Afghanistan at War
Subtitle: From the 18th-Century Durrani Dynasty to the 21st Century
By: edited by Tom Lansford
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Published: 2023
Place of publication: Santa Barbara
Language: eng
Number of pages: 632
ISBN-13: 9798400607400
Subjects: Military history
Description: Covering wars and conflicts of Afghanistan from the modern founding of the country in the 1700s to the contemporary struggle with the Taliban, this single-volume reference analyzes the causes and results of Afghanistan's wars and examines leading political and military figures, weapons, and tactics.  Afghanistan has been embroiled in war and conflict throughout the latter part of the 20th century as well as the current millennium, but due to its location at the crossroads of Central Asia, Afghanistan has also endured repeated conquests throughout its turbulent earlier times. Examining Afghanistan's long military history through this book will enable readers to grasp the wider sociopolitical history of the country; appreciate the impact of these wars on Southwest Asia and superpowers such as Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States; and understand why Afghanistan remains a controversial battleground today.  The alphabetically organized entries examine the major wars and conflicts of Afghanistan from the modern founding of the country during the Durrani Dynasty in the 1700s through the contemporary struggle with the Taliban. The book spotlights the role of key individuals in starting, pursuing, or ending conflicts, as well as their broader contributions to-or negative impact on-Afghanistan and the international arena. The work also presents essays that examine key subtopics such as weapons, tactics, ethnic groups, religion, and foreign relations. This allows the reader-whether a student, scholar, or member of a nonacademic audience-to examine a topic in depth and see how the event, figure, or movement fits into the broader history of Afghanistan.
Table of contents: title: Guide to Related Topics, List of Primary Documents, Preface and Acknowledgments, Introduction, Chronology,  A-Z ENTRIES Afghan Army, History, Forces, and Tactics, Afghan Civil War (1989-2001), Afghan War (2001-), Afghanistan, Border Disputes, Afghanistan, Climate and Geography, Afghanistan, Ethnic Groups, Afghanistan, Nationalism, Afghan-Pakistani Border Raids (2002-), Afghan-Sikh Wars (Durrani-Sikh Wars) (1748-1837), Afghan-Soviet Nonaggression Pact (1931), Afghan-Soviet Treaty of Friendship (1921), Afridi (Khyberee) Tribe, Airborne Units and Tactics, Aircraft, Types and Tactics, Al Qaeda, Ali Masjid, Battle of (1878), Amin, Hafizullah, Andropov, Yuri, Anglo-Afghan Treaty (1809), Anglo-Afghan Treaty (1905), Anglo-Afghan War: First (1839-1842), Anglo-Afghan War: Second (1878-1880), Anglo-Afghan War: Third (1919), Anglo-Marri Wars (1840, 1880, and 1917-1918), Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission, Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, Antiaircraft Missiles, Arghandab, Battle of (1987), Armored Vehicles, Artillery, Cannons, and Mortars, Auchinleck, Sir Claude, Auckland, Sir George Eden, Earl of, Avitabile, Paolo, Baghdad Pact (Central Treaty Organization), Bagram Air Base, Bala Hissar, Barakzai, Barno, David W., Bearden, Milton, Berntsen, Gary, Bhutto, Benazir, Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali, Bin Laden, Osama, Blair, Tony, Blood, General Sir Bindon, Bolan Pass, Bonn Agreement (2001), Brezhnev, Leonid, British Cantonment, Kabul, British Colonial Army, Forces and Tactics, Browne, Sir Samuel (Sam), Brzezinski, Zbigniew, Buddhas of