Graham Afghanistan: A Canadian Story 2001-2014

As Told By the Men and Women Who Served
1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-1-68222-716-9
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 272 Seiten

Canada's largest overseas commitment is Joint Task Force Afghanistan, the formation comprising all Canadian forces personnel and assets deployed in Southwest Asia. Canada has one over-arching objective: to leave Afghanistan to Afghans in a country that is better governed, more peaceful and more secure. The wonderful men and woman you will meet within these pages worked tirelessly to make this happen. This is their story.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Graham, Melanie

Leseproben

A Brief History of the Afghan People

It is important to preface Afghanistan: A Canadian Story with a brief look at the unique history, culture, and defining landscape of the Afghan people.

The origins of the Afghan people are both diverse and obscure. The population, as of a July 2011 estimate, stands at just under 30,000,000. Roughly two and a half million of this is made up of nomads who have for centuries, possibly millennia, moved annually with their herds and flocks between the plains and the uplands. It is a population of 20 or so main ethnic groups (more than 50 overall), possessed of distinct ethnic, physical and linguistic differences. The majority can speak at least one of the two official languages, Pashto and Dari, but there are over 30 different current languages in use.

The word Afghan has, until recently, been synonymous with Pashtun, the name of the country’s largest (nearly half the population) and dominant ethnic group. The Pashtun tribe is further subdivided into a large number of sub-tribes the most dominant of which is the Durranis (formerly the Abdalis) from which comes the Afghan royal house, and the Ghilzai.

Both sub-tribes live to the south of the country and have traditionally been antagonistic towards one another, with the Durrani dominating.

The Pashtun overall are a proud and aggressive, highly individualistic tribe. Theirs is a familial and tribal society with predatory habits. They adhere to an ethos, called Pashtunwali, that is part feudal, and part democratic, combining an uncompromising Muslim faith with a simple code of conduct. The rigidity of this code has relaxed somewhat over time but still maintains social obligations of revenge (badal), hospitality (melmastia), and sanctuary (nanawati) that continue to guide conduct. Questions of honour (namus) specifically as they relate to economics or politics frequently result in private vendettas and collective conflict that are recognized as an integral part of Pashtun life.

Pashtun society overall is highly parochial, fiercely independent and resistant to outside influence. Prior to the establishment of the Durrand Line in 1893, which established the border of Afghanistan with British India, the Pashtun people extended their territory well in to what is now the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan.

“Shura Shura Shura.” Photo by Leroy Larson

The sub-tribes and clans of the Pashtun are called khels and the leaders of these khels are called khans. They often hold their positions by hereditary right but there are no firm rules of succession so factionalism is a dominant theme. The authority of the khans is competitive among the sub-tribes and clans and is largely dependent on the success of their leadership qualities. The only moderating influence is that of the assembly of elders, called the Jirga. This assembly can occasionally expand participation to all the adult males.

The passage of time has seen the control of the khans find further expression in economic power resulting in something of a feudal system. The underlying ethic of equality, however, remains, with every adult male being entitled to participate in the jirga and contribute to the decision-making process.

The Pashtun have long been expansionistic, generating long-standing antagonism between themselves and many of the other tribes of Afghanistan. Regional differences as a result, are significant. The towns and villages that are home to over 75 per cent of the population are largely self-sufficient, however, and the inhabitants have long been accustomed to run their own affairs with little interest or even tolerance for outside interference. Local economies are based on subsistence-level agriculture and animal husbandry.

Religion has also played a central role in shaping the political culture of Afghanistan. Islam is practiced by 99 per cent of the population in Afghanistan and is both the national religion and the basis of the Afghan culture and values. Dominated by Sunni Muslims (80 per cent) it is likely the closest thing the country has to a unifying concept. Islam has superimposed itself on the ethnic diversity of Afghanistan, becoming the primary focus of loyalty. The imams or mullahs, as the spiritual leaders of Islam, have considerable influence, which can include ritual, juridicial, medical and educational roles at village and tribal levels.

For all their local and regional power, however, the imams or mullahs are at the bottom of the religious hierarchy. Next up the chain are the ulema or maulvis, the scholars of Islamic Law and tradition, and the qazis and muftis, who exercise judicial functions.

Afghanistan is a nation of contradictions. As a people they share a fierce devotion to freedom and can carry hospitality to embarrassing heights in accordance with the tribal ethos called Pashtunwali. They are, however, consistently and relentlessly formidable and indomitable enemies when they perceive that they have been affronted or wronged. As a people they also share a long history of conflict. They have consistently been invaded, subject to battles, sieges, vendettas, assassinations and massacres.

Whenever the Afghans weren’t enduring or resisting invasions they kept in good martial practice fighting among themselves.

Understanding the history of Afghanistan is as much a lesson in geography as it is in politics or history. It is situated at the eastern-most part of the great Iranian plateau and tucked under the nearly impenetrable arc of the Himalayas. As such it represents the primary land conduit among the great empires of Central Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the Indian subcontinent.

Afghanistan, long a crossroads in world events, entered decline with the emergence of viable and reliable global sea power. This loss of status as an essential highway between civilizations turned Afghanistan into a veritable no-man’s-land. It was still critical territory to the great empires, but now for negative reasons. The 19th Century saw the start of what would become called the Great Game, where the world’s dominant sea power, Great Britain, engaged Russia, the then pre-eminent land power, in a contest for control of Afghanistan. Neither side had any significant interest in the country itself, in its people or resources. Its only value was that of a buffer between the two great nations.

The landscape of Afghanistan, where it is not made up of jagged, tiered rows of mountain ranges, is largely desert. Much of the meagre arable land is little more than seasonal pasture. This very rugged environment makes for a natural defence whether on a national, regional or local level. Afghanistan may be readily invaded, but as the British and Russians, and now NATO forces, know all too well, it is far more difficult to hold. For the people of Afghanistan, it has often proved just as difficult to hold together.

With readily defensible communities and a highly mobile people devoted to freedom, the Afghan mountain tribes are also excellent warriors and predators able to participate with devastating skill in collective defence, civil war or expeditions for plunder. Afghanistan has, as a result, never been held down by a foreign power, but it also appears to be incapable of national unity unless faced with a significant foreign threat. In the absence of external threat, they have shown themselves to be inclined to intertribal conflict and feuding. The freedom they hold so dear is not the sort they see as readily provided by any central government or national declaration of rights. It is an individual and community-based freedom of ancient derivation with little inclination to be bothered with government at all.

The other aspect of Afghan physicality that impacts on political culture is the absence of reliable and accessible transportation. The mountain tribes may be isolated by high rock walls and deep valleys, but desert and an almost complete absence of consistently navigable rivers also act as effective barriers between regions and tribes.

To make matters worse, the Afghan people have historically been disinclined to develop a significant transportation infrastructure. The country has one of the worst road systems in the world and has absolutely no rail system. Landlocked, Afghans must travel over 2,000 kilometers over rugged and unforgiving terrain to reach the nearest seaport. The air transport industry, furthermore, has a weak institutional framework and has no operational regulatory mechanisms. The end result is that significant portions of the Afghan population are physically cut off from both one another and any sense of a centralized governing authority.

Zahir Shah established contemporary Afghanistan, but was overthrown in 1973 by Daoud Khan and the Afghanistan Communist Party. Daoud Khan abolished the monarchy, declared himself president and established the Republic of Afghanistan. In 1978 there was a bloody communist coup, a treaty of friendship was signed with the Soviet Union and Soviet tanks rolled in to Afghanistan on December 25, 1979. The reforms introduced following the invasion were profoundly at odds with traditional Afghan values and were deemed to be anti-Islam. Every Afghan, as a result, was obliged to oppose both the reforms and their advocates, the Afghan communist leaders and their Soviet patrons. Children of the resulting tide of Afghan refugees who fled for the security of Pakistan would become the Taliban. The Afghans who remained to wage a passionate nationalist war against foreign occupation, the U.S.-funded warriors of Jihad, would become the Mujahideen.

Shy girl. Photo by Leroy Larson

When the Soviets departed in defeat February...