The Tragedy of Afghanistan, 1979-2009

· Why has Afghanistan been dubbed “the Graveyard of Empires”? Why have so many major empires tried and failed to conquer this territory?

· Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan? How was this action interpreted (or misinterpreted) in the United States, and how did the war affect superpower relations?

· What lessons did American policymakers take from the Soviet experience when planning Operation Enduring Freedom? Were these the right lessons?

Key Terms

1) April Revolution 4) Taliban

2) Khalq and Parcham 5) Sharia law

3) mujahideen/"dukhi" 6) light footprint

I. From Alexander the Great to The Great Game: Historical Background

· Conquering Empires

o 6^th Century BC – Persian Empire (Cyrus the Great)

o 330-327 BC – Macedonian Empire (Alexander the Great)

o 305-180 BC – Mauryan Period (Buddhism, from Northern India)

o 330-150 BC – Greco-Bactrian Kingdom

o 150 BC-300 AD – The Kushan Empire (from Central Asia)

o 300-650 – Sassanian Empire (Persian)

o 400-568 – Ephthalites (Mongolia)

o 200-800 – Shahi Dynasties (Northern India)

o 642-870 – Islamic Conquest of Afghanistan

o 1220-1504 – Mongol Empire (Genghis Khan [1221], Tamerlane [1383])

o 1500-1700s – Mughal Empire (Babur)

o 1500s-1600s – Safavid Dynasty (Iran)

· Beginnings of the “Afghan State” and European colonialism

o 1709-1738 – Hotaki Dynasty (Pashtun)

o 1747-1823 – Durrani Dynasty (Pashtun)

o 1826-1919 – “The Great Game” (Britain, Russia)

· Kingdom of Afghanistan:

o 1919-1929 – King Amanullah

o 1929-1973 – Kings Nadir Shah and Zahir Shah

· Demography and Languages

II. Political Chaos, 1973-1979

· Republic of Afghanistan – Muhammad Daoud Khan, 1973-1978

· Saur (“April”) Revolution - 1978

· People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan

o Khalq (“The People”) wing: Nur Mohammed Taraki and Hafizullah Amin

o Parcham (“The Banner”) wing: Babrak Karmal

III. The Soviet Invasion and Occupation of Afghanistan, 1979-1989

· Decision to Invade

o Leonid Brezhnev (2) (3)

o Muslims in the Soviet Union

o Initial Successes

· The American Response

o President Jimmy Carter and Zbigniew Brzezinski

o 1980 Summer Olympic Games (1)

· The Soviet Quagmire, 1980-1989

o Mujahideen – “dukhi”

o Mikhail Gorbachev

o Mohammed Najibullah

o Charlie Wilson

o Stinger (1)

o Soviet Exit

IV. The Afghan Civil War and the Rise of the Taliban

· Burhanuddin Rabbani

· The Taliban

· Mullah Mohammed Omar
Sharia law

· Buddhas of Bamiyan (1) (2) (3)

· Osama bin Laden and al Qaida

V. 9/11 and the American War in Afghanistan, 2001-present

· Initial Successes

· Hamid Karzai

· “Light footprint”

· Taliban Resurgent

· Another surge?

Afghanistan: The Graveyard of Empires?