How terrorism has made Afghanistan a falling state

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How terrorism has made Afghanistan a falling state
Introduction
Afghanistan is a nation that is made up of many nationalities because it links the Middle East,
Central Asia and the Indian sub-continent. Afghanistan was also a country of mixed religions
until the eighth and ninth century when Islam was introduced
1
. Before the invasion of U.S and
Russia, Afghanistan was a medieval island that survived on its own. More so, Afghanistan was
not colonized, but was ruled by kings, and the country underwent tremendous leadership changes
between 1973 and 1980. Poor leadership trends in Afghanistan led to the introduction of Islamic
movements that later fostered terrorism because the US interest in Afghanistan made it empower
these Islamic groups. Since US involvement in Afghanistan, the country has been a battlefield to
date, which has made Afghanistan a fallen state because no economic, political or social progress
can take place. This paper will analyze terrorism as the main catalyst of Afghanistan’s fall, how
terrorism emerged and its consequences.
Terrorism
1
Ritscher, A. 2012. A Brief History of Afghanistan. Afghanistan Government.
http://www.afghangovernment.com/briefhistory.htm
Terrorism is an act that inflicts terror to individuals or a nation because it causes death
and massive destruction of property and resources. The first terrorism attack was reported in the
US in 1993, and the trend has been subsequent over the years. History depicts that terrorism was
developed in the 1980s by Islamic movements believed to have been empowered by the United
States when it ventured into Afghanistan with an aim of fighting Russia. The reason why Russia
became a threat to the US is because Russia shares a boundary with Afghanistan and the constant
leadership struggles that included coups in Afghanistan pushed Russia to extend its humanitarian
aid in order to help the citizens caught up in the war
2
. As time went by, leadership situation in
Afghanistan deteriorated and Russia completely got involved in Afghanistan’s political affairs by
imposing their preferred leader and sending thousands of its troops to the country. This move did
not please the US, who had planned to venture into Afghanistan because it was an attractive
pipeline channel. Therefore, in order to draw out Russia, US decided to fund the upcoming
opposition groups in Afghanistan, and Afghanistan became a battlefield that bred terrorism.
How terrorism was organized
The people who carried out terrorism were Islamic movements that have a link to the US trained
Mujahedeen, Taliban, and Al Qaeda. The first group to be formed by Islamic movements was
Mujahedeen. The group was supported by vast volunteers from Muslim radicals in forty-three
Islamic countries in North and East Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Far East.
Historians argue that the Mujahedeen was the group that bred Osama Bin Laden because it was
through this group that he attained influential movement leadership. After acquiring adequate
2
Ritscher, A. 2012. A Brief History of Afghanistan. Afghanistan Government.
http://www.afghangovernment.com/briefhistory.htm
skills, Osama later formed his own group called Al Qaeda in 1988
3
. Thus, when the Islamic
movements overpowered Russian troops in the 1990s and Russia pulled out of Afghanistan, the
Osama led movement dispersed to vast countries because it comprised of individuals from
diverse Islamic countries. When the members of the formed Islamic groups diverged into their
respective countries, they continued their activities under one unifying agenda of opposing
leadership that did not satisfy them.
Prior to Al Qaeda, the war bred children in Afghanistan grew up with a war mentality,
and they formed their own group called the Taliban in 1994. The aim of Taliban formation was
to fight warlords in the society. The Taliban movement also aimed at imposing Islamic Sharia
law which advocated for self-imposed governance so that they could rule the society and control
pipelines and oil reserves. However, the objective of this movement was disrupted by the USA,
who had an interest in pipeline roots and oil sources. This led to the hatred that pushed the
Taliban movement to attack US allies by bombing and terrorizing them irrespective of the fact
that Taliban had been taught and sponsored by the US
4
. Thus, Taliban acquired backup from
other like-minded Islamic movements like Al Qaeda and Al Shabaab; hence, intensifying
terrorism groups. The US also became an enemy and despite that it had earlier trained and
sponsored Warlords in Afghanistan so as to overpower Russia, the US began fighting the newly
formed terrorist groups. The war took a different dimension when terrorist attacked the World
3
NATO- Harvard Project. 2013. The Afghanistan Case Study. NATO International.
http://www.jallc.nato.int/newsmedia/docs/afghanistan_case_study.pdf
4
Ritscher, A. 2012. A Brief History of Afghanistan. Afghanistan Government.
http://www.afghangovernment.com/briefhistory.htm
Trade Center in the USA on September 2001
5
. The Al-Qaeda and Taliban groups were blamed
for the attack, and this fostered a different perspective on the fight against terrorism. The US
sought foreign aid and the UK and Australia armed forces entered Afghanistan to help US troops
fight against terrorism. The effort bore fruits because on November 2001, Taliban forces fled
Kabul and the last city that was controlled by Taliban fell, and its members were disbanded and
others dispersed
6
. Later on in 2004, the first government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
(GIRoA) was officially elected and from then on, terrorism activities in Afghanistan diminished
and the country began to rise again.
Terrorism impact on the fall of Afghanistan
Afghanistan did not only fall politically and socially, but rather it also fell economically. More
so, the outcome of the war left millions of Afghans citizens in refugee camps and at the same
time bred and equipped numerous Islamic movements that later intensified terrorism activities.
Since war broke out in the 1980s, the economy deteriorated all through the years until in 2001
when Taliban regime fell
7
. This means that the economy began picking its momentum in 2001
with great help from international well wishers. However, the economy does not promise huge
success because Afghanistan is landlocked and it largely depends on foreign aid. More so, the
experienced war pushed its citizens into humanitarian crisis because many afghans currently lack
5
United States. 2014. The CIA World Factbook 2015. New York: Skyhorse Publishing.
http://public.eblib.com/choice/PublicFullRecord.aspx?p=1792440.
6
NATO- Harvard Project. 2013. The Afghanistan Case Study. NATO International.
http://www.jallc.nato.int/newsmedia/docs/afghanistan_case_study.pdf
7
United States. 2014. The CIA World Factbook 2015. New York: Skyhorse Publishing.
http://public.eblib.com/choice/PublicFullRecord.aspx?p=1792440.
housing, medical care, electricity, clean water and employment. The prolonged war also led to
the destruction of infrastructure which means that Afghanistan has poor infrastructure. The living
standards in Afghanistan are rated among the lowest in the world with a GDP growth rate of
3.1% in 2013.
Conclusion
Political analysts argue that irrespective of the heightened debate on the actual source of
terrorist and terrorism activities around the globe, it is evident that the cold war between Russia
and U.S played a major role in breeding terrorists (Ritscher, 2012: 1). This is the case because
historic documentaries depict that the US applied all strategies to influence Afghanistan due the
quest for oil in the neighboring countries and as a means of getting back to the Soviet Union.
Therefore, the fall of Afghanistan was highly contributed by the US and Russia involvement and
its rise was also fostered by the US, who chipped in to destroy Taliban and other Islamic groups
it had earlier helped to create.
Bibliography
NATO- Harvard Project. 2013. The Afghanistan Case Study. NATO International.
http://www.jallc.nato.int/newsmedia/docs/afghanistan_case_study.pdf
Ritscher, A. 2012. A Brief History of Afghanistan. Afghanistan Government.
http://www.afghangovernment.com/briefhistory.htm
United States. 2014. The CIA World Factbook 2015. New York: Skyhorse Publishing.
http://public.eblib.com/choice/PublicFullRecord.aspx?p=1792440.

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