Because of its strategic position, control of Afghanistan has always been deemed essential to the dominant regional power of the day despite its rugged and forbidding terrain.
The rise of a pro-Soviet Communist party in the 1970s, with extensive support from the Soviets, soon gave place to a growing conflict with the country’s Islamists and Afghanistan became a key Cold War battleground after thousands of Soviet troops intervened in 1979 to prop up a pro-Communist regime.
Operating from bases in remote mountainous regions and with copious support from the West, the Islamist rebels, known as the ‘Mujaheddin’, were able to fight the Soviets to a standstill. However, the war inflicted enormous damage on the country, from which it has never recovered.
A new political movement, the Taleban (‘students of religion’), with among them Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, led to the withdrawal of the last Red Army troops in February 1989. Soon arguments between the disparate factions within the Mujaheddin were settled with the use of military force and during this period, much of the capital was destroyed. Later, the country was subject to heavy aerial bombardment by the USA following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon buildings on 11 September 2001.
The Taleban’s own policy decisions, the hostility of an uncomprehending outside world, and other factors (including the worst drought for half a century) combined to isolate the country from the rest of the world. Afghanistan’s troubles are far from over; the Taleban are re-emerging as a fighting force in pockets in the south and southeast and much of the country outside Kabul is plagued by local warlords fighting for dominance. The government continues to rely on the presence of thousands of foreign peace-keeping troops to maintain order.
As a result of years of fighting, Afghanistan has very few tourist attractions to offer today. It is estimated that the capital has only managed to preserve a fraction of its historic past. In Damian, the second- to fifth-century Great Buddhas were destroyed by the Taleban in 2001 to international outcry. Around 80% of all roads and bridges have also been destroyed during years of conflict.
Travelers are advised against all but essential travel to Kabul and very strongly advised against all travel to other parts of Afghanistan as the threat to Westerners from terrorist or criminal violence remains high. In addition, there is a widespread danger from mines and unexploded ordnance throughout Afghanistan.
Geography
Afghanistan is a landlocked country, sharing its borders with Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikstan to the north, China to the northeast, Pakistan to the east and south and Iran to the west. On the eastern tip of the Iranian plateau, central Afghanistan is made up of a tangled mass of mountain chains. The Hindu Kush is the highest range, rising to more than 7,500m (24,600ft). The Bamian Valley separates the Hindu Kush from Koh-i-Baba, the central mountain range and source of the Helmand River. To the north and southwest of these mountains, alluvial plains provide fertile agricultural soil. To the northeast is Kabul, the capital. The other major cities are Jalalabad, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat.