Changes

  |tld=.af

  |tld=.af

}}

}}

'''Afghanistan''' (Pashto/Dari: افغانستان)<!--, officially the '''Islamic Republic of Afghanistan''',--><ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20061013231925/https://www.president.gov.af/ (Archived 2006)/</ref> is a country in [[South Asia]] which borders the Arabian Sea to the south, India to the east and [[Iran]] to the west. Afghanistan was the scene of the defeat of the [[Soviet Union]] in the [[Soviet-Afghan war]] of 1979–1988. In the 1990s an extremist Islamic [[Taliban]] movement took control and allowed Osama bin-Laden and his Al-Qaeda to operate there and plan the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] on the U.S. An international invasion led by the U.S. overthrew the Taliban in 2001, but they have rebuilt strongholds in the south, along the Pakistan border, and have [[escalate]]d the insurgency. '''''In August 2021, the Taliban retook control of the entire country amid [[Biden]]'s botched pullout of [[American]] troops'''''.  Amid the chaos allowed by Biden, a terrorist attack on August 26, 2021, at the [[Kabul]] airport in Afghanistan killed 12 American soldiers and injured 15 more.

'''Afghanistan''' (Pashto/Dari: افغانستان)<!--, officially the '''Islamic Republic of Afghanistan''',--><ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20061013231925/https://www.president.gov.af/ (Archived 2006)/</ref> is a country in [[South Asia]] which borders the Arabian Sea to the south, India to the east and [[Iran]] to the west. Afghanistan was the scene of the defeat of the [[Soviet Union]] in the [[Soviet-Afghan war]] of 1979–1988. In the 1990s an extremist Islamic [[Taliban]] movement took control and allowed Osama bin-Laden and his Al-Qaeda to operate there and plan the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] on the U.S. An international invasion led by the U.S. overthrew the Taliban in 2001, but they have rebuilt strongholds in the south, along the Pakistan border, and have [[escalate]]d the insurgency. '''''In August 2021, the Taliban retook control of the entire country amid [[Biden]]'s botched pullout of [[American]] troops'''''.  During the chaos allowed by Biden, a terrorist attack on August 26, 2021, at the [[Kabul]] airport in Afghanistan, killed 12 American soldiers and injured 15 more.

Since August 15, 2021, Afghanistan is under the control of the Taliban,<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/world/taliban-take-over-afghanistan-whats-next</ref> as the [[Biden Junta]] withdrew [[American]] forces from the country in a way that enabled its nearly immediate recapture by the [[Taliban]].  

Since August 15, 2021, Afghanistan has been under the control of the Taliban,<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/world/taliban-take-over-afghanistan-whats-next</ref> as the [[Biden Junta]] withdrew [[American]] forces from the country in a way that enabled its nearly immediate recapture by the [[Taliban]].  

As part of the Islamic jihadist Taliban blitzkrieg, kids were shot in front of their parents and Hazaras were massacred. They also posed for pictures after capturing the Presidential palace.<ref>[https://nypost.com/2021/08/15/taliban-assumes-control-of-afghanistan-reports/ Taliban takes control of presidential palace, poses for pictures inside]

As part of the Islamic jihadist Taliban blitzkrieg, kids were shot in front of their parents and Hazaras were massacred. They also posed for pictures after capturing the Presidential palace.<ref>[https://nypost.com/2021/08/15/taliban-assumes-control-of-afghanistan-reports/ Taliban takes control of presidential palace, poses for pictures inside]

Mark Moore and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, NYPost,

Mark Moore and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, NYPost,

Lyons had served as Canada’s ambassador in Kabul when the Taliban carried out a suicide bombing against a Canadian embassy convoy. Lyons put up a monument to the security contractors who were wounded and killed, but they sued after being abandoned afterwards.</i></ref>

Lyons had served as Canada’s ambassador in Kabul when the Taliban carried out a suicide bombing against a Canadian embassy convoy. Lyons put up a monument to the security contractors who were wounded and killed, but they sued after being abandoned afterwards.</i></ref>

==History==

==History==

[[File:Brzezinski Taliban.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Zbigniew Brzezinski meets with the Mujahideen Taliban, 1979.<ref>https://youtu.be/kYvO3qAlyTg</ref>]]

