Afghanistan experienced a period of stability between 1933 and 1973. At that time, the country had not taken a position with regard to the Cold War Blocs. Since 1919, there has been a simmering border conflict with Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s monarchy was overthrown in 1973 and the Republic of Afghanistan was born. However, the Communist Party overthrew the government during a 1978 coup d’État. On September 5, 1978, the USSR and the new Afghan government signed a cooperation agreement.
The new government organized a cultural revolution intended to eradicate religious ways of thinking. The measures implemented during the cultural revolution included debt cancellation, loan-shark elimination, agricultural reform, the dowry bans, permission to divorce, and literacy. The population opposed the reforms which increasingly threatened the government.
With popular unrest growing ever stronger, the USSR initiated an armed intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979. Its purpose was to prevent a popular uprising from causing the downfall of the Communist government. The USSR sent 100 000 soldiers.
The Soviet government justified its action by claiming that they were fighting against fundamentalism. The USSR’s actions provoked a strong rise in the Afghan resistance, especially among Muslim fundamentalist groups.
Western countries were concerned by the invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet armies. These countries interpreted the USSR as having expansionist intentions. In the face of this new Soviet threat, the United States reacted by funding Islamist guerrillas present in the region. The UN reacted by insisting on the withdrawal of Soviet troops, which were increasingly entrenched in Afghan territory.
The agreement between the United States, the USSR and Afghanistan was officially signed on May 1, 1988. The USSR agreed to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan and to stop interfering in its politics.
Fundamentalist Islamic groups were developing and expanding their influence during this time. Little by little, one of these groups, the Taliban, took power in the largest Afghan cities. The Taliban took control of Kandahar in 1994 and Kabul in 1996. Once in power, they established military political power. They also imposed Islamic law, creating a state supported by gender discrimination.
After the Gulf War, U.S. troops were present throughout the Middle East. In order to fight American forces, some Muslim fundamentalist groups began to perpetrate acts of terrorism, targeting areas of American interest.
A severe drought caused famine in Afghanistan in 1999. The Taliban military regime did nothing to improve the situation. Although the UN sanctioned the Taliban regime, no real improvement resulted.
At the beginning of 2001, in the name of Islam, the Taliban destroyed gigantic statues of the Buddha which were more than 1500 years old. These statues were on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Western world was shocked by this event and started to view the Taliban regime differently.
Western countries began to criticize the lack of openness of the Islamic regime and the censorship it imposed. The regime severely curtailed freedoms, restricting music, dance, cinema and clothing styles. Women’s freedoms were even more limited. One of the terrorist groups, supported by the Taliban and led by Osama Bin Laden, was accused of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City.