The Legacy of Afghanistan’s Civil War

The Legacy of Afghanistan’s Civil War

Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, President Bush declared, and subsequently launched an attack on "the axis of Evil". National, as well as international spotlight shifted to Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden, the presumed mastermind behind the September 11 attacks, was believed to be harbored. In the following months, Afghanistan became embroiled, for the second time in a century, in yet another major war.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, completely shocked and terrified Americans, many of whom had previously felt themselves immune to such unthinkable acts of violence. It, too, had the effect of raising questions, questions like: “why America? Who were these terrorists and for what reason would they sacrifice their own lives? What is the nature of Afghanistan’s involvement in these attacks and who, exactly, is Osama Bin Laden?”

In the aftermath of these attacks, I found myself among the majority of Americans struggling to find answers to these questions. Like most Americans, I knew next to nothing about the country of Afghanistan, our country’s involvement in its civil war during the years 1979-1988, or the legacy this involvement left there. My hopes in commencing the research for this paper was to learn more about the country of Afghanistan itself and the nature of the United States’ involvement in it, especially during the years 1979-1988. What this paper intends to show is the evidence of all this research: that, the legacy of United States involvement in the Afghanistan Civil War, and missteps made in our country’s foreign policy during these years was, in part, responsible for fostering the anti-American sentiment which so tragically culm...

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