Afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan is a country located in south-central Asia, bordered by Pakistan, Iran and china just to name a few. As of 2009, approximately 33 million people live in Afghanistan. Politics and the government was a major concern. In 1979, the Russians declared an invasion, with the Russian-backed Afghan government on their side. Consisting of Islamic students, a group called the Taliban then took control of Kabul, the capital city, in 1996. Afghanistan is an Islamic country, 99% of which are Muslim. The ethnic groups are Pashtun, Tajik and Hazara being the main three. Politics and religion has played a major role in shaping Afghanistan as a country.

Politics and the Government have caused much grief to the Afghan population. The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a conflict involving the Soviet Union, who supported the Marxist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Islamist Mujahidin Resistance, going on for almost a decade. It originated from the 1978 coup which overthrew Afghan president Sardar Muhammad Daud Khan, who came in power after taking out the king in 1973. The Soviet invasion started off with 30,000 troops, growing to a force of 100,000. The mujahidin had support from the USA, china and Saudi Arabia. Although the Russians had advanced weapons, the rebels successfully escaped them. The conflict started to settle with the Soviet Union controlling the city areas and the Afghan guerillas operating quite freely in the mountain regions. As the war went on, the rebels improved their tactics and strategies, using imported weapons such as U.S air craft missiles, evening out the technological advantages of the Russians. The war ended in 1988, with President Mikhil Gorbachar announcing the removal of Russian troops. The war left Afghanistan with severe economic, political and environmental problems. More than a million Afghans dies and 5 million fled, becoming refuges in neighboring countries. By the end of the war, 5 million...