Neither Religion nor Capital

The commitment by the British government to renew troop deployment in Afghanistan is neither the first nor last such incursion in the history of British colonial activity. 1839-42: First Anglo-Afghan War; Amir Dost Mohammad Khan surrenders and is deported to India. Shah Shuja is installed as a "puppet king". April 1842--Shah Shuja killed by Afghans. 1843: After the annihilation of British troops, Afghanistan regains independance, and the exiled Amir, Dost Mohammad Khan comes back and occupies the royal throne (1843-1863). 1878: Start of second Anglo-Afghan War. The British invade and the Afghans quickly put up a strong resistance. 1880: Abdur Rahman takes throne of Afghanistan as Amir. The British, shortly after the accession of the new Amir, withdraw from Afghanistan, although they retain the right to handle Afghanistan's foreign relations. 1893: Durand line fixes borders of Afghanistan with British India, splitting Afghan tribal areas, leaving half of these Afghans in what is now Pakistan 1921:Third Anglo-Afghan war once again, the British are defeated, and Afghanistan gains full control of her foreign affairs. 1947: Britain withdraws from India. Pakistan is carved out of Indian and Afghan lands. This simply goes to indicate the alarming incapacity to learn any political lessons from colonial adventurism. Afghanistan has simply been but one benighted nation that British administrations have blighted with its presence. The countries history has since suffered at the hands of 10 years of Russian occupation with the Brits backing the Mujahideen who in 1992 instituted an Islamic state. Political instability has continued to dog Afghanistan as the religious zealotry of the Taliban has competed with the corrupt duplicity of capitalism. Now the British along other international governments puts money and arms in to shore up the present bourgeois Afghan government against continued Taliban Islamic zealotry. Caught between Islam and Capitalism the Afghan people will continue to suffer until they can take the country over for themselves.