Afghanistan

Afghanistan means "Land of the Afghans." Modern Afghanistan was created in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani, who created the Durrani Empire. During the 19th Century, Afghanistan was a buffer state in the Great Game, which was a land grab between the British and Russian empires. Many of Rudyard Kipling’s books were about the Great Game.

Some believe the Great Game has carried into modern times starting with the Soviet invasion in the late 70's and the subsequent support of the Mujahedeen by the Western and Islamic powers. When the Soviets left, the country fell into civil war and most of it was eventually controlled by the Taliban. It is largely believed that the Taliban was created by Pakistan's intelligence service (ISI) in order to keep its own tribal areas from revolting.

In 2001, after 9-11, the U.S. led an invasion into Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban by siding with the Northern Alliance. The Northern Alliance, at the time, controlled the Northern part of the country and had been led by Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was assassinated shortly before 9-11. In the wake of the U.S. invasion, both Osama Bin Laden and Taliban fled into the tribal areas of Pakistan and have continued to fight. War continues in Afghanistan, with multiple players from many nations participating. In many ways, the Great Game in Afghanistan continues to this day.

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Original Technorati articles tagged “Afghanistan”

• in Politics
  The West and Karzai on Different Pages
  Hamid Karzai and his foreign backers appear headed in opposite directions.
  by jamesgundun / on Nov 10, 2009
• in Politics
  Afghanistan Horizon: 30,000 Divisions
  Uncertainty is depleting President Obama's political support for escalation in Afghanistan.
  by jamesgundun / on Nov 7, 2009
• in Politics
  More U.S. Combat Soldiers in Afghanistan?
  U.S.Army Special Forces Counterinsurgency Efforts Continue Despite shortage on U.S. Green Beret Advisers in Afghanistan.
  by desperatelands / on Nov 3, 2009

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “Afghanistan”

• Exclusive Footage: Afghanistan War: Taliban Seized US Army Weapons

  
  Ekawaaz - One Voice - Many Issues : News Views and Reviews — Authority: 118
  Shocking! And most important A worrying situation for all of us. I still wonder why the hell the US Army left their weapons when they had left the post for re-positioning. A Bigger War strategy or Just a Biggest Mistake by USA and NATO Army? I Report You Decide Via AlJazeeraEnglish
  1 hour ago

• Maj Hasan Slides.pdf (application/pdf Object)

  
  Mcnorman's Weblog — Authority: 439
  MAJHasanSlides.pdf (application/pdf Object).If you know how this works, download it now because soon it will be gone.  Ironic advanced warning of what this jackanape would do in Ft Hood.In a 50-page power point presentation to fellow Army doctors in 2007, Nidal Malik Hasan said the military should give Muslim ...
  2 hours ago

• Gordon Browns Spelling

  
  The New Republic - The Plank Feed — Authority: 146
  Meanwhile, in other Gordon Brown news, the P.M. is involved in a nasty public dispute with the grieving mother of a British solider killed in Afghanistan who didnt appreciate the misspellings in a handwritten condolence note Brown sent her. This is pretty much the definition of a no-win situation for a politician . ...
  3 hours ago

• Afghanistan is neither Vietnam nor Iraq

  
  The AfPak Channel — Authority: 641
  By William Tobey As President Obama contemplates a new strategy in Afghanistan, Washingtonis obsessed with whether the best analogy to the conflict lies in Vietnam or Iraq, with attendant and obviousimplications for policy. Of course, Afghanistanhas little in common with either Vietnamor Iraqin terms of history, ...
  3 hours ago

• Obama Near Decision On Afghanistan Troops

  
  Military News — Authority: 490
   WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is nearing a decision to add tens of thousands more forces to Afghanistan, though probably not quite the 40,000
  4 hours ago

• The dog days of Austin

  
  this is life in austin — Authority: 126
  Army Wives is my secret must-watch-TV. One of the story lines involved a dog called Lucky that saved some of the soldiers lives by barking out a bomb. So the soldiers try to get him home, and he ends up making back to the base in the United States. Google as I might, I could not find a picture. But it’s an ...
  4 hours ago

• Contrary To Media Reports Obama Hasnt Decided on Troops

  
  Today With President Barack Obama — Authority: 450
  Yesterday, CBS and others said Obama had made his decision about how many troops to send. Today, Jim Jones says its just not true: "Reports that President Obama has made a decision about Afghanistan are absolutely false. He has not received final options for his consideration, he has not reviewed those options with ...
  4 hours ago

• Brown Apologizes to Soldier’s Mother Over Letter

  
  NYT > Global Home — Authority: 141
  Prime Minister Gordon Brown expressed his regret to the mother of a British solider killed in Afghanistan after she complained that the condolence note he sent her was full of spelling errors.
  4 hours ago

• Hasan’s Lawyer Speaks Out

  
  Watch your favorite videos on the internet. — Authority: 170
  Harry Smith spoke with Retired Col. John P
  4 hours ago

• More Troops to Afghanistan

  
  Watch your favorite videos on the internet. — Authority: 170
  President Obama has tentatively decided to send thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan per Gen. Stanley mcchrystals request
  4 hours ago

• Against Escalation

  
  The Activist — Authority: 112
  CHRIS MAISANOThe British journalist Johann Hari recently wrote a scathing critique of the fallacies underpinning official propaganda in support of continuing NATO military engagement in Afghanistan. As Hari notes, there are less than one hundred al-Qaeda fighters still left in that country. The Taliban is considered ...
  5 hours ago

• The Prime Minister Who Couldn’t Write Straight

  
  The Impudent Observer - Global Liberal Issues — Authority: 445
  The office of being prime minister of the United Kingdom means one is compelled to deal with deaths of fighting men and women in distant places like Afghanistan. Jacqui Janes, whose son Jamie was killed by an explosion in Afghanistan opened her mail to discover a hand-written letter of condolence from the prime ...
  5 hours ago

• The Newshour interviews Hamid Karzai

  
  The Mediavore — Authority: 482
  Last night, The Newshour broadcast an exclusive interview with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. In this conversation recorded Sunday in Kabul, Karzai talks with The Newshour’s Margaret Warner about the recent election, corruption, and his views on a potential revision in US military strategy in the region. ...
  6 hours ago

• Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo

  
  Bloodthirsty Liberal — Authority: 148
  Obama’s decision-making process in full:Eeny, meeny, miney, mo,Catch a mullah by the toe.If he ululates, let him go,And blame pre-traumatic stress disorder.Senior administration officials tell ABC News that President Obama at his war council meeting tomorrow will assess five different specific strategies for ...
  6 hours ago

• Shorter Question Everything

  
  Question Everything — Authority: 140
  Iran and USIran’s official news agency, IRNA, reports three detained U.S. citizens have been charged with espionage. Tehran’s general prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi said Monday that investigations are continuing. The three Americans were detained on July 31 for entering Iran illegally, after they apparently ...
  6 hours ago

• Why Afghans Oppose the Escalation

  
  Question Everything — Authority: 140
  Leave Afghanistan to the AfghansPATRICK COCKBURN | CounterpunchThe US is poised to send tens of thousands more soldiers to the country. The nature of the conflict is changing. What should be a war in which the Afghan government fights the Taliban has become one which is being fought primarily by the American and ...
  6 hours ago

• WNO - Video: Former Prime Minister Of Spain Jose Maria Aznar Says All Jihadists Are Muslims

  
  Press Releases — Authority: 446
  *** WNO SOUNDBITE ADVISORY *** Video: Former Prime Minister Of Spain Jose Maria Aznar Says All Jihadists Are Muslims. Click for video file: http://washingtonnewsobserver.com/?p=232 Length of Full Interview: 4:29  (1:20) "I am very aware that not all Muslims are jihadists but all jihadists are Muslims. ...
  6 hours ago

• So THAT’S why the U.S. was happy to see Kazai win in Afghanistan?

  
  Vridar — Authority: 415
  According to a report in AKI (Adnkronos International) Kazai’s erstwhile election rival Abdullah was obliged to withdraw from the race when the U.S. swung its full support behind Karzai. That sounds odd given the media publicity at the time over outrageously fraudulent pro-Karzai election officials (some polling ...
  6 hours ago

• ‘Modern Warfare 2′ game sparks battle in Britain (AFP)

  
  Technology Blog — Authority: 169
  AFP - The hotly-anticipated video game “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2″ was launched in Britain on Tuesday amid a political row over its levels of violence.See the rest here: ‘Modern Warfare 2′ game sparks battle in Britain (AFP) a2a_linkname="‘Modern Warfare 2′ game sparks battle [...]
  6 hours ago

• Taliban With U.S. Weapons In Afghanistan

  
  The Political and Financial Markets Commentator — Authority: 497
  What Do You Get If You Keep Sitting On Your Hands Mr. President? You know the punch line to that old joke. When you say that you want to win the war, what exactly does that mean? Slow motion only works in sports replays. You got the vote in the House on healthcare, so now how much longer do we wait for a decision ...
  7 hours ago

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