The Decades-Long War In Afghanistan: A Historical Perspective

Afghanistan has been in a state of near-continuous conflict since the 1970s. The country has been invaded by foreign powers and has experienced internal conflict between different factions.

The Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989) was a major conflict that began when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support the communist government, which was facing an insurgency by Islamic guerrillas known as the Mujahideen. The Mujahideen received support from the United States, Pakistan, and other countries, and the conflict resulted in significant casualties and displacement of the Afghan population.

Following the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, Afghanistan descended into civil war between various Mujahideen factions. The Taliban, an Islamic militia that emerged in the mid-1990s, gained control of Kabul and most of the country by 1996. The Taliban imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law and faced resistance from the Northern Alliance, leading to continued conflict.

The September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001 were carried out by al-Qaeda, which had ties to the Taliban. This led to the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, marking the beginning of a 20-year war against the Taliban and other insurgent groups. The war resulted in significant casualties and displacement, with millions of Afghans becoming refugees.

The war in Afghanistan has had a profound impact on the country, causing immense human suffering and destruction. The country has struggled to rebuild and secure centralized authority, facing a persistent Taliban insurgency and ongoing clashes with other groups.

Afghanistan-Soviet War (1979-1989)

The Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989) was a protracted armed conflict that took place in the Soviet-controlled Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) from 1979 to 1989. The war was a significant conflict of the Cold War, as it involved extensive fighting between the DRA, the Soviet Union, and their allied paramilitary groups against the Afghan Mujahideen and their foreign supporters.

The Soviet Invasion

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, aiming to bolster the newly established pro-Soviet communist regime and suppress the Mujahideen rebellion against the government. The invasion was the only time the Soviet Union entered a country outside the Eastern Bloc. About 100,000 Soviet soldiers seized control of major Afghan cities and strategic locations, clashing violently with Mujahideen rebels and their supporters. The invasion was swift, with Soviet troops taking control of Kabul and large portions of the country within a few days.

The War

The war lasted almost ten years and resulted in enormous casualties and destruction. The conflict quickly settled into a stalemate, with Soviet troops controlling cities, towns, and major garrisons, while the Mujahideen operated with relative freedom in the countryside. The Mujahideen employed guerrilla tactics, launching quick attacks and raids before disappearing into the mountains. The Soviet Union responded by attempting to eliminate Mujahideen support through the depopulation of rural areas, causing a massive exodus of refugees to Pakistan and Iran.

International Involvement

The war was not solely a conflict between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan, but also involved significant international involvement. The Mujahideen received support from various countries, including Pakistan, the United States (as part of Operation Cyclone) , the United Kingdom, China, Iran, and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. The United States, in particular, played a significant role in providing the Mujahideen with weapons and financial resources, eventually turning the conflict into a proxy war between the US and the Soviet Union.

The Withdrawal and Aftermath

By the mid-1980s, the Soviet military presence in Afghanistan had increased to approximately 115,000 troops, and the war effort was taking a heavy toll on the Soviet Union's military, economic, and political resources. In 1987, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced the beginning of the Soviet military withdrawal from Afghanistan, which was completed on February 15, 1989. The withdrawal left a power vacuum, leading to civil war and the eventual rise of the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group that seized control of the country in 1996.

The Soviet-Afghan War had far-reaching consequences. It contributed significantly to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, as the Soviet Union never fully recovered from the financial and public relations losses incurred during the war. Additionally, the war created a breeding ground for terrorism and the rise of Osama bin Laden, who would later launch terrorist attacks worldwide.

Civil war and Taliban rule (1990s)

The 1990s in Afghanistan were marked by civil war and the rise of the Taliban. The civil war began in 1992, following the withdrawal of Soviet forces and the collapse of the Soviet-backed government. The war was fought between various mujahideen groups, most notably Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin, and Burhanuddin Rabbani's Islamic State of Afghanistan. Hekmatyar's forces attempted to seize Kabul, but were driven out by other mujahideen groups. This sparked a multi-sided civil war between the mujahideen factions, with Hekmatyar's group receiving support from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.

By 1996, the Taliban had seized control of the capital city of Kabul and around 90% of the country. The Taliban were a new militia formed with support from Pakistan and ISI, promising to restore order and security. They imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law, curtailing the rights of women and carrying out public executions and amputations. The Taliban's rule was recognised by only three nations: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Taliban's rise to power was opposed by ethnic groups in the north and south, led by Ahmad Shah Massoud's Northern Alliance and Hamid Karzai. Massoud, known as the "Lion of Panjshir", was a legendary guerrilla leader who had successfully resisted the Soviets. In 1998, Massoud was assassinated by al-Qaeda operatives posing as journalists.

The Taliban's rule was short-lived, as they were overthrown by US-led forces in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks.

US-led war in Afghanistan (2001-2021)

The US-led war in Afghanistan (2001-2021) was a response to the September 11 attacks, which were orchestrated by al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden. The US demanded that the Taliban, who were ruling Afghanistan at the time, extradite bin Laden to the US. When the Taliban refused, the US, along with the UK, launched Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7, 2001, marking the beginning of the War in Afghanistan.

The invasion of Afghanistan was swift, with the Taliban surrendering Kabul on November 13 and being toppled by December 17. However, most members of al-Qaeda and the Taliban escaped to neighbouring Pakistan or retreated to remote regions. The US-led coalition set up military bases near major Afghan cities and formed the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), sanctioned by the United Nations, to prevent the Taliban from returning to power.

