What the history of Afghanistan?

Answer 1

Afghanistan, occupying a favored invasion route since antiquity, has been variously known as Ariana or Bactria (in ancient times) and Khorasan (in the Middle Ages). Foreign empires alternated rule with local emirs and kings until the 18th century, when a unified kingdom was established. In 1973, a military coup ushered in a republic.

Pro-Soviet leftists took power in a bloody 1978 coup and concluded an economic and military treaty with the USSR. in December 1979 the USSR began a massive airlift into Kabul and backed a new coup, leading to installation of a more Pro-Soviet leader. Soviet forces fanned out over Afghanistan and waged a protracted guerrilla war with Muslim rebels, in which some 15,000 Soviet troops reportedly died. A UN-mediated agreement was signed April 14, 1988, providing for withdrawal of Soviet troops, a neutral Afghan state, and repatriation of refugees. Afghan rebels rejected the pact. The Soviets completed their troop withdrawal February 15, 1989; fighting between Afghan rebels and government forces ensued. Communist President Najibullah resigned April 16, 1992, as competing guerrilla forces advanced on Kabul. The rebels achieved power April 28, ending 14 years of soviet-backed regimes. More than 2,000,000 Afghans had been killed and 6,000,000 had left the country since 1979. Following the rebel victory there were clashes between moderates and Islamic fundamentalist forces. Burhanuddin Rabbani, a guerrilla leader, became president June 28, 1992, but fierce fighting continued around Kabul and elsewhere. The Taliban, an insurgent Islamic radical faction, captured Kabul in September 1996. The Taliban executed former president Najibullah and empowered Islamic religious police to enforce codes of dress and behavior that were especially restrictive to women. Rabbani and other ousted leaders fled to the north. Victories in the northern cities of Mazar-e Sharif, August 8, 1998, and Taloqan, August 8-11, gave the Taliban control over more than 90% of the country. On August 20, US cruise missiles struck southeast of Kabul, hitting facilities the US said were terrorist training camps run by a wealthy Saudi, Osama bin Laden. The UN imposed sanctions November 14, 1999, when Afghanistan refused to turn over bin Laden to the US for prosecution; a UN ban on all military aid to the Taliban took effect January 19, 2001. After the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the US, blaming bin Laden, demanded that the Taliban surrender him and shut down his Al-Qaeda terrorist network. When the Taliban refused, the US, with British assistance, began bombing Afghanistan October 7, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Answer 2

TERRORISM !