[[File:Brzezinski Taliban.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Zbigniew Brzezinski meets with the Mujahideen Taliban, 1979.<ref>https://youtu.be/kYvO3qAlyTg</ref>]]

{{See also|History of Afghanistan}}

{{See also|History of Afghanistan}}

The word Afghanistan originates from the Sanskrit word "Upa-Gana-stan" which translates in English to "the place inhabited by allied tribes".<ref>https://resonantnews.com/2021/08/25/a-story-of-betrayal-of-upa-gana-stan-afghanistan/</ref> Modern day Afghanistan was part of Ancient India and was ruled by Hindu Kings up until 980 A.D. The Afghans have a 2500-year tradition of strongly distrusting—and fighting—armed outsiders.

The word Afghanistan originates from the Sanskrit word "Upa-Gana-stan" which translates in English to "the place inhabited by allied tribes".<ref>https://resonantnews.com/2021/08/25/a-story-of-betrayal-of-upa-gana-stan-afghanistan/</ref> Modern-day Afghanistan was part of Ancient India and was ruled by Hindu Kings up until 980 A.D. The Afghans have a 2500-year tradition of strongly distrusting—and fighting—armed outsiders.

Afghanistan, often called the crossroads of Central Asia, has had a turbulent history. In 328 BC, Alexander the Great entered the territory of present-day Afghanistan, then part of the Persian Empire, to capture Bactria (present-day Balkh). Invasions by the Scythians, White Huns, and Turks followed in succeeding centuries. In AD 642, Arabs invaded the entire region and introduced Islam.  

Afghanistan, often called the crossroads of Central Asia, has had a turbulent history. In 328 BC, Alexander the Great entered the territory of present-day Afghanistan, then part of the Persian Empire, to capture Bactria (present-day Balkh). Invasions by the Scythians, White Huns, and Turks followed in succeeding centuries. In AD 642, Arabs invaded the entire region and introduced Islam.  

Arab rule gave way to the Persians, who controlled the area until conquered by the Turkic Ghaznavids in 998. Mahmud of Ghazni (998–1030) consolidated the conquests of his predecessors and turned Ghazni into a great cultural center as well as a base for frequent forays into India. Following Mahmud's short-lived dynasty, various princes attempted to rule sections of the country until the destructive Mongol invasion of 1219 led by Genghis Khan.  

Arab rule gave way to the Persians, who controlled the area until conquered by the Turkic Ghaznavids in 998. Mahmud of Ghazni (998–1030) consolidated the conquests of his predecessors and turned Ghazni into a great cultural center as well as a base for frequent forays into India. Following Mahmud's short-lived dynasty, various princes attempted to rule sections of the country until the destructive Mongol invasion of 1219 led by Genghis Khan.  

Following Genghis Khan's death in 1227, a succession of petty chiefs and princes struggled for supremacy until late in the 14th century, when one of his descendants, Tamerlane, incorporated Afghanistan into his own vast Asian empire. Babur, a descendant of Tamerlane and the founder of India's Moghul dynasty at the beginning of the 16th century, made Kabul the capital of an Afghan principality.  

Following Genghis Khan's death in 1227, a succession of petty chiefs and princes struggled for supremacy until late in the 14th century, when one of his descendants, Tamerlane, incorporated Afghanistan into his own vast Asian empire. Babur, a descendant of Tamerlane and the founder of India's Mughal dynasty at the beginning of the 16th century, made Kabul the capital of an Afghan principality.  

===The Taliban===

===The Taliban===

:{{See also|Women under the Taliban‎}}

:{{See also|Women under the Taliban‎}}

[[File:Taliban enter Kabul airport.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Taliban enter Kabul airport after US departure, August 31, 2021.<ref>https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2021/08/future-us-taliban-relations/184976/</ref>]]

[[File:Taliban enter Kabul airport.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Taliban enter Kabul airport after US departure, August 31, 2021.<ref>https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2021/08/future-us-taliban-relations/184976/</ref>]]

The Taliban had risen to power in the mid '90s in reaction to the anarchy and warlordism that arose after the withdrawal of Soviet forces. Many Taliban had been educated in madrassas in Pakistan and were largely from rural southern Pashtun backgrounds. In 1994, the Taliban developed enough strength to capture the city of Kandahar from a local warlord and proceeded to expand its control throughout Afghanistan, occupying Kabul in September 1996. By the end of 1998, the Taliban occupied about 90% of the country, limiting the opposition largely to a small mostly Tajik corner in the northeast and the Panjshir valley.  

