MAGADEV KUHA KUMARAN
Afghanistan, also known as the Graveyard of Empires, has been almost impossible to successfully invade or occupy since ancient times. The Romans fell in 400AD, and more recently the British, the USSR and now the United States of America have pulled out. Just a few weeks ago, the Taliban re-took Afghanistan, after a messy evacuation of foreign troops left a power vacuum. Many consider it to be the worst foreign policy disaster in decades. Others foresee drastic changes in the future, with many remembering the first time the Taliban took over between 1996-2001. For one to understand what just happened we have go back a few decades.
How did it all begin?- Origins -The Soviet-Afghan War 1979-1989.
The rise of the Taliban began with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The USSR invaded to prop up a communist government in Afghanistan under Babrak Karmal, the leader of the Parcham faction of the Marxist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). In retaliation, resistance fighters called the ‘Mujahideen’ were created and fought back against the Soviets. The USA, mortal enemies of the USSR, initiated Operation Cyclone to finance the Afghan Mujahideen in the fight against the Soviets. This was a covert CIA operation which lasted between 1979 and 1989, costing $630 million in 1987 alone. President Ronald Reagan was the US President in the years 1981 to 1989 who met with Taliban leaders in the White House in 1983 (cover image). Eventually, the Mujahideen won, forcing the Soviet Union to withdraw its troops in 1989 with the Geneva Accords of 1988.
Afghan Civil War 1992-1996 - Rise to power
After the Soviets withdrew, the Afghan Communist government collapsed and many Afghan political parties agreed on a power-sharing agreement, signed in the Peshawar Accord in 1992. As always, the coalition fell apart after just months. Fighting between rival factions consumed Afghanistan again. In all this confusion, in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, free from the control of the government or any other foreign-backed militants (ruled instead by local leaders and their militias), the Taliban arose in August 1994. They announced their aim to liberate Afghanistan from the corrupt leadership of warlords and establish a pure Islamic society.
In southern Afghanistan, free from the government or foreign-backed militants, the Taliban arose in August 1994, with the aim to liberate Afghanistan from the corrupt leadership of warlords and establish a pure Islamic society.
The Taliban was originally a movement of religious students (talib), they were educated in traditional Islamic schools in Pakistan. Most had been part of the Mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan War of 1979 to 1989. They grew in number in 1994 under Mullah Mohammed Omar; he was unhappy that Islamic law had not been installed in Afghanistan after the Communist era. The organisation grew in months from 50 students to 15,000.
On the 3rd November 1994, the Taliban conquered Kandahar. By 1995 they controlled all of Afghanistan. They had completed this by capturing the important city of Herat in September 1995 and then finally the big prize, Kabul, by shelling the city, killing thousands of civilians, in September 1996. The ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ was established.
Taliban in power - 1996-2001
In the 5 years that the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, things took a turn for the worse, after 20 years of continuous warfare had taken its toll on Afghan infrastructure. Basic necessities were in short supply; the infant mortality was the highest in the world. It was so bad that a quarter of all children were dying before their fifth birthday.
They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and this was applied when warring enemies Ahmad Shah Massoud and Abdul Rashid Dostum created the United Front against the Taliban. However they faced many defeats and Dostum fell. By 1998 only Shah remained as Dostum went into exile.
Shah was the guiding light in the darkness, the resistance against the Taliban. In areas of his control he set up democratic institutions, signed the Women's Rights Declaration (women did were allowed to work and go to school) and pursed gender equality, stamping out forced marriages. This was quite unheard of in this region - he even unified various ethnic groups under his control. There were no human rights crimes under Massoud's control between 1996 and 2001. Between 400,000 and 1 million Afghans fled the Taliban to Massoud’s area. However, he was eventually assassinated on the 9th September 2001 by two Arabs posing as journalists. Just prior, Massoud had warned about a large scale attack on US soil which eventually led to the Taliban’s downfall.
The Beginning of the End - September 11th 2001
9/11 shocked the world. It also marked the end of the Taliban. It was organised by Al-Qaeda terrorists that attacked the World Trade Centre’s North and South tower (the Twin Towers), as well the west side of the Pentagon. 2,977 people died and more than 6,000 were injured. Immediately, Al-Qaeda was the main suspect and its leader Osama bin Laden became the United States' enemy. Because he was in Afghanistan, immediately the United Front troops with American air support in "Operation Enduring Freedom" ousted the Taliban from power in Kabul.
The US President at the time, George W Bush, demanded that the Taliban expel Al-Qaeda from Afghanistan and extradite Osama bin Laden. The Taliban refused. The US rallied the NATO to its side to fully invade Afghanistan. As a result the US launched the War on Terror to get rid of the Taliban.
On 7th October 2001, the US, aided by the UK, Canada and several others from the NATO alliance initiated military action, which included bombing Taliban and Al-Qaeda camps. Intense bombing and the invasion forced the Taliban to retreat south from Kabul, through Jalalabad and in December the city of Kandahar. The below picture is the declaration of war against the Taliban by President George W Bush in 2001 in the aftermath of 9/11.
Resurgence after 2001
Between 2001 and 2021, the Taliban insurgency occurred - a further part of the war in Afghanistan was fought between the Taliban and the Afghan government. The Taliban regrouped in 2003,and started rebuilding from the south. We saw this in 2015 when a suicide attack killed about 50 people in Kabul. Another in 2018 killed over 100 people, using a bomb in an ambulance. The Taliban also assassinated notable anti-Taliban leaders such as former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani.
The Taliban Re-acquisition - 2021
Many would argue that this event was inevitable after US troops began to withdraw from the country. It had been 20 years in Afghanistan and the US felt they couldn't stay forever. This withdrawal had been agreed upon by the Trump administration and the Taliban in the Doha Agreement. In return for all foreign forces leaving Afghanistan, the Taliban must ensure that Al-Qaeda does not operate in Taliban controlled areas. There will be future talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government for a permanent ceasefire between the two. In addition, as part of the Doha agreement, 5000 Taliban prisoners including 400 accused or convicted of major crimes have to be released by the Afghan government.
The recent advance in May coincided with the gradual withdrawal of troops. The Taliban made its way from the south from the stronghold of Kandahar. The Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) fought against the Taliban, but the Taliban fought back, capturing valuable "Humvees" and other military technology. By July, 703 Afghan National Security Force members and 208 civilians had been killed in clashes.After months of struggle, by August most of Afghanistan was under Taliban control.
On the 15th of August, the Taliban forces took over the Afghanstan's capital city, Kabul. Between August 14th and August 31st the US completed its military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the US and its coalition partners evacuated more than 123,000 people via Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The evacuation was considered a messy one, considering the intelligence was completely wrong, with many believing that the fall of Kabul may take weeks or months, not days. On the 28th of August the last UK flight carrying troops and diplomatic personnel has left kabul, bringing an end to Britain’s 20 year campaign in Afghanistan. The picture below is the last soldier to leave Afghanistan, Major General Chris Donahue.
Conclusion
The Taliban have been in power for a few weeks now. They have reintroduced their strongest rules as we approach the anniversary of 9-11. Recently Afghan women have been banned from playing sport. In addition the Taliban have appointed an all-men interim cabinet including some people on the US and UN most-wanted lists. For now we are unsure on what the future beholds for the people of Afghanistan under Taliban rule, but we can only hope that the Taliban stick to as many of their promises as possible.