Afghanistan- A Brief History...
During the 4th century Alexander of Macedon passed through Afghanistan on his way to India and blue eyed afghans claim descent from him. The ensuing centuries saw invading armies, first from the East which brought Islam, then from the North under Genghis Khan and again the Mughals who came through Afghanistan on their way to the riches of India.
By the 19th century an expansionist Russian Empire had extended its suzerainty over what became known as Russian Turkestan, which now comprises Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikstan , all bordering Afghanistan, and Kazakhstan and Kyrghystan .
Effectively the Russian sphere of influence stopped at the Amu Darya River (the Oxus of antiquity).
To the South the British Empire was consolidating its hold over the Indian sub-continent, extending its control to what became known as the North West Frontier and Baluchistan. Effectively a frontier with Afghanistan was established along the mountainous border region. In 1893 this was given substance by the drawing of the Durand Line along this border. It should be noted that this line although having geographical logic sliced through the ethnic Pashtun area with some families on either side of the border being divided. However Great Britain realised it was unlikely to have full control over the tribal areas and it was felt the most practical solution. Similarly Afghanistan ruled its side of the border with a light touch
The 19th and first quarter of the 20th century saw what became known as the Great Game where both Russia and Great Britain attempted to control Afghanistan and keep secure their respectively southern and northern boundaries. Expeditionary Forces from Great Britain went into Afghanistan three times in 1838, 1878 and 1919. However as Lord Roberts remarked in 1881 We have nothing to fear from Afghanistan and the best thing is leave it as much as possible to itself! and this became the policy apart from small punitive expeditions.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused a period of introspection. However remembering the Great Game, the Soviets in 1926 signed the Soviet-Afghan Treaty of Neutrality and Non-Aggression. After the 1939-45 War and the Independence of India and Pakistan Russia decided to become more active. In 1957 the first Soviet Military Mission came to Kabul and Russian arms began to arrive in Afghanistan. In 1973 the King was deposed by his cousin, the Prime Minister Daoud who became President. He was replaced in 1978 by the Marxist Mohammed Taraki .
In 1979 THE Mujahideen declared jihad and Taraki was killed in a coup. Soviet forces began to occupy the country. In the next five years the Mujahideen carried on what was effectively an insurgency against a puppet government supported by Soviet Russia.
From 1984 the USA and the West saw this as a way of weakening Russia and supplied arms, training and food to the Mujahideen . Russia suffered catastrophic losses of men and equipment with pitched battles in Herat and Kandahar. In 1989 the Soviets withdrew all their forces. From then on mujadiheen groups from the North, the South and other parts waged a bloody civil war. The Taliban from the South with their fundamentalist brand of Islam came out on top and formed a government proclaiming the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
On 11th September 2001 Al Qaeda attacked the Twin Towers in New York. It was known that Al Qaeda had based itself in the border territories and in fact Al Qaeda and its foreign volunteers had helped the Taliban take power in 2000. When the Taliban refused to give up the Al Qaeda leadership, the USA and its allies invaded and caused the fall of the Taliban.
The United States and its allies appointed Hamid Karzai as interim President and he was re-elected President democratically in 2004. Parliamentary elections took place a year later.
Currently the security position is not good with US and international forces facing a reinvigorated Taliban in the South and East.