The Taliban had risen to power in the mid-'90s in reaction to the anarchy and warlordism that arose after the withdrawal of Soviet forces. Many Taliban had been educated in madrassas in Pakistan and were largely from rural southern Pashtun backgrounds. In 1994, the Taliban developed enough strength to capture the city of Kandahar from a local warlord and proceeded to expand its control throughout Afghanistan, occupying Kabul in September 1996. By the end of 1998, the Taliban occupied about 90% of the country, limiting the opposition largely to a small, mostly Tajik corner in the northeast and the Panjshir valley.  

The Taliban sought to impose an extreme interpretation of Islam—based upon the rural Pashtun tribal code—on the entire country and committed massive human rights violations, particularly directed against women and girls. The Taliban also committed serious atrocities against minority populations, particularly the Shi'a Hazara ethnic group, and killed noncombatants in several well-documented instances. In March 2001, as part of a drive against relics of Afghanistan's pre-Islamic past, the Taliban destroyed two Buddha statues carved into cliff faces outside of the city of Bamiyan.  

The Taliban sought to impose an extreme interpretation of Islam—based upon the rural Pashtun tribal code—on the entire country and committed massive human rights violations, particularly directed against women and girls. The Taliban also committed serious atrocities against minority populations, particularly the Shi'a Hazara ethnic group, and killed noncombatants in several well-documented instances. In March 2001, as part of a drive against relics of Afghanistan's pre-Islamic past, the Taliban destroyed two Buddha statues carved into cliff faces outside of the city of Bamiyan.  

From the mid-1990s the Taliban provided sanctuary to Osama bin Laden, a Saudi national who had fought with the mujahideen resistance against the Soviets, and provide a base for his and other terrorist organizations. Bin Laden provided both financial and political support to the Taliban. Bin Laden and his Al-Qaida group were charged with the bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998, and in August 1998 the United States launched a cruise missile attack against bin Laden's terrorist camp in southeastern Afghanistan. Bin Laden and Al-Qaida have acknowledged their responsibility for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States.  

From the mid-1990s the Taliban provided a sanctuary to Osama bin Laden, a Saudi national who had fought with the mujahideen resistance against the Soviets, and provided a base for his and other terrorist organizations. Bin Laden provided both financial and political support to the Taliban. Bin Laden and his Al-Qaida group were charged with the bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998, and in August 1998 the United States launched a cruise missile attack against bin Laden's terrorist camp in southeastern Afghanistan. Bin Laden and Al-Qaida have acknowledged their responsibility for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States.  

[[File:Build Back Better.PNG|right|300px|thumb|Taliban announcing its Build Back Better program on Afghan TV, August 29, 2021.<ref>https://thepoliticalinsider.com/afghan-tv-host-tells-public-not-to-be-afraid-and-cooperate-while-surrounded-by-taliban-with-guns/</ref><ref>[https://youtu.be/YkcaeaD45MY "Build Back Better"]</ref> ]]

[[File:Build Back Better.PNG|right|300px|thumb|Taliban announcing its Build Back Better program on Afghan TV, August 29, 2021.<ref>https://thepoliticalinsider.com/afghan-tv-host-tells-public-not-to-be-afraid-and-cooperate-while-surrounded-by-taliban-with-guns/</ref><ref>[https://youtu.be/YkcaeaD45MY "Build Back Better"]</ref> ]]

