![]() ![]() Resistance to the occupation united once disparate tribes, ethnic communities, and religious leaders. Soviet tanks, aircraft, and artillery smashed into villages, which militarized in response. The majority of Afghan casualties and refugees from the past 40 years took place during this period. The Soviet invasion brought modern industrial war to Afghanistan and led to a decade of bloodshed. Religious leaders historically posed checks on the power of state authorities. In December of that year, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to prevent the defeat of the incipient communist regime. ![]() In 1979, an insurgency formed and advanced rapidly. Yet the communists enjoyed only a small base of popular support, and their education, land, and marriage reforms prompted a backlash among tribes, religious leaders, and the rural population. Communists overthrew the regime of Daoud Khan, the cousin and successor of the former king. But the event that sparked 40 years of civil war was the Saur Revolution, in 1978. And for nearly a century after the British invasion and occupation of 1878–81, no major foreign invasions upset the equilibrium.įorces of modernization began to tip that balance in the late twentieth century. Attempts by the monarchy to oppress Afghans were largely deterred by the tribes and religious leaders. The monarchy’s own plotting and short bursts of violence were too brief to prevent leadership transitions. Tribes were too divided to pose an existential threat to the country or society. They, too, have posed checks on the power of state authorities, and have sometimes called for jihad against not just foreign invaders but Afghan rulers, as well.īut there was a kind of stability to the instability. Religious leaders-village mullahs and Islamic scholars and judges-also play an important role in society. Tribal norms place a high value on the individuality of every member of a tribe, and no government-including the monarchy that ruled the country from 1747 to 1973-has ever been able to control the country’s hundreds of tribes, subtribes, and clans. ![]() ![]() Tribal feuds, government repression, border skirmishes, and dynastic plots have been part of Afghan life for centuries. STABLE INSTABILITYĪfghanistan has never been entirely peaceful. national security would pose an even greater risk: worsening the tragedy for the Afghan people. Getting involved in Afghanistan again in order to mitigate risks to U.S. The most important thing is to be cognizant of how previous interventions prevented the civil war from ending. Washington’s ability to do much about this is limited. What today appears to be a new period of peace may turn out to be just a pause in Afghanistan’s long trauma. Pockets of resistance to Taliban rule, the Taliban’s continued embrace of the tactics of terrorism, and foreign intervention could all potentially rekindle the civil war in ways that are not apparent right now. Last year’s withdrawal of foreign forces from the country put an end to that cycle and allowed the Taliban to consolidate its control-at least for the time being. In the process, more than two million Afghans were killed or wounded and more than five million became refugees. The democratic republic’s army fought the Taliban. The Taliban fought the Northern Alliance. Should the international community recognize the Taliban? Will the Taliban moderate themselves? Can diplomacy or sanctions compel them to do so? Is a new international terrorist threat forming under the Taliban’s watch?Īnd an even more pressing question looms over the country: Is the Afghan civil war that started in 1978 finally over? For four decades, Afghanistan tore itself apart. Questions about the new state of affairs abound. Levels of violence throughout the country have been dramatically reduced-but so, too, have the rights of women, the freedom of the media, and the safety of those who supported the overthrown democratic government. The Taliban regime has ruled the country ever since. military forces and civilians as well as roughly 100,000 Afghans remains a sore spot for Washington and its allies. One year ago, the democratic government of Afghanistan collapsed. ![]()
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