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 Technology
  U.S. General Confirms Use of Cyber-Attacks in Afghanistan
  Marine Lt. General Richard P. Mills confirms the use of cyberattacks in a speech at a conference in Baltimore.
  by cblaha / on Aug 25, 2012
• in Technology
  Rise of the Drones
  They are soaring above every trouble spot in the world, just waiting to strike.
  by ztztzt / on Jun 11, 2012
• in Lifestyle
  Addiction in the Ranks, Soldiers and Heroin
  Heroin is becoming a real problem for soldiers in Afghanistan
  by lifeworkscommunity1 / on May 10, 2012

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “afghanistan”

 

• UNHCR 2012 refugee statistics: full data

  
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  More than 45.1 million people were displaced last year, the largest number since 1994 according to the latest UNHCR report. Find out where refugees come from - and where they go • Get the data • More data journalism and data visualisations from the Guardian The total number of people forcibly displayed ...
  17 hours ago

• Afghanistan’s Karzai suspends talks after Taliban, U.S. agree to meet for peace negotiations without him

  
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  KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan president on Wednesday suspended talks with the United States on a new security deal to protest the way his government was being left out of initial peace negotiations with the Taliban meant to find a way to end the nearly 12-year war. The move by Hamid Karzai raises tensions ...
  17 hours ago

• How are those Afghanistan peace talks going?

  
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  How are those Afghanistan peace talks going? Well, yesterday Taliban insurgents attacked an American convoy , and President Hamid Karzai suspended security talks with the U.S. So... not great. Read more...        
  17 hours ago

• The Talibans Qatar office is a positive step, but not a prologue to peace | Michael Semple

  
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  The Talibans establishment of a negotiating team is welcome, but dont expect their talk and fight strategy to end anytime soon The Taliban announcement that they are going ahead with opening their political office in Qatar , as a base from which they can dialogue with all and sundry, is an important development. It ...
  17 hours ago

• VIDEO: Taliban Breaking News: Karzai Suspends Talks With US in Protest

  
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  Karzai suspends Talks with US in Protest. US, Taliban to meet in Qatar for ‘key milestone’ toward ending Afghanistan war. Taliban Signal Readiness to Begin Peace Negotiations This article, “Taliban Breaking News: Karzai Suspends Talks With US in Protest”, is categorized as “World” and its copyright notice ...
  18 hours ago

• VIDEO: Politics Breaking News: Karzai Suspends Talks With US in Protest

  
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  Karzai suspends Talks with US in Protest. Montreal mayor resigns amid corruption charges. G-8 advances on Syrian peace talks Thanks for checking us out. Please take a look at the rest of our videos and articles. To stay in the loop, bookmark our homepage . div#grabpreview {display:none !important;}
  18 hours ago

• “Taliban: We killed 4 U.S. troops at Afghan air base”

  
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  CBS NEWS KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | The Taliban claimed responsibility Wednesday for an attack in Afghanistan that killed four American troops just hours after the insurgent group announced it would hold talks with the U.S. on finding a political solution to ending the nearly 12-year war in the country. The deadly attack ...
  18 hours ago

• Afghanistan: Taliban kill 4 U.S. soldiers after peace meetings are announced

  
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  KABUL, Afghanistan - The Taliban announced they killed four U.S. soldiers and wounded six in an insurgent attack conducted on the Bargram air base with two rockets on Tuesday. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the reports in a statement adding that the explosion caused a major fire in the base. ...
  19 hours ago

• The Taliban must prove they are serious about peace

  
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  Yesterday’s surprise announcement by President Barack Obama that America is to engage in direct talks with the Taliban is a welcome and long overdue development in the decade-long Afghan conflict. As I and others have argued for many years, there is no military solution to the Afghan conflict, even if the sustained ...
  19 hours ago

• Hamid Karzai suspends talks on US-Afghanistan security pact

  
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  President accuses Washington of inconsistent statements and actions with regard to bilateral security agreement The Afghan president has suspended talks on a security pact with the US, accusing Washington of mixed messages regarding peace talks with the Taliban . Hamid Karzais spokesman, Aimal Faizi, said the ...
  20 hours ago

• Hamid Karzai suspends talks on US-Afghanistan security pact

  
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  President accuses Washington of inconsistent statements and actions with regard to bilateral security agreement The Afghan president has suspended talks on a security pact with the US, accusing Washington of mixed messages regarding peace talks with the Taliban . Hamid Karzais spokesman, Aimal Faizi, said the ...
  20 hours ago

• US-Taliban talks set to begin

  
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  And so it was that 12 years of bloody war have culminated in talks with the Taliban, talks which could have averted the war in the first place. Jim Lobe Asia Times 19th June, 2013 WASHINGTON – Nearly 12 years after the United States ousted the Taliban from power, the White House announced on Tuesday […]
  20 hours ago

• Karzai Suspends Talks With U.S. Over Taliban Move

  
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  (KABUL, Afghanistan) — The Afghan president on Wednesday suspended talks with the United States on a new security deal to protest the way his government was being left out of initial peace negotiations with the Taliban meant to find ways to end the nearly 12-year war. The move by Hamid Karzai could derail the peace ...
  20 hours ago

• Taliban Kills 4 US Troops as Talks Announced

  
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  From VOA News The Taliban has claimed responsibility for an attack that killed four U.S. troops in Afghanistan , hours after the U.S. announced it was opening formal talks with the insurgent group. A Taliban spokesman said the group fired two rockets into the Bagram air base on Tuesday. Earlier, the U.S. said ...
  20 hours ago

• Taliban Attack and Afghan Move Cast Pall on Peace Talks

  
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  Within hours of opening an office for peace talks in the Gulf state of Qatar, Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan launched an ambush on an American convoy.        
  21 hours ago

• US Agrees To Meet With Taliban

  
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  Representatives from the United States and the Taliban will meet in the coming days for their first formal talks to try to find a peaceful settlement to the war in Afghanistan, senior US government officials said Tuesday. Speaking on the condition of anonymity during a background briefing, the senior officials from US ...
  21 hours ago

• Afghan Taliban say they killed 4 US troops

  
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  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban claimed responsibility Wednesday for an attack in Afghanistan that killed four American troops just hours after the insurgent group announced it would hold talks with the U.S. on finding a political solution to ending the nearly 12-year war in the country. The deadly attack ...
  21 hours ago

• Afghanistan: Watch what the Taliban do, not what they say

  
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  You don’t need to know much about Afghanistan, the nature of extremist movements or world affairs in general to understand one important principle: Never mind what they say, what are they doing? So while last night the Afghan Taliban released a statement (carefully co-ordinated with the White House) expressing their ...
  21 hours ago

• The U.S. Will Drop Its Demand That The Taliban Renounce Al Qaeda

  
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  The Taliban has repeatedly refused to meet Afghan peace envoys Photo: REUTERS US Drops Demand Taliban Renounce al-Qaeda To Allow Talks To Progress -- The Telegraph America will engage in its first formal direct talks with the Taliban on Thursday, after dropping its long-standing demand that the movement ...
  22 hours ago

• Afghan forces take over security from Nato

  
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  We have kept to our timetable, says Nato chief, but it is thought little will change for foreign soldiers on the ground this week Afghan forces have officially taken control of security across their country, but the showpiece ceremony was more political theatre than military handover. A suicide attack on a top ...
  1 day ago

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