Afghanistan |
United States |
United States – Afghanistan relations can be traced to 1921[1] but the first contact between the two occurred further back in 1830s when the first recorded person from the United States was visiting Afghanistan.[2]
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The first recorded contact between Afghanistan and the United States occurred in 1830s when Josiah Harlan, an American adventurer and political activist from the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania, traveled to the Indian subcontinent with intentions of becoming the King of Afghanistan. It was when the British Indian army invaded Afghanistan, during the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-1842) when Afghan kings Shuja Shah Durrani and Dost Mohammad Khan were fighting for the throne of the Durrani Empire. Harlan became involved in Afghan politics and factional military actions, eventually winning the title Prince of Ghor in exchange for military aid.[2] The British-Indians were defeated and forced to make a complete withdraw a few years later, with around 16,500 British and Indians reported to be either massacred or captured in 1842. There is no clear evidence to what really happened because the claim is made by William Brydon, the lone survivor. Harlan is believed to have left Afghanistan around the same period, eventually returning to the United States.
In January 1921, after the Treaty of Rawalpindi was signed between Afghanistan and colonial British India, the Afghan mission visited the United States to establish diplomatic relations.[1] After the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1934, the U.S. policy of helping developing nations raise their standard of living was an important factor in maintaining and improving U.S. ties with Afghanistan.[3] Residing in Tehran, William Harrison Hornibrook served as a non-resident U.S. Envoy (Minister Plenipotentiary) to Afghanistan from 1935 to 1936. Louis Goethe Dreyfus served from 1940 to 1942, at which point the Kabul Legation was opened in June 1942. Major Gordon Enders of the United States Army was appointed the first military attaché to Kabul and Cornelius Van Hemert Engert represented the U.S. Legation from 1942 to 1945 followed by Ely Eliot Palmer from 1945 to 1948.[4]
The first official Afghanistan Ambassador to the United States was Habibullah Khan Tarzi, who served from 1948 to 1953. The U.S. Kabul Legation was elevated to the U.S. Embassy Kabul on May 6, 1948. Louis Goethe Dreyfus, who previously served as Minister Plenipotentiary, became the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from 1949 to 1951.[4]
In the 1950s, the United States 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.
Dwight D. Eisenhower visited Kabul in December 1959, becoming the first U.S. President to travel to Afghanistan. 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.[3]
The Peace Corps was active in Afghanistan between 1962 and 1979. During the early 1960s the last King of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah, went for a visit to the United States and met there with John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Habibullah Karzai, uncle of Hamid Karzai who served as representative of Afghanistan at the United Nations, is also believed to have accompanied Zahir Shah in the course of the King's state visit.[5]
After the April 1978 Saur Revolution, relations between the two nations 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 of Afghanistan.
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 Afghan refugees. U.S. efforts also included helping the population living inside Afghanistan. This cross-border humanitarian assistance program aimed at increasing Afghan self-sufficiency and helping 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 US dollars in military and economic assistance to the Mujahideen groups stationed on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul was closed in January 1989 for security reasons.
Following the September 11 attacks in the United States, believed to be orchestrated by Osama bin Laden who was residing in Afghanistan under asylum at the time, the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom was launched. This major military operation was aimed at removing the Taliban government from power and to capture or kill al Qaeda members, including Osama bin Laden. Following the overthrow of the Taliban, the U.S. supported the new government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai by maintaining a high level of troops to establish the authority of his government as well as combat Taliban insurgency. Both Afghanistan and the United States resumed diplomatic ties in late 2001.
The United States has taken the leading role in the overall reconstruction of Afghanistan by providing billions of dollars for building national roads, government and educational institutions, as well as the Afghan military and national police force.[6] In 2005, the United States and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both nations to a long-term relationship.[3] Former U.S. President George W. Bush along with his wife Laura made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on March 1, 2006. Although many American politicians have praised Afghan President Hamid Karzai's leadership[7], he has come under fire in 2009 from the Obama administration for his unwillingness to crack down on government corruption.[8] After winning the 2009 presidential election Karzai vowed to tackle the problem. He stated that "individuals who are involved in corruption will have no place in the government."[9]
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul began renovation in late 2001 and was expanded several years later. Many high level U.S. politicians, military personnels, celebrities and journalists began visiting Afghanistan over the last nine years. The U.S. State Department is currently spending another $500 million to further expand their embassy in Kabul, which is scheduled to be completed in 2014.[10] In December 2009, U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry and Afghan officials, after signing a land lease for the mission with Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Spanta, announced that the United States will open consulates outside Kabul. A first lease-contract was signed in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif and a second one in the western city of Herat. The consulate in Herat will temporary operate for three years in a leased hotel. During the period the United States will construct a new building for the consulate there. The Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif consulates will begin functioning in mid 2011.[11][12] Two more U.S. consulates are being planned for the southern and eastern zones in Afghanistan, one in Kandahar and another in Jalalabad.[13]
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has an embassy in Washington DC, as well as a consulate in New York City and another in Los Angeles. The current Afghan Ambassador to the United States is Eklil Ahmad Hakimi, replacing Said Tayeb Jawad in early 2011.[14]
The United States armed forces have been gradually rising its troop level in Afghanistan since 2002, reaching about 100,000 in 2010. They are to begin leaving slowly between mid 2011 to the end of 2014. However, Vice President Joe Biden has proposed to station an unknown number of the U.S. military forces after 2014.[15] South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham also suggested that the United States should stay in Afghanistan permanently. This would benefit both nations, as the U.S. would have a clear idea about what was happening in the region on a daily basis, and Afghan security forces would have an edge militarily to ensure that the country never went back into the hands of the Taliban.[16] The U.S. forces would also be available to protect diplomats and aid workers - especially diplomatic staff and USAID workers. Afghan leaders accept this long-term U.S. military presence since it benefits them, but neighboring Iran and some of its allies are opposed to it.[17]
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