Deep Roots: Understanding Afghanistan and her centuries of war – Part I
The United States, like many other Western nations, has a history accented with great achievements that broke down barriers to the future. These same histories are also bloated with an array of catastrophic failures that are lessons for the ages.
For centuries, foreign policy has been the cornerstone to America’s prominence on the world stage. What once was a predominantly isolationist precedent has now transformed into an overly hawkish tendency. Whether it be through direct involvement with the enemy or power contests conducted through proxy states, the U.S. has made itself both friend and foe to the nations of the world. While just a minute part of its history, this particular nation has tugged at not only the U.S.’ coffers but also its news channels’ chyrons and citizens’ attention.
As the doorway from the Middle East to the rest of Southeast Asia, the Afghanistan region has been conquered and reconquered time and time again, dating as far back as Darius I of Babylonia of the fifth century B.C. Alexander the Great, Mahmud of Ghazni and Genghis Khan are other famous conquerors who had their time with the region as well. But it wasn’t until the 19th century that modern relations began to form between the hotly contested region and the West.
Preceding their independence at the conclusion of World War I, Afghanistan was caught in a strenuous series of engagements known as the Anglo-Afghan Wars. The three conflicts, spanning from 1839 to 1842, 1878 to 1880 and half of 1919, were an attempt by the neighboring British to extend their territory beyond India and to prevent Russian influence in the region.
With the impending fall of the First French Empire at the start of the 19th century, Britain watched Russia grow as their largest imperialist competitor during a time where control over Central Asia meant economic domination. Already having control of their much-prized and wealth-producing India, Britain was seeking to bolster their stance against Russian influence seeping into the region.
“Afghanistan is one of these interesting territories in Central Asia as kind of a transit point between the Middle East,” said Austin Knuppe, a professor of political science at USU with a marked expertise in Middle East politics.
“You think of a country like Iran (formerly Persia) to the west, to the north the former Soviet republics and then Russia, and then to the south South Asia, particularly India,” he said, “So as you mentioned in the 19th century —that is the 1800s —the British and Russians engaged in this, what we call a “Great Game” —basically, two empires vying for colonial control.
Of course, the British controlled India —that was the crown in their empire —and they were worried about Russian encroachment into Afghanistan because that would provide a transit point into India.”After a decade-long civil war, Afghanistan was under new rule with Dost Mohammad Khan establishing the Barakzay Dynasty and declaring himself “emir,” or king, of Afghanistan in 1826. Britain, recognizing that the new, weak government wouldn’t be able to defend itself from a Russian annexation, wanted to put a buffer between itself and a growing Russian ally: Iran. In 1837, the British sent an envoy to the new emir to seek ally ship against the Russians, but negotiations failed at the table.
By this point, Britain determined Khan would need to be ousted. Shah Shuja, the ruler over Afghanistan from 1803 to 1809, had made it well-known he would be a good friend to the idea of British trade routes through Afghanistan if he were to be emir again, and Britain saw Shuja as the solution to their troubles. Just a few years later in 1838, British troops moved into Afghanistan under the guise of aiding Shuja to regain his place on the throne, starting the First Anglo-Afghan War.
The combined British-Afghan army took Afghanistan with minimal trouble and Shuja saw his throne in Kabul return within the year. After spending his exile in British India, however, Shah Shuja took to ruling the country in a way that offended many of the Afghanistan’s peoples. They also saw the large presence of British forces as a threat of a metastasizing British Indian empire.
Upset rebels and a changing political tide in Britain’s 1841 elections began troop withdrawals and loss of funding from the British Indian empire. With a weakened position and an enraged citizenry on their hands, the British saw troops losses and officials besieged as the Afghanistan people tried to drive them out.
Outmanned and outgunned, the British army was completely destroyed, also desecrating the legend of an invincible British military. But even with the British gone, things were not settled in Afghanistan. Shuja was assassinated, leaving a throne that nobody was able to manage for long until, ultimately, Dost Mohammad Khan returned to his spot as emir in 1842.
It took almost half a century for the British to build the courage to take on relationships with Afghanistan again. Meanwhile, Russian presence in the region and their own desire for Afghanistan had grown significantly.
“The Russian Empire, as any great power [wants] to do,” Knuppe said, “was concerned with projecting power in its immediate sphere of influence. And so, historically, [Russia has] always been concerned with Central Asia because it’s part of its near abroad. And so you have a Russian and British competition in the 20th century.”
Britain, thinking Russia would ultimately attempt to take India, attempted to reenter the region. Russia, to Britain’s alarm, had sent an envoy into Afghanistan, but Afghanistan did not permit Britain to send one of their own as a counterbalance. Refusing to let their control of the region disappear, Britain launched the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1878. By early 1879, 40,0000 British forces had effortlessly taken hold of much of the country.
Under the surmise of a quick victory, the Afghanistan leader, Yakub Khan, signed the Treaty of Gandamak which allowed the British to hold a permanent post in Afghanistan and control over Afghan foreign policy, essentially warding off Russia’s hopes of running interference in the region.
Not as strong as the British had anticipated, Khan’s weak leadership allowed rebellions against the British to rise in Kabul, resulting in the destruction of the British diplomatic mission. A retaliatory British force attempted to take Kabul back, but instead they were led to Kandahar to rescue other British forces trapped there. In under 20 days at the peak of summer, the troop of 10,000 men marched almost 300 miles from Kabul to Kandahar in the Afghanistan heat, took back Kandahar and ended the Second Afghan War in 1880. The British resolved with the newly appointed emir, Abdur Rahman, that Afghanistan would only have relations with Britain so long as the British stayed out of Afghanistan’s domestic affairs.
Nearly half a century later in 1914, World War I broke out. Afghanistan, a firm supporter of the Ottoman Empire, was able to maintain a strong policy of isolationism throughout the war under the leadership of Habibullah Khan —until he was killed by anti-British assassins. Amanullah Khan, his son, ascended to emir and became an instant foe of the British by reneging on the Treaty of Gandamak, declaring Afghan independence, and invading the northwest region of India to reclaim the disputed territories west of the Indus River. Amanullah assumed a tired British army, having just left the warfront back home, would be too tired to offer resistance, but the British were able to compete in the multitude of skirmishes brought on by the Afghan army.
After a month of unsuccess, Amanullah declared a ceasefire in the summer of 1919. Both British and Afghan leadership came to the table to sign the Treaty of Rawalpindi, allowing Afghanistan their independence and the ability to conduct foreign affairs independent of theBritish. But, upon completion of the treaty, Afghan leadership also signed a treaty with the Bolshevik regime in Russia, immediately worrying their British neighbors in India for decades to come.
Michael.Popa@usu.edu