#Afghanistan graveyard of empires series#

First, because Afghanistan is located on the main land route between Iran, Central Asia, and India, it has been invaded many times and settled by a plethora of tribes, many mutually hostile to each other and outsiders. Attempts at anything resembling centralized control, even by native Afghan governments, have largely failed.Īfghanistan is particularly hard to conquer primarily due to the intersection of three factors. They managed to loosely control the area by paying off various tribes, or granting them autonomy. The closest most historical empires have come to controlling Afghanistan was by adopting a light-handed approach, as the Mughals did. As the British learned in their 1839-1842 war in Afghanistan, it is often easier to do business with a local ruler with popular support than to support a leader backed by foreign powers the costs of propping up such a leader eventually add up.

#Afghanistan graveyard of empires series#

If the United States and its allies decide to leave Afghanistan, they would only the latest in a long series of nations to do so. Empire after empire, nation after nation have failed to pacify what is today the modern territory of Afghanistan, giving the region the nickname “Graveyard of Empires, ” even if sometimes those empires won some initial battles and made inroads into the region. It would not be surprising if the Taliban controlled all of Afghanistan within a decade.Īfghanistan is a notoriously difficult country to govern. Despite spending more on Afghanistan than on rebuilding Europe after World War II, little progress has been made. The United States has been involved in Afghanistan for almost 16 years, making it the longest conflict in its history (with the possible exception of Vietnam, depending on how one interprets the chronology of that conflict). Writing in the Atlantic, Peter Beinart described the current U.S.-led war there as hopeless: the Taliban are unlikely to cut a deal because time is on their side, and they merely have to wait it out until the United States decides to leave. The Taliban, ISIS, various warlords, and the Afghan government all continue to fight each other. The Taliban continue to gain in strength, while ISIS is expanding throughout the country.

However, this may not be enough occupying and administering Afghanistan is a herculean task that few empires have ever had success with. Where is the United States’ war in Afghanistan going? Recently, the Trump administration gave Secretary of Defense James Mattis the authority to set troop levels there so far, rumors suggest that 4,000 more American troops may soon be on their way to Afghanistan.