It is difficult to do justice to Afghanistan’s rugged and forbidding terrain. The same might apply to the survival instincts of Afghans, honed by centuries of conflict
and hardship.
The country’s strategic location, nestled between the Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent along
the ancient Silk Road, has drawn various foreign powers into ill-fated military campaigns. When the Soviet Union invaded in 1979, Afghanistan became a key Cold War battlefield. Civil war followed the USSR’s exit as tribal and ethnic groups sought to fill the power vacuum. The Taleban eventually prevailed and imposed a very oppressive version of Islam, which brought
stability of a sort.
After September 11, 2001, the Taleban’s harbouring of Osama Bin Laden made Afghanistan a focal point for the US-led War on Terror. Combined with periods of severe drought, the conflict has further damaged Afghanistan’s progress and brought new hardships to ordinary Afghans. Elections in 2009 and 2010 were highly flawed, and Afghanistan’s leaders have struggled to exert control beyond Kabul. Widespread insecurity prevails.