I always follow world events, particularly news that involves the sending of our troops to hotspots around the globe. Though I've heard a lot about Afghanistan, it never entered my mind to look more deeply into the historical events that define the country.
The country is known for its symbol, the
Afghanistan flag composed of three vertical bands, black, red and green. A national emblem in white is at the center overlapping the side bands and it features a mosque with pulpit and flags on either side and below is a solar year 1298. Further the emblem is framed by sheaves of wheat, by an inscription (Shahada - the Muslim creed) at the upper center, and the rays of the sun in its lower center.
In 1747, through Shah Durrani founded Afghanistan by unifying the Pashtun tribes and it served as buffer between the British and Russian Empires, it declared independence in 1919. A coup in 1973 ended a brief experiment in democracy, then a 1978 communist counter-coup was staged. To support the fragile communist regime at the time, the USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979.
The USSR eventually withdrew in 1989 after a long and disastrous war with the anti-communist mujahedin rebels and it was followed by bloody subsequent civil wars, which was finally won by the Taliban, a hard line Pakistani sponsored movement. Under the Talibans, anarchy followed and no end of oppression is in sight.
But through the United Nations political reconstruction was started, a new constitution was put into effect, a president was elected in 2004 and the elections for the National Assembly was made in 2005. But, the Talibans resurfaced continuing the saga of insurgency.
And to protect the emerging democracy, soldiers around the world were dispatched to help.
by:
The Flagman