Following the Taliban's repeated refusal to expel bin Laden and his group and end its support for international terrorism, the U.S. and its partners in the anti-terrorist coalition began a military campaign on October 7, 2001, targeting terrorist facilities and various Taliban military and political assets within Afghanistan.  On October 22, 2001, Sen. [[Joseph Biden]] of Delaware gave a speech insisting that U.S. goals—rooting out al-Qaeda and helping establish a friendly successor government to the Taliban—would require U.S. ground troops far beyond the small number of Special Forces already in place.<ref>Sen. Biden: "I think the American public and the Islamic world is fully prepared for us to take as long as we need to take. If it is action that is a mano-a-mano. If it's us on the ground going against other forces on the ground. The part that I think flies in the face of, and plays into every stereotypical criticism of us, is where this high tech bully that thinks from the air we can do whatever you want to do. And it builds the case, for those who want to make the case against us, that all we're doing is indiscriminately bombing innocents. Which is not the truth. Some innocents are indiscriminately bombed. But that is not the truth. I think the American public is prepared for a long siege. I think the American public has prepared for American losses. I think the American public is prepared, and the president must continue to remind them to be prepared, for American body bags coming home. There is no way that you can, in fact, go after and root out al Qaeda and or Bin Ladin without folks on the ground, in caves, risking and losing their lives. And I believe that the tolerance for that in the Islamic world is significant, exponentially higher, than it is for us bombing."  [https://www.c-span.org/video/?166841-1/us-response-terrorist-attacks @59:43]</ref>  Under pressure from U.S. military and anti-Taliban forces, the Taliban disintegrated rapidly, and Kabul fell on November 13, 2001.  

Following the Taliban's repeated refusal to expel bin Laden and his group and end its support for international terrorism, the U.S. and its partners in the anti-terrorist coalition began a military campaign on October 7, 2001, targeting terrorist facilities and various Taliban military and political assets within Afghanistan.  On October 22, 2001, Sen. [[Joseph Biden]] of Delaware gave a speech insisting that U.S. goals—rooting out al-Qaeda and helping establish a friendly successor government to the Taliban—would require U.S. ground troops far beyond the small number of Special Forces already in place.<ref>Sen. Biden: "I think the American public and the Islamic world is fully prepared for us to take as long as we need to take. If it is action that is a mano-a-mano. If it's us on the ground going against other forces on the ground. The part that I think flies in the face of, and plays into every stereotypical criticism of us, is where this high tech bully that thinks from the air we can do whatever you want to do. And it builds the case, for those who want to make the case against us, that all we're doing is indiscriminately bombing innocents. Which is not the truth. Some innocents are indiscriminately bombed. But that is not the truth. I think the American public is prepared for a long siege. I think the American public has prepared for American losses. I think the American public is prepared, and the president must continue to remind them to be prepared, for American body bags coming home. There is no way that you can, in fact, go after and root out al Qaeda and or Bin Ladin without folks on the ground, in caves, risking and losing their lives. And I believe that the tolerance for that in the Islamic world is significant, exponentially higher, than it is for us bombing."  [https://www.c-span.org/video/?166841-1/us-response-terrorist-attacks @59:43]</ref>  Under pressure from U.S. military and anti-Taliban forces, the Taliban disintegrated rapidly, and Kabul fell on November 13, 2001.  

====Afghan Republic 2001-2021====

====Afghan Republic 2001-2021====

Three weeks after the 9/11 attacks, on October 3, 2001, Sen. Joseph Biden, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, proposed a billion dollars in aid to a yet to be formed Afghan interim government. The amount was almost twice as much as U.N. General Secretary [[Kofi Annan]] proposed and more than triple what the Bush administration asked for.<ref>Sen. Biden: "U.N. Secretary Kofi Annan has issued an appeal for $584 million to meet the needs of the Afghan refugees and displaced people, within Afghanistan and in neighboring countries. This is the amount deemed necessary to stave off disaster for the winter, which will start in Afghanistan in just a few weeks. We must back up our rhetoric with action, with something big and bold and meaningful. We can offer to foot the entire bill for keeping the Afghan people safely fed, clothed, and sheltered this winter, and that should be the beginning....We can kick the effort off in a way that would silence our critics in the rest of the world: a check for $1 billion, and a promise for more to come as long as the rest of the world joins us. This initial amount would be more than enough to meet all the refugees’ short-term needs, and would be a credible downpayment for the long-term effort. Eventually the world community will have to pony up more billions, but there is no avoiding that now, not if we expect our words ever to carry any weight.<br>If anyone thinks this amount of money is too high, let me note one stark, simple and very sad statistic. The damage inflicted by the September 11 attack in economic terms alone was a minimum of several hundred billion dollars and a maximum of over $1 trillion. The cost in human life, of course, as the Presiding Officer knows, is far beyond any calculation. [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRECB-2001-pt13/pdf/CRECB-2001-pt13-issue-2001-10-03.pdf Pg. 18464]</ref>  Harmid Karzai formed an interim government on 22 December 2001 until elections could be held after the removal of Taliban rule by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces.  On January 10, 2002, Joe Biden arrived in Afghanistan on a four-day fact-finding visit and met with Karzai.<ref>https://www.army.mil/article/50258/biden_meets_karzai_visits_troops_in_afghanistan</ref>  In 2002 and 2003, when Afghan tribal councils gathered to write a new constitution, the U.S. government gave “nice packages” to delegates who supported Washington's preferred stance. “The perception that was started in that period: If you were going to vote for a position that Washington favored, you’d be stupid to not get a package for doing it,” according to a U.S. official who served in Kabul at the time.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-corruption-government/</ref>

Three weeks after the 9/11 attacks, on October 3, 2001, Sen. Joseph Biden, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, proposed a billion dollars in aid to a yet-to-be-formed Afghan interim government. The amount was almost twice as much as U.N. General Secretary [[Kofi Annan]] proposed and more than triple what the Bush administration asked for.<ref>Sen. Biden: "U.N. Secretary Kofi Annan has issued an appeal for $584 million to meet the needs of the Afghan refugees and displaced people, within Afghanistan and in neighboring countries. This is the amount deemed necessary to stave off disaster for the winter, which will start in Afghanistan in just a few weeks. We must back up our rhetoric with action, with something big and bold and meaningful. We can offer to foot the entire bill for keeping the Afghan people safely fed, clothed, and sheltered this winter, and that should be the beginning....We can kick the effort off in a way that would silence our critics in the rest of the world: a check for $1 billion, and a promise for more to come as long as the rest of the world joins us. This initial amount would be more than enough to meet all the refugees’ short-term needs, and would be a credible downpayment for the long-term effort. Eventually the world community will have to pony up more billions, but there is no avoiding that now, not if we expect our words ever to carry any weight.<br>If anyone thinks this amount of money is too high, let me note one stark, simple and very sad statistic. The damage inflicted by the September 11 attack in economic terms alone was a minimum of several hundred billion dollars and a maximum of over $1 trillion. The cost in human life, of course, as the Presiding Officer knows, is far beyond any calculation. [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRECB-2001-pt13/pdf/CRECB-2001-pt13-issue-2001-10-03.pdf Pg. 18464]</ref>  Harmid Karzai formed an interim government on 22 December 2001 until elections could be held after the removal of Taliban rule by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces.  On January 10, 2002, Joe Biden arrived in Afghanistan on a four-day fact-finding visit and met with Karzai.<ref>https://www.army.mil/article/50258/biden_meets_karzai_visits_troops_in_afghanistan</ref>  In 2002 and 2003, when Afghan tribal councils gathered to write a new constitution, the U.S. government gave “nice packages” to delegates who supported Washington's preferred stance. “The perception that was started in that period: If you were going to vote for a position that Washington favored, you’d be stupid to not get a package for doing it,” according to a U.S. official who served in Kabul at the time.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-corruption-government/</ref>

On October 9, 2004, Afghanistan held its first national democratic presidential election. More than 8 million Afghans voted, 41% of whom were women. [[Hamid Karzai]] was the winner and was inaugurated on December 7 for a five-year term as Afghanistan's first democratically elected president.  In 2014 [[Ashraf Ghani]] was elected as new president of Afghanistan and held office until the fall of Kabul in August 2021.

On October 9, 2004, Afghanistan held its first national democratic presidential election. More than 8 million Afghans voted, 41% of whom were women. [[Hamid Karzai]] was the winner and was inaugurated on December 7 for a five-year term as Afghanistan's first democratically elected president.  In 2014 [[Ashraf Ghani]] was elected as new president of Afghanistan and held office until the fall of Kabul in August 2021.