into Afghanistan to defend Islam against atheist Communists

8. Afghanistan in the Cold War 6:The Mujahideen • The Afghan resistance to the Soviet invasion was called the Mujahideen. They were: • Comprised of all ethnic groups of Afghanis, • Helped by Muslims from around the world who came to “defend Islam” in Jihad, • Using guerilla warfare, and not engaging in direct battles, • Funded, aided and armed by foreign governments—especially the United States and Pakistan • Using Stinger missiles to shoot down Soviet helicopters from their hideouts in the mountain • Increasingly radical in the severity of their versions of Islam

9. Afghanistan in the Cold War 7:The End of the Afghan-Soviet War • In 1989, after a decade of pointlessly trying to keep control of Afghanistan, the Soviets withdrew. • The Afghan-Soviet War is sometimes called “Russia’s Vietnam” because Russia/The Soviet Union* found itself trapped in an unwinnable decade-long war in which it would not admit to itself it could not win…like America in Vietnam a decade earlier. *Russia was the largest and most influential part of the Communist country called the Soviet Union from 1917-1991. In late 1991 the Soviet Union broke apart into 15 separate countries and ceased to exist. “Russia” is the largest of these new countries. Although not entirely accurate, the terms “Russia”, “The Soviet Union”, and “The USSR” were commonly used interchangeably.

10. Afghanistan After the War • When the Soviets left, the rest of the world quickly lost interest in Afghanistan—especially as the “Cold War” rivalry between the US and Soviet Union was ending. • However, the Mujahideen and all of the weapons remained.

11. Afghanistan’s Problems in the 1990s • The “Jihad-driven” foreign Mujahideen tried to impose their very strict versions of Islam, • There was no money to rebuild what had been destroyed, • There was no government able to keep law and order, • Without the common cause of kicking out the Soviets, different ethnic groups and different groups of Mujahideen began fighting each other—especially for control of Kabul. • Warlords took over rural areas, law and order broke down, and murder, mafias, rape, corruption, drug production, and robbery became commonplace.