Afghanistan
by Armando
Geography
Size: 251, 825
Neighboring Countries:
There's 5 and they are, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan
Afghanistan's highest mountains are the Noshaq.
Afghanistan's longest River is the Amu Daryu and it's 879 miles.
Afghanistan's largest city is Kabul w/ a population of 2,043,532.
Climate: Winter's are cold and snowy. Summer's are hot and dry. Most of Afghanistan is mountain climate but the lowlands have arid and semiarid climates.
History!
- Located along the Silk Road, Afghanistan has been the crossroads of Asia since ancient times, subjecting it to invasion and attempts by many to control or pacify the region's inhabitants.
- Founded in 1747, Afghanistan's modern roots are in the Durrani Dynasty and during the Durrani rule, the country became caught in the 19th century struggle between the Russian and British empires.
- The Durand Line established the modern eastern border of Afghanistan, and divided Pashtun tribal lands.
- Britain maintained nominal control until Afghanistan's independence in 1919.
- Afghanistan lost several eastern provinces to Britain that later became part of Pakistan.
- In 1978, Afghan communists staged a military coup and overthrew the Republic of Afghanistan government, and during this time reforms were instituted that were strongly opposed by devout Muslim citizens.
- Backing the Afghan communist government, Soviet troops invaded in 1979, resulting in the Soviet-Afghan War that killed 1.5 million and drove 6 million refugees into Pakistan and Iran.
- Soviet army finally withdrew in defeat in 1989 -1990. Shortly after, factions began fighting each other for control of the country.
- The Taliban (students), punished commanders from other groups for atrocities committed against civilians during the Soviet Occupation. In 1996, the Taliban captured Kabul and controlled 90 percent of the country by the year 2000.
- Support for the Taliban slipped after it imposed strict laws based on their interpretation of Shari'a (Islamic law).
- Opposing militias joined forces as the Northern Alliance. The September 11th terrorist attack caused the U.S. to join with the Northern Alliance in ousting the Taliban.
- The Northern Alliance and U.S. won control of Kabul with significant progress made since the Taliban were deposed in 2001.
- Daunting challenges still exist, but NATO forces continue to work in partnership with Afghan security forces to combat Taliban and al-Qaeda elements
Taken from: http://uwf.edu/atcdev/afghanistan/History/Summary.html
Politics!
Pashtuns pratke 40% of Afghanistan's population, but take majority of the politics. Tajiks are the second largest group. Tajiks can bring non-Pastuns to their side if they wish.
Culture!
Afghanis has vast amounts of ethnicities and tribes.
Woman are generally responsible for household duties and are not found at professional workplaces.
Taken from: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/afghanistan.html