What is a brief history of Afghanistan in the 1970s till now?

Written on June 18, 2009 by admin

and if you could tell more about why the events that happened happened, that'd be great.
please don't only answer with links.

AFGHANISTAN SINCE THE 1970's
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan
"Since the late 1970s Afghanistan has suffered continuous and brutal civil war, which included foreign interventions in the form of the 1979 Soviet invasion and the recent 2001 U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban government. In late 2001 the United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). This force is composed of NATO troops that are involved in assisting the government of President Hamid Karzai in establishing the writ of law as well as rebuilding key infrastructures in the nation. In 2005, the United States and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both nations to a long-term relationship. In the meantime, multi-billion US dollars have also been provided by the international community for the reconstruction of the country."

THE 1979 SOVIET WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan
"…a nine-year conflict involving Soviet Union forces supporting the Marxist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) government against the Islamist mujahideen resistance. The latter group found support from a variety of sources including the United States, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other Muslim nations in the context of the Cold War. This conflict was concurrent to the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Iran–Iraq War."

THE 2001 U.S.-LED WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afghanistan_(2001%E2%80%93present)
"…which began on October 7, 2001 as the U.S. military operation Operation Enduring Freedom, was launched by the United States with the United Kingdom in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks."

HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT: 2001-PRESENT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamid_Karzai

THE 2004 AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_presidential_election,_2004

THE TALIBAN LEADERSHIP: 1996-2001
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban
"The Taliban is a Sunni Islamist, predominately Pashtun movement that governed Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001…"

THE PERIOD OF WARLORDISM: 1992-1996
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan#Soviet_invasion_and_civil_war
"The USSR continued to support President Najibullah (former head of the Afghan secret service, KHAD) until 1992 when the new Russian government refused to sell oil products to the Najibullah regime."

"Because of the fighting, a number of elites and intellectuals fled to take refuge abroad. This led to a leadership imbalance in Afghanistan. Fighting continued among the victorious Mujahideen factions, which gave rise to a state of warlordism. The most serious fighting during this period occurred in 1994, when over 10,000 people were killed in Kabul alone. It was at this time that the Taliban developed as a politico-religious force, eventually seizing Kabul in 1996 and establishing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."

THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN: 1978-1992
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_Afghanistan

PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC PARTY: COMMUNISM IN 1978
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Democratic_Party_of_Afghanistan

MOHAMMED ZAHIR SHAH: STABILITY UNTIL 1973
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Zahir_Shah

MOHAMMED DAOUD KHAN, PRESIDENT: 1973-1978
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Daoud_Khan#President_of_the_Republic
"On July 17, 1973, Daoud seized power from his cousin (and brother-in-law) King Zahir with the assistance of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (the Parcham party wing). Departing from tradition, and for the first time in Afghan history, Daoud did not proclaim himself Shah, establishing instead a republic with himself as President."

COLD WAR: THE U.S. IN 1979
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan#Republic_of_Afghanistan
"As part of a Cold War strategy, in 1979 the United States government (under President Jimmy Carter) began to covertly fund forces ranged against the pro-Soviet government, although warned that this might prompt a Soviet intervention, (according to National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski)."

Best of luck!

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