An Interesting Place

Afghanistan’s history goes back some 5000 years.  Some tribes, like the majority Pashtuns, go back that far and many trace their roots to Alexander the Great.  Its been a melting pot for many of the great civilizations, Persian, Turkish, Indian and Chinese and often seen as a frontier to be exploited.  Afghanistan was never the destination for the great empires, but it had to be tamed to get through it.  

Afghans were Buddhists, Zoroasterists and practiced many other religions until Islam came early on in the late 600s CE given its trading crossroads, but it took nearly 200 years to be converted.  The major empires; Persians, Greeks, Mongols, Timur-E-Lane, Turks, British, Soviets and others had a crack at this place and all with limited success, mostly by controlling at the major population centers.  The Afghans will remind you the outer rural provinces were never conquered. 

The new Afghan government is working on reforms and economic growth strategies to bring this country into the global family, but the rural areas make up 80% of the population and who stubbornly cling to their tribal ways.  They tell us the Afghan modernists/elites yearn for the golden era (1930s -1970s) and would like us to help them (Kabul at least) return to it, but in reality, back then Kabul’s influence and modernism only went as far as the pavement.  And so it is today.  What will success look like? Personally, if the Central government can show that its trustworthy and the Army can hold its own against the Taliban, then reconciliation and stability have a chance. I’m here to help with the first two.