Bamiyan, Burnes, Sir Alexander ("Sekundar"), Bush, George H. W., Bush, George W., Carter, Jimmy, Carter Doctrine, Cavagnari, Major Sir Pierre L. N., Cavalry and Cavalry Tactics, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Chamberlain, Sir Neville Bowles, Chernenko, Konstantin, Churchill, Sir Winston, Civil Military Operations, Civilian Casualties, Clinton, Bill, Coalition, Forces and Tactics (2001-), Cold War (1947-1989), Communications in Military Operations, Cordovez, Diego, Cruise Missile Strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan (1998), Damghan, Battle of (1729), Dargai Heights, Battle of (1897), Deobandi School, Disraeli, Benjamin, Dobbins, James, Dost Mohammad, Dostum, Abdul Rashid, Drone Strikes, Dubs, Adolf "Spike," Durand, Sir Henry Mortimer, Durand Line, Durrani, Ahmad Shah, Durrani, Mahmud Shah, Durrani, Shuja Shah, Durrani, Timur Shah, Durrani, Zaman Shah, Durrani Empire (1747-1818), Elphinstone, Mountstuart, Elphinstone, William George Keith, Embassy Bombings (1998), Franks, Tommy, Frontier Corps, Gailani, Pir Sayyid Ahmad, Gandamak, Battle of (1842), Gandamak, Treaty of (1879), Gates, Robert Michael, Geneva Accords (1988), Ghani, Mohammad Ashraf, Ghazni, Battle of (1839), Ghilzai, Gorbachev, Mikhail, Great Game, The, Gromov, Boris, Gromyko, Andrei, Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility, Gul, Hamid, Gulabzoy, Sayyed Mohammad, Gulnabad, Battle of (1722), Haig, Alexander, Haq, Abdul, Haqqani, Jalaluddin, Haqqani Network, Harkay ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Harlan, Josiah, Hazara Uprisings (1888-1901), Hazaras, Hekmatyar, Gulbuddin, Helmand Valley, Helmand Valley Project, Herat, Siege of (1837-1838), Herat, Uprising (1979), Hostages and Kidnapping, Hotak, Mir Wais, Hotaki Empire (1709-1738), Humanitarian Aid Operations, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), India, Relations with Afghanistan, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate of Pakistan, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Iran (Persia), Relations with Afghanistan, Iraq War (2003-), Islamic Movement of Afghanistan (Harakat-i Islami-yi Afghanistan), Islamic Party (Hezb-e Islami), Islamic Revolutionary Movement (Harakati Inqilabi Islami), Islamic Society (JIA) (Jamiat-e Islami), Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, DAESH), Islamic Unity of Afghanistan Mujahideen (Ittehad-e Islami Mujahideeni Afghanistan), Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e Wahdat-e Islami Afghanistan), Jagdalak Pass, Jalalabad, Battle of (1989), Jalalabad, Siege of (1842), Jamrud, Battle of (1837), Kabul, Retreat from (1842), Kabul, Siege of (1996), Kabulov, Zamir, Kalakani, Habibullah (Bacha-i Saqao), Kandahar, Battle of (1880), Karmal, Babrak, Karzai, Hamid, Kazemi, Syed Mustafa, Khalis, Mohammad Yunus, Khan, Abdur Rahman, Khan, Amanullah, Khan, Habibullah, Khan, Jan Mohammed, Khan, Khan Abdul Ghaffar, Khan, Mir Masjidi, Khan, Mohammad Akbar, Khan, Mohammad Hashim, Khan, Mohammad Ismail, Khan, Mohammad Yakub, Khan, Mohammed Daoud, Khan, Nasrullah, Khan, Shah Mahmud, Khan, Sher Ali, Khistmand, Sultan Ali, Khost, Sieges of (1980-1989), Khost Rebellion (1924-1925), Khyber, Mir Akbar, Khyber Pass, Landmines, Lockhart, Sir William, Loya Jirga, Lytton, Edward Robert Bulwer, First Earl of Lytton, Macnaghten, Sir William Hay, Madrasahs, Maiwand, Battle of (1880), Malakand Field Force (1897), Maratha Empire (1674-1818), Marja, Battle of (2010), Massoud, Ahmed Shah, Mazari, Abdul Ali, McChrystal, Stanley, McNeill, Dan K., Metcalfe, Charles, Mohan Lal, Mohaqeq, Mohammed, Mohmand Campaigns, Mojaddedi, Sibghatullah, Moorcroft, William, Mughal Empire (1526-1857), Muhsini, Ayatollah Asef, Mujahideen, Musharraf, Pervez, Nadiri, Sayyid Mansur, Najibullah, Mohammed, Narcoterrorism, Nation Building and Economic Development in Afghanistan (2001-), National Fatherland Front (Jabha-yi Milli-yi Padarwatan), National Front of Afghanistan (Jabhe Melli), National Islamic Front of Afghanistan (Mahaz-i Milli Islami), National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan (Jumbish-i Milli Islami Afghanistan), National Liberation Front (Jabha-i Najat-i Milli), Nawaz Sharif, Muhammad, 9/11, War on Terror, and Afghanistan (2001-), Nongovernmental Organizations and Private Volunteer Organizations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Northern Alliance, Nott, Sir William, Nur, Atta Mohammad, Obama, Barack, Omar, Mullah Mohammed, Operation Anaconda (2002), Operation Enduring Freedom (2001-2014), Operation Storm 333 (1979), Operations Red Wings I, II, and Whalers (2005), Opium Poppy Production, Pakistan, Relations with Afghanistan, Panipat, Battle of (1761), Panjdeh Crisis (1885), Panjshir Campaigns (1980-1985), Pashtunization, Pashtuns (Pushtuns), Pashtunwali (Pukhtunwali), Peiwar Kotal, Battle of (1878), People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), Peshawar, Treaty of (1855), Peshawar Accords (1992), Petraeus, David, Pollock, Sir George, Popalzai, Pottinger, Eldred, Pottinger, Sir Henry, Precision-Guided Weapons, Psychological Operations in Afghanistan, Qala-i-Jangi, Battle of (2001), Qizil-Bash, Rabbani, Burhanuddin, Rabbani, Mullah Muhammed, Raj, British (1858-1947), Ranjit Singh, Maharaja, Rawalpindi, Treaty of (1919), Reagan, Ronald W., Reagan Doctrine, Richards, Sir David, Rifles, Light Arms, and Machine Guns, Roberts, Sir Abraham, Roberts, Sir Frederick Sleigh (Lord), Rodionov, Igor, Roos-Keppel, George Olaf, Rumsfeld, Donald, Russia (Soviet Union), Relations with Afghanistan, Rutskoi, Alexander, Saidullah ("Mullah Mastun"), Sale, Florentia, Sale, Sir Robert Henry ("Fighting Bob"), Saragarhi, Battle of (1897), Sarandoy, Saur Revolution (1978-1979), Sayaf, Abdurab Rasul, Schroen, Gary, Security Firms and Defense Contractors, Shah, Mohammed Nadir, Shah, Mullah Ahmed, Shah, Nadir, Sherpur, Battle of (1879), Shevardnadze, Eduard, Shultz, George, Shutargardan Pass, Sokolov, Sergey, Soviet Invasion and Occupation of Afghanistan (1979-1989), Soviet Union, Forces and Tactics, Special Operations Forces, State Information Service (KhAD) (Khidamat-i Ittilaat-i Dawlati), Stewart, Sir Donald, Stoddart, Charles, Takur Ghar, Battle of (2002), Taliban, Taliban, Forces and Tactics, Taliban Insurgency, Tanai, Shahnawaz, Taraki, Nur Muhammad, Tarzi, Mahmud, Tarzi, Soraya, Terrorism, Tirah Campaign (1897-1898), Tomsen, Peter, Tora Bora, Battle of (2001), Transport and Logistics, United Kingdom (Great Britain), Relations with Afghanistan, United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan, United States, Forces and Tactics (2001-), United States, Relations with Afghanistan, Urgun, Siege of (1983-1984), Ustinov, Dmitry Fedorovich, Varennikov, Valentin, Victory Organization (Sazman-i Nasr), Vitkevich, Ivan Viktorovich, Wahhabism, Wanat, Battle of (2008), Warburton, Sir Robert, Wardak, Abdul Rahim, Warlords, Wilson, Charles Nesbitt, Women, Role in Combat, World War I and Afghanistan (1914-1918), World War I and Afghanistan, Turko-German Missions (1914-1918), World War II and Afghanistan (1939-1945),; title: Yazov, Dmitry Timofeyevich, Zahir Shah, Mohammed, Zawahiri, Ayman al-, Zhawar, Battles of (1985-1986), Zia ul-Haq, Muhammad,  Recommended Resources, About the Editor and Contributors, Index,