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Kabul, A Microcosm

Kabul, A Microcosm. Claire Morris Nowacky, 3rd March 4, 2013. Intro to Kabul. Capitol of Afghanistan Generally considered to be a mirror for the struggles of Afghanistan, nationwide (microcosm). Situated at the meeting of North-South and East-West trade routes (14 Kabul). Social Structure.

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Kabul, A Microcosm

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  1. Kabul,A Microcosm Claire Morris Nowacky, 3rd March 4, 2013

  2. Intro to Kabul • Capitol of Afghanistan • Generally considered to be a mirror for the struggles of Afghanistan, nationwide (microcosm). • Situated at the meeting of North-South and East-West trade routes (14 Kabul).

  3. Social Structure • Women’s rights are currently being promoted, especially with regards to education. They are no longer a separate class (14 Kabul). • Intellectuals, or even those citizens who are literate, are on the rise. Their class has begun to form. • Religious leaders remain important, especially in the countryside surrounding Kabul, but they have become less of a higher class unto themselves (Bashiri).

  4. Demographics • 3.5 million+ populous (World Factbook) • Ethnicities: 45% Tajik, 25% Hazara, 25% Pashtun, 2% Uzbek, 1% Baloch, 1% Turkmen, 1% Hindu (Hiebert) • Languages: Dari, Pashto, lingua franca = Afghan Persian • Religions: majority Muslim (85% Sunni, 15% Shi’a), minorities of Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs (14 Kabul)

  5. 2013-50=1963 50 Years Ago • 1963- Afghanistan is an imperial country. Its king: Mohammad Zehir Shah. • 1973- Prime Minister Dauod Khan holds a bloodless coup, becoming Afghanistan's, and Kabul’s, first president. • Khan is already forming bonds between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union, simultaneously severing those with Pakistan (Kabul History).

  6. Role in the Cold War(1978) Communism • The Saur Revolution brings the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), a communist group to power. • Almost immediately war between the PDPA group and the Mujahideen, an Islamic fundamentalist group, breaks out. • The communists are supported by the Soviet Union, and the Mujahideen by Pakistan (Kabul History).

  7. Role in the Cold War (1979) • American forces begin to assist the Islamic radicals, the Mujahideen, in the fight against communism. • The Soviets enter Afghanistan on December 23, assassinating the current PDPA president, and instituting a communist government of their own. • American funding to the Mujahideen, estimates reaching into the tens of billions, helps to continue the strife of the Cold War in Afghanistan for years to come (14 Kabul).

  8. Rise of the Radicals • 1989- The Soviet Union withdraws troops from Afghanistan, but continues to support president Mohammad Najibullah until 1992. Without foreign aid, the Afghani government wis bound to fall. • 1992- The Islamic State of Afghanistan is formed, but its attempts at “sharing power” lead to a torn and corrupted Afghanistan ruled by regional warlords. This could be seen particularly in Kabul, then a city of lawlessness. Islamic Power Grows

  9. Kabul: Heart of Transition The Center of Political Power in Afghanistan • 1994- The several groups fighting for control of Kabul are halted, courts began to work again. The Islamic State is taking action • 1995- The Taliban begins to bomb Kabul, but suffer great losses at the hands of the Islamic State. • 1996- Aided by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the Taliban takes Kabul completely on September 27, establishing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (And previous slide: Bashiri).

  10. Taliban • As Islamic racialists, the Taliban imposed harsh rules upon the people of Afghanistan, with even harsher punishments. Women were targeted specifically. • About 400,000 people were killed by the Taliban and in battle as the group tried to gain control over Afghanistan since 1990. • The Taliban was closely connected with Al Qaeda, and its leader, Osama bin Laden, who was thought to be behind the 9/11 bombings.

  11. Foreign Intervention • October, 2001- British and American forces, among others, intervened in Afghanistan through Operation Enduring Freedom. • The United States was also bombing Afghanistan from the sea at this time. • Taliban forces fled to the countryside on Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, where they could hide out. • 2004- With assistance form the UN, president Hamid Karzai was democratically established (And previous slide: Kabul History).

  12. Recovery (2011) • About 5 million Afghani refugees are currently being targeted for assistance. • Osama bin Laden is killed, many other Al Qaeda leaders are assassinated in response (14 Kabul). • Disputes over the Pakistan-Afghan borders climax when Pakistan bombs Kabul. • Blame is placed on the Haqqani Network, an Islamic group connected to the Pakistani government. On October 16th, Operation Knife Edge attempted to remove then from Eastern Afghanistan (Haqqani Network).

  13. Summary in Pictures Kabul, days after the Saur Revolution. King Mohammad Zehir Shah Daoud Khan ruled Kabul in what many refer to as a “Golden Age” (14 Kabul). Taliban officials beat a women for removing her burka part-way in public. Mujahideen fighters

  14. Najibullah Kabul in ruin. By 1993, the city had no power, water, electricity, or heat of any kind. It was primarily chaos (Bashiri). American troops during Operation Enduring Freedom.

  15. Works Cited • “14 Kabul.” 14 Kabul. N.p., n.p. Web. 01 Mar. 2013 • Bashiri, Iraj. Afghanistan: An Overview. N.p., 2002. Web. 01Mar. 2013. • The CIA World Factbook 2009, New York: Skyhorse, 2009. Print • “The Haqqani Network.” Institute for the Study of War. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2013 • Hiebert, Fredrick T. “Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from Kabul.” Veranda 1 Sapt. 2008: n. pag. Print. • “Kabul History.” History of Kabul. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.

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