Why Afghanistan Is Known As An Empire Graveyard

Since the Taliban received China’s new ambassador Zhao Sheng in the nation, Afghanistan has dominated the news. Zhao Sheng’s presence, according to Afghanistan’s foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, was “a significant step with a significant message.” Twenty years after being driven from power by American forces, the Taliban took back control of Afghanistan in 2021. Since 2021, Afghanistan has been in a state of upheaval and warfare, earning the moniker “graveyard of empires.” No effort has been spared by the British Empire, the Soviet Union, or the United States to occupy Afghanistan. They were unsuccessful, and their troops were defeated.

Between 1839 to 1909, the British Empire waged three wars in