Afpak Crisis

Afghanistan:

Political History: Ahmad Shah Durrani unified the Pashtun tribes and founded Afghanistan in 1747. The country served as a buffer between the British and Russian empires until it won independence from notional British control in 1919. A brief experiment in democracy ended in a 1973 coup and a 1978 Communist counter-coup.

The Soviet Union invaded in 1979 to support the tottering Afghan Communist regime, touching off a long and destructive war. The USSR withdrew in 1989 under relentless pressure by internationally supported anti-Communist mujahedin rebels.

Subsequently, a series of civil wars saw Kabul finally fall in 1996 to the Taliban, a hardline Pakistani-sponsored movement that emerged in 1994 to end the country's civil war and anarchy. Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, a US, Allied, and anti-Taliban Northern Alliance military action toppled the Taliban for sheltering Osama bin Laden.

The UN-sponsored Bonn Conference in 2001 established a process for political reconstruction that included the adoption of a new constitution and a presidential election in 2004, and National Assembly elections in 2005.

On Dec. 7, 2004, Hamid Karzai became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan. The National Assembly was inaugurated on Dec. 19, 2005.

Economic Snapshot:

Unemployment Rate: 40%

Population below poverty line: 53%

Inflation Rate: 16.3%

Find out More:

“Rebuilding Afghanistan” (CBS News)

CBS News Fast Facts:

UPDATE: Obama chose Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry as the new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. Eikenberry is the former Commander of the Combined Forces Command in Afghanistan and currently is the deputy chairman of the NATO military committee in Brussels, Belgium.

President Obama has ordered the increase of 17,000 troops in Afghanistan, in addition to the 36,000 troops already there. He has also mentioned the possibility of talks with more moderate elements of the Taliban and his administration is working to get more NATO partners involved in the War in Afghanistan.

Pakistan:

Of the 172 million population, 95% of Pakistan is Muslim.

Pakistan is the world’s only Muslim nuclear power.

Only 49.9% of the country is literate

Economic Crisis: The government was forced to borrow $7.6 billion from the IMF last year and has said it will need $4.5 billion more. The government predicts the economic growth in the year ending June 30 will be 2.5 percent, down from 5.8 percent last year.

Time Line:

2007: President Pervez Musharraf fires 60 senior Supreme Court judges including the then-chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and declares martial law. Assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

2008: President Pervez Musharraf resigns.

2009: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was banned from running for public office by the Supreme Court, backed by his rival President Zardari. Sharif has backed protests by lawyers and judges to insist on the reinstatement of judges fired by Musharraf. The protestors are being arrested and detained. Many are concerned that the country cannot take the challenge from the opposition right now and that the insurgency can use the period to launch another attack, like the recent attack on a Sri Lankan cricket team.

Many fear that Pakistan is a failed or failing state and that nuclear weapons will get into the hands of the insurgency.

Guest Resources:

Response of Larry Korb to “How to ‘Win’ in Afghanistan” (by Larry Korb, National Journal National Security Expert Blogs, 2/24/09)

“Conflict Between Pakistan’s Political Rivals Prompts Protests, Turmoil” (by Ravi Khanna, Voice of America, 3/4/09)

Friends Committee on National Legislation letter to President Obama on Afghanistan War

Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq (2007)

“Focus on Kashmir” (by Stephen Kinzer, The Guardian, 12/16/08)

Rethink Afghanistan (by Brave New Films, featuring Stephen Kinzer and Carl Conetta among others)

Index of Failed States – Afghanistan ranks 7 and 9 in list of countries that are unstable, both are listed as “Critical” (by Pauline Baker, Foreign Policy, July/August 2008)

Mandate for Change (A project of Institute for Policy Studies, various authors including Erik Leaver, 2009)

“Afghanistan Policy Outlook: 2009” (by Erik Leaver, Foreign Policy in Focus, 3/12/09)

“The U.S. and Afghan Tragedy” (by Stephen Zunes, Foreign Policy in Focus, 2/18/09)

“Holbrooke: Insensitive Choice for a Sensitive Region” (by Stephen Zunes, Foreign Policy in Focus, 1/29/09)

“Obama’s Defense Budget Is on Target” (by Lawrence Korb, Center for American Progress, 2/26/09)

“Advancing a New Strategy for Prosperity and Stability in Pakistan and the Region” (by Caroline Wadhams, Brian Katulis, Lawrence Korb, and Colin Cookman, Center for American Progress, 11/17/08)

“Can Congress Save Obama from Afghan Quagmire?” (by Robert Naihma, Huffington Post, 3/9/09)

“Missing from the Afghan ‘Surge’: A Congressional Debate” (by Robert Naihman, Huffington Post, 2/27/09)

Policy and Issue Resources

“Afghanistan: For Your Reading Pleasure” (by Robert Dreyfuss, The Nation and The Dreyfuss Report, 3/4/09)

Interactive Map: U.S. Airstrikes in Pakistan on the Rise (by Colin Cookman, Center for American Progress, March 5, 2009)

“Threats, Options and Risks in Pakistan” (by Colin Cookman, Center for American Progress, March 5, 2009)

Afghanistan: National Survey (ABC News, 12/30-1/12/09)

Pakistan and Terror: The Eye of the Storm (by Bruce Riedel, Brookings Institution, July 2008)

White House Agenda on Foreign Policy: Afghanistan and Pakistan

Dreaming of Splitting the Taliban (by Helene Cooper, New York Times, 3/7/09)

News:

“Truce in Pakistan May Mean Leeway for Taliban” (by Jane Perlez, New York Times, 3/5/09)

“Pakistan facing ‘mortal threat’” (BBC News, 3/6/09)

“Attack on Sri Lanka cricket team: a sign that Pakistan is unraveling?” (by Ben Arnoldy, Christian Science Monitor, 3/5/09)

“Afghanistan: Losing a No-Win War” (by Steve Weissman, Truthout, 2/5/09)

“Severe economic crisis threatens Pakistan’s stability” (by Saeed Shah, McClatchy Newspapers, 10/13/08)

“Pakistan Policy Detain Protesters as Crisis Widens” (by Khalid Qayum and James Rupert, Bloomberg, 3/12/09)

“Suspected U.S. missile strike kills 15 in Pakistan” (Agence France-Presse, 3/12/09)

“Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan to hold talks” (CNN International, 3/10/09)

“In Afghanistan, A Shifting, Ever-Moving Enemy” (NPR, 3/11/09)

“Biden presses allies on Afghanistan” (Boston Globe/Washington Post, 3/11/09)

“Pakistan’s Sharif capitalizes on lawyers’ march” (by Ben Arnoldy, Christian Science Monitor, 3/13/09)

“Iran to attend Afghanistan talks: spokesman” (Xinhua, 3/13/09)