Despite the initial success of the invasion, the conflict in Afghanistan continued for two decades. The US-led coalition remained in the country, aiming to create a new democratic authority. Meanwhile, the Taliban regrouped and began a widespread insurgency against the new Afghan government and coalition forces. The coalition responded by sending more troops for counter-insurgency operations, with a peak of around 140,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan in 2011.

In 2011, a US covert operation in Pakistan led to the killing of Osama bin Laden. This, along with the realisation that the Taliban could not be eliminated through military means, prompted NATO and the Afghan government to turn to diplomacy to end the conflict. These efforts resulted in the US-Taliban deal in February 2020, which stipulated the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan by 2021.

However, the Afghan government was not a party to the deal, and the Taliban launched a broad offensive in the summer of 2021, coinciding with the withdrawal of US and NATO troops. The Taliban quickly regained control of Afghanistan, capturing the capital city of Kabul on August 15, 2021, and declaring victory. The protracted US-led military presence in Afghanistan came to an end on August 30, 2021, marking the conclusion of America's longest war.

US-Taliban peace negotiations (2018-2020)

The US-Taliban peace negotiations, which took place between 2018 and 2020, were aimed at ending the decades-long war in Afghanistan. The negotiations resulted in the signing of the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan, also known as the US-Taliban deal or the Doha Accord, on February 29, 2020, in Doha, Qatar. The agreement was reached after more than eighteen months and nine rounds of peace talks between US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban's political deputy, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

The agreement outlined four main goals:

• Preventing armed groups from using Afghanistan as a base for attacks against the US and its allies: The Taliban agreed not to threaten the US or its allies and to prevent other armed groups from doing so. They also committed to sending a clear message against cooperating with those intent on such activities.
• Withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan: The US agreed to withdraw all military forces, contractors, and civilian security personnel within fourteen months, provided the Taliban demonstrated its commitment to the agreement. As a show of good faith, the US also committed to initially reducing its troops to 8,600 and withdrawing from five military bases within 135 days.
• Intra-Afghan negotiations: The agreement scheduled the start of negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government for March 10, 2020. The negotiations were dependent on the prisoner exchange between the two parties, with the Taliban releasing 1,000 Afghan security forces and the Afghan government releasing 5,000 Taliban prisoners.
• Agenda for intra-Afghan negotiations: The agenda for the negotiations included discussing a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire and a political roadmap for Afghanistan's future. The US and the Taliban agreed on seeking a post-settlement Afghan Islamic government. The US also pledged to seek economic cooperation from allies and UN member states for Afghan reconstruction and to refrain from domestic interference in Afghanistan.

The US-Taliban agreement was followed by a joint declaration signed by the US, NATO, and the Afghan government in Kabul, Afghanistan, on the same day. This declaration outlined similar goals, including preventing terrorist groups from using Afghanistan as a base for attacks, establishing a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign troops, agreeing on a political settlement, and achieving a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.

While the US-Taliban agreement and the joint declaration were seen as important first steps towards peace in Afghanistan, they did not guarantee the success of intra-Afghan negotiations. The intra-Afghan talks faced challenges due to ongoing disagreements over the prisoner exchange and Taliban attacks on Afghan government forces. However, in March 2020, the Afghan government named a 21-member negotiation team, including five women, for the talks. In May 2020, a power-sharing agreement was reached between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, with Abdullah being named chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation. In June 2020, the Taliban and Afghan government confirmed that the first round of talks would take place in Doha, but the Afghan government emphasised that no agreement had been reached on a location for direct negotiations.

The intra-Afghan negotiations were further delayed due to ongoing violence and disagreements over the prisoner exchange. Finally, in September 2020, representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban officially marked the start of peace talks in Doha.

Post-US withdrawal Afghanistan (2021-present)

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan, which began in 2021, marked the end of the US's longest war in history. The Taliban swiftly took control of the country, and the Afghan government collapsed. The Taliban's victory was facilitated by support from Pakistan.

The US withdrawal was completed on 30 August 2021, with the last US military aircraft departing from Afghanistan. The US had been present in the country since 2001, when it invaded Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 attacks.

The US withdrawal left a power vacuum in Afghanistan, which has had significant consequences for the region. The Taliban's takeover of the country has been met with mixed reactions from the international community. China, Russia, and Iran have adopted a wait-and-see approach, while India has expressed concern about the potential security threats posed by a Pakistan-supported Taliban government.

The Taliban's return to power has raised concerns about the protection of human rights, particularly women's rights, in Afghanistan. The Taliban have imposed strict rules on women, severely restricting their access to education and employment. The Taliban's interpretation of Sharia law has resulted in public beatings and executions.

The US withdrawal has also led to a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, with the country facing widespread famine and economic collapse. Millions of Afghans have been displaced, and the UN has warned that more than half the population faces acute food shortages. The international community has pledged humanitarian aid, but the delivery of assistance has been challenging due to the lack of infrastructure and the Taliban's control of the country.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan has had a significant impact on the region, and the future of the country remains uncertain. The Taliban's ability to govern effectively and address the country's economic and humanitarian crises will be crucial in determining Afghanistan's path forward.

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