United States-Afghanistan relations
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Contacts between the United States and Afghanistan date back to the mid 1800s when Josiah Harlan, an adventurer from Pennsylvania, who was an adviser in Afghan politics in the 1830s, reputedly inspired Rudyard Kipling's story "The Man Who Would be King."
In 1942, Major Gordon Enders of the U.S. Army was appointed "the first military attaché to the non-existent U.S. embassy in Kabul. He was the first envoy of any kind to be sent to represent the United States in Kabul." [1] The first American ambassador to Afghanistan however was Cornelius Van Engert.[2]
From 1950 to 1979, U.S. foreign assistance provided Afghanistan with more than $500 million in loans, grants, and surplus agricultural commodities to develop transportation facilities, increase agricultural production, expand the educational system, stimulate industry, and improve government administration.
In the 1950s, the U.S. declined Afghanistan's request for defense cooperation but extended an economic assistance program focused on the development of Afghanistan's physical infrastructure--roads, dams, and power plants. Later, U.S. aid shifted from infrastructure projects to technical assistance programs to help develop the skills needed to build a modern economy. The Peace Corps was active in Afghanistan between 1962 and 1979.
After the April 1978 coup, relations deteriorated. In February 1979, U.S. Ambassador Adolph "Spike" Dubs was murdered in Kabul after Afghan security forces burst in on his kidnappers. The U.S. then reduced bilateral assistance and terminated a small military training program. All remaining assistance agreements were ended after the Soviet invasion.
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[edit] The Soviet Invasion
Following the Soviet invasion, the United States supported diplomatic efforts to achieve a Soviet withdrawal. In addition, generous U.S. contributions to the refugee program in Pakistan played a major part in efforts to assist Afghans in need. U.S. efforts also included helping Afghans living inside Afghanistan. This cross-border humanitarian assistance program aimed at increasing Afghan self-sufficiency and helping Afghans resist Soviet attempts to drive civilians out of the rebel-dominated countryside. During the period of Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the U.S. provided about $3 billion in military and economic assistance to Afghans and the resistance movement. The U.S. embassy in Kabul was closed in January 1989 for security reasons.
Following the September 11 attacks in the United States, widely thought to have been orchestrated by Osama bin Laden, who at the time was residing in Afghanistan under the Taliban's invitation, the United States launched an attack on Taliban and al Qaeda forces as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Following the overthrow of the Taliban, the U.S. supported the establishment of an interim government and continues to station thousands of U.S. troops in the country in order to hunt down insurgent Taliban and al Qaeda elements still launching attacks in the country. The United States is currently the largest provider of humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan.
[edit] References
- ^ Frye, R. N. Greater Iran. Mazda Publishers. 2005. ISBN 1-56859-177-2. p.16
- ^ Frye, R. N. Greater Iran. Mazda Publishers. 2005. ISBN 1-56859-177-2. p.28
