Afghanistan Geostrategic Importance

Afghanistan Geo strategical ImportanceWhen Allah had made the quietus of the world, he saw there was a lot of rubbish remaining over, bits and pieces and things that did not fit anywhere else. He collected them all in concert and threw them down on the earth. That was Afghanistan.1 An old Afghan Saying.IntroductionThe Islamic visit of Afghanistan is a landlocked body politic in S tabuh- exchange Asia. It is variously exposit as world located within Central Asia,2South Asia,3or the Middle East.4It is bordered by Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. The geographic entity now known as Afghanistan has a very long history, and has been an ancient focal point of the Silk lane and migration. It is an important geostrategic location, connecting East and West Asia or the Middle East. The land has been a target of various invaders, as well as a source from which local powers invaded neig hbouring roles to form their own empires. Ahmad Shah Durrani created the Durrani conglomerate in 1747, which is considered the origin of modern Afghanistan.5In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a damp dry land in The Great Game played amidst the British Empire and Russian Empire. Due to its strategic placement Afghanistan became the focal point of smart rivalry amidst czaristic Russia and Britain during the nineteenth century. On August 19,1919, undermentioned the third Anglo-Afghan fight, the country regained in dependency from the unite Kingdom over its orthogonal personal business. During the ensuing conflict, the war-weary British relinquished their discipline over Afghan orthogonal affairs by signing the agreement of Rawalpindi in August 19196. In commemoration of this event, Afghans celebrate August 19 as their Independence Day. Afghanistan remained at the centre stage of international politics as a dramaturgy in the cold war games of super powers wit h Pakistan acting as the frontline domain of regular army for channelling its financial, material and military supplies to the Afghan Mujahedeen. Since the late 1970s Afghanistan has experience a continuous state of civil war punctuated by extraneous occupations in the forms of the 1979 Soviet invasion and the 2001 USA led invasion that toppled the Taliban government. Afghanistan has delusive importance due to its potential to stoop the societies and politics in its bordering countries. (Refer bod 1)Historical PerspectiveThe geography of a nation determines its history, politics and the spirit of its people. Afghanistan has been called by many names from being the heart of Asia by the extensive Indian poet Mohamed Iqbal, to the cockpit of Asia by Lord Curzon.7The geo strategic location of Afghanistan has been significant since the early Aryan invasion it being located on the crossroads between the Arabian Sea and India and between the central Asia and South Asia, the countr y has therefore stood guard over the land routes to the Indian subcontinent. Even the ruler of Punjab maharaja Ranjit Singh, had recognised that the key to the protective cover of the plains of India lay in Kabul.8Afghanistan has always remained an discipline of imperial aspirations, differing perceptions and competitions both in medieval and modern times.9Even forward Afghanistan emerged as a geo political entity, the locality had seen competition for influence by the Mongols, Persians, the Mughals as well as local tribal chiefs. Though Afghanistan as a state existed since 1747, its current political borders evolved only toward the end of the live century (1880-1901) as an outcome of rivalry between British India and Tsarist Russia. Creation of a buffer state between the two lusus naturae powers in Asia was a political and military compulsion. Politically speaking, it was the issue of security between British India and Russia that determined Afghanistan as a state more than the featureor of its sovereignty since Afghanistans spatial location denied it the resources for it to be a workable state.10Successive Afghan rulers have maintained constancy by sourcing tax (i.e. plundering) from its neighbours11.Afghanistan played a pivotal role in the security linear perspective during the era of the great game in the Nineteenth century when Russian and British imperial powers seemed to be on a collision business in Central Asia.12The history of Nineteenth century is consequently a history of moves and counter moves on the part of the Russians and the British Empire, which ultimately resulted in the emergence of the land locked Afghanistan as a buffer state in the descent of frontiers. Thus, it was primarily this Great Game being played out in Afghanistan, which resulted in evolving its current political borders, rather than its need for sovereignty. Since its stability was a key factor in maintaining the fragile security difference in the locality, the external powers continued to supply rulers of Afghanistan with as sured resources to sustain control and internal stability. Thus, Afghanistan became the only country to hold off both Russian and British expansion in the last century without aligning itself with either. The personal line of credit of Afghanistans border with Russia commenced in 1887, however Russians never lost sight of the fact that they needed to have their influence in the region, and this led to the signing of the Treaty of Friendship between the two in 192113. The British too, carried out the demarcation of the border with Afghanistan by creating the Durand line, named after Sir Mortimer Durand in 1893, without giving any feeling to the tribal affinities and traditional affiliations.14Geographical LocationAfghanistan is the worlds 41st-largest country (after Burma) and has an area of 245,000 substantive miles. It is landlocked and mountainous, with plains in the north and southwest. Afghanistan with a notic eable sizeable orchis of geometrically regular territorial configuration lies at the intersection of the Indian Sub-Continent (Pakistan), the Middle East (Iran), Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) and China (The Wakhan Corridor).In terms of outside(a) borders, the details are Pakistan (2430 km) Iran (936 km) Tajikistan (1206 km) Uzbekistan (137 km) Turkmenistan (744 km), and China (75 km).The northern and southern portion of Afghanistan is dual-lane by the massive Hindu Kush mountain ranges15. The Pamir Mountains to the northeast also named the ceiling of the world by Marco Polo are the junction between Tajikistan, Afghanistan and China. In the east, the passes in Suleiman mountain range like the famous Khyber Pass have provided overture to the Indian subcontinent.Geo strategical Relevance since solid ground warfare IIThe ring mail World War II saw the collapse of the British colonial rule in the Subcontinent and Soviet compact emerging as a Super Power with USA led western bloc and Soviet Union led eastern communist block16. With the British difference of opinion from India Afghanistan lost its importance, possibly since the western bloc found an ally in Pakistan to counter the Soviet expansion. However, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 brought the country to the glare once again and the strategic balance of the subcontinent was altered dramatically with interference of extra regional powers. The geo strategic relevance of Afghanistan in the above background cannot be overlooked and it gained nurture importance with the breakup of Soviet Union. Infact the country has emerged as a new centre for terrorism.Post Cold War Era and the New Great GameThe withdrawal of Soviet Union from Afghanistan once again altered the geopolitical and geo strategic importance of Afghanistan. The answer power vacuum, infighting among the Mujahedeen commanders, weak government of Najibulla at Kabul, and the lack of United States support to Pakistan, were to a large extent responsible for the state of affairs in Afghanistan. Coupled with an indifferent world community, it formed a sure shot recipe for disaster.Surrounded by two nuclear states (China and Pakistan), a threshold nuclear state (Iran) and having two other nuclear powers in its near vicinity (India, and Russia) places Afghanistan in a difficult situation with its neighbours as well other powers vying to get a foothold in the region to spread their influence in the region and the subcontinent.The emergence of new States in Central Asia in 1991 brought to limelight the vast Hydrocarbon resources available in the region and once again Afghanistan acquired the critical importance of the land route from Central Asia to Arabian Sea. It could be asserted that despite its landlocked location, Afghanistan is important in geo-economic terms too both in terms of substantial deposits of rock oil colour and natural gas (assessed but not tapped) and as a cypher corrid or for Central Asia energy produce.The newly independent states of the Central Asian region have been desperately looking for means of communication to export their oil and gas riches, so as to end their isolation and economic dependence on Russia. Turkmenistans hope of reviving plans to lay the pipeline across war torn Afghanistan to Pakistan and then to India revealed the desperation facing these states.Taliban and the Impact on the Geo Strategic EnvironmentWhen Russia eventually withdrew from Afghanistan, the US-supported Mujahideen took control. Instead continuing the support for the buffer state, Americas subsequent withdrawal from the region caused a power vacuum, allowing sectarian engagements (the Taliban) to contact control. As Afghanistan had been abandoned by both Russian and the West, the Taliban had no interest in acting as buffer, and pursued their own agenda. Afghanistan, apart from being the land bridge to central Asia has also become a substructure to the fundame ntalist ranging from the Jihadis from Kashmir to the Uighur separatists and provided a suitable launch pad for such activities in Central Asia. Afghanistans geo-political and historical background further complicated the situation.The Taliban were initially welcomed by the war torn population since they promised an end to the prevailing anarchy. However, the subsequent point for power and their change in stance from having no political ambitions, to a flat refusal for power sharing pushed Afghanistan into another period of instability. Afghanistan, till declension 2001, can therefore be described as having been a licitly undivided territory of fragmented power17. Soon Taliban as a Host to Al Qaida and its leader, Osama Bin Laden, turned into reality the threat of Islamic Fundamentalism faced by the Central Asian states since 1991. The strengthening of links between militant organisations like Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Al Qaida, the Chechen rebels, Uighur separatists and the Taliban, further compounded the security situation in the region. The bombings of the US embassies in 1998 brought USA and the Taliban on a collision course. However, it was the 11 Sep 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre, which roused the world community and forced them to dole out with the menace be by Taliban and its associates.The Relevance Post 11 Sep 2001The global war on terrorism (GWOT) launched by USA and its allies has added great deal of turbulence in the region. Presence in Afghanistan provides USA an opportunity to influence the region and keep a check on Russian, Chinese, Pakistani, Iranian and the Indian influence, the nuclear states in the region, a job it has already commenced, as is unmixed from the pressure on Pakistan and the Iranians.18The United States however is in a strategic dilemma as it made its Afghanistan strategy totally dependent on Pakistan Armys cooperation. A strategic denouement is underway presently.The United States geopolitically stirs a wi tches cauldron in Afghanistan by giving primacy to Pakistan Armys strategic sensitivities to control Afghanistan19.Any US exit from Afghanistan could create a political vacuum which would most credibly get filled in by Russia, Iran and India.20