This is an research paper about Afghanistan with reference to the novel ‘kite runner’ by Khaled
Hosseini
In today’s world,what determines the future of a country is politics,or how powerful that
country is. The power is compared in the terms of money, military strength, etc.In the case
of Afghanistan,”political turmoil is responsible for the breakdown of present day
Afghanistan”. The president of the United States of america, Barack Obama along with
other NATO allies had agreed upon the plan to evacuate U.S troops from Afghanistan. But
most of us are unaware of the fact that why did United States invade Afghanistan,and
What role was played by politics in the destruction of Afghanistan. The answer to his
question lies in the long war history of Afghanistan.
The start of the Afghanistan war was marked by the coup that took place during the night
of July 16,1973. Amir and Hassan were scared due to the sound of bomb explosions and
gun firing . They were unaware of the fact that this was just the start of the never ending
war. when Kabul woke up, it saw that Daoud Khan, had ended the king’s rule which had
lasted for over four decades . After establishing a regime over Afghanistan, Daoud khan
tried to playoff the USSR. He was unaware of the fact that the soviet army would invade
Afghanistan and would lead to his death. in addition to this the soviet union established a
communist government in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, it was overthrown by the
Mujahideen groups. These groups particularly were anti - Russia and were supported by
the United States, Pakistan,china,Iran and Saudi Arabia . United states also supported
these groups by supplying stinger missiles. This enabled the Mujahideen to defend against
Sovient Union attack helicopters. Thereby restricting the Russian Forces to destroy
Taliban camps.
The start of the war also impacted the lives of millions of people living in Afghanistan, as
they were forced to leave their motherland . The refugees settled in Pakistan and Iran.
People travelled secretly under cover in the dark to cross the border. As referring to this in
the 'Kite runner', Baba and Amir escaped Afghanistan by travelling in truck. They stayed
in a basement for about a week and then reached their destination by travelling in a fuel
tank . Adding to this, in the novel we could see that Baba hated Russians because they
invaded Afghanistan. They could hear the Russian aircrafts roaring. In the end, the
Russian invasion came to an end . USSR,USA,PAKISTAN and AFGHANISTAN signed
an agreement . The mujahideen groups were successful in overthrowing the communist
government. They then shortly seized control over Kabul. their regional autonomy was
accepted by Pakistan and Iran .Taliban imposed strict islamic laws and punished people
who did not follow them. The harsh treatment of the Taliban is witnessed by Amir when he
when back to Afghanistan,to search for Sohrab.When Farid and Amir reached Kabul, Farid
told Amir to Keep his head down . Farid told Amir that they would find any excuse to kill
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him. In addition to this, they went to the Ghazi Stadium to see a soccer match. They saw
the ruthless killing and the way Taliban is cautious about its laws.
After the world witnessed this, things were not good in america. The 9/11 attacks in New
York . As a result of which American forces invaded Afghanistan . In particular, America
wanted to destroy Mujahideen bases and wanted to take revenge . Therefore,United
States increased its military presence in Afghanistan. This benefited the Afghanistan
military to take hold of Afghanistan. Moreover,United States military also provided the
afghan army essential things like intelligence, air cover, logistical support, etc. After
elections in the United States the newly elected president Barack Obama ensured America
to bring back its soldiers and put an end to this war . Adding to this the american forces
were successful in eliminating the leader of Taliban, Osama bin Ladin . subsequently,Nato
allies also joined the Afghanistan war. In a recent interview U.S. major general Sean s win
dell, told in an interview,"our coalition footprint has shrunk so the Taliban perceives their
initiatives". The question that arises is whether or not United Staes want to leave
Afghanistan? The answer to this is not yet answered because the government are making
plans to post some troops in Afghanistan. The troops would be providing back up to the
afghan troops . The United States is afraid of the fact that it does not want Afghanistan to
go in wrong hands as the new Taliban leader has ended his peace talks with the afghan
government. Afghan troops are hugely depended on international funds to continue its
operations in the valley.
But the facts remains that international powers played a crucial role in determining
Afghanistan future. We can say this by taking the example of super powers like Russia
and the United States invaded Afghanistan for different reasons. For most of the part, the
thing which we can find common is that the invaded Afghanistan because they wanted to
display their power to the world . In addition to this, recent attacks and air strikes on
hospitals gives as a hint that this war is not yet over. With new terrorists organisations
emerging in different parts of the world ,it is difficult to tell whether the world would live in
peace . Above all,it is important for countries to follow international treaties and policies so
as to eliminate terror. As an example, Afghanistan faced war because of political
rivalry.between the King and his brother Daoud Khan. After this,Daoud Khan wanted to
playoff Russia. Thus aggravating Russian forces to invade Afghanistan .This lead to the
interferences of other super powers into the problems of a nation. This made situation
even worst in Afghanistan .As a result of which, this threaten the stability of the country.All
the countries should not engage them in unnecessary conflicts. Politics and warfare have
some connection with each other. Most of the wars start due to weak political stability of
relations with other country. Countries should avoid dirty politics. If these problems are
resolved, then it would make the world a better place to live .
