Afghanistan

                  The last four decades in Afghanistan have been defined by a near-constant state of war and destruction. Beginning in December 1979, Afghanistan was invaded by Soviet troops aiming to support the current communist government in its fight against the mujahideen, Muslim anti-communist guerillas, marking the start of the Afghan War. The Soviets possessed superior technology, however, the communist government lacked popular support and the mujahideen rebels had the aid of the United States. Before long, the Soviets controlled many major urban areas, however, the mujahideen remained strong in the rural areas. Consequently, the Soviets began bombing campaigns in the Afghan countryside, sending over four million citizens fleeing into the neighboring states of Pakistan and Iran, beginning the refugee crisis that is still occurring today. As the Soviet Union weakened in the late 1980s, the fight in Afghanistan became more and more futile, and the Soviets withdrew in in February 1989, ending the Afghan War.

                  In the absence of Soviet occupation, warlords vied for control over Afghanistan in the early 1990s. Eventually in 1995, a new militia group, the Taliban, rose to power with popular support on the promises of peace and traditional Sunni Islamic values. Between 1995 and 1999, drought and famine caused over one million refugees to flee to Pakistan.

                  On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists from the Islamic militant group al-Qaeda hijacked 4 planes in the United States. Two planes were crashed into the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and the fourth was targeting the Capitol Building in DC before passengers overcame the hijackers and directed the flight into a field in Pennsylvania. At the time, al-Qaeda was operating out of Afghanistan under the leadership of Osama bin laden. After the Taliban refused to turn bin Laden over at the United States’ demand, the US launched Operation Enduring Freedom, beginning the U.S. War in Afghanistan.

                  The U.S. War in Afghanistan followed a similar trajectory as the Afghan War. Initially, the U.S. met little resistance in expelling the Taliban from major urban areas, namely Kabul and Kandahar. Reconstruction efforts to create a western democratic government in Afghanistan also began smoothly. However, like the Soviets, the U.S. was unable to stamp out the militant threats in rural areas, and guerilla tactics made for a long and bloody war. After twenty years, $2.3 trillion of spending, and the deaths of 47,000 civilians, conservatively, the government that the U.S. had built collapsed to the Taliban in less than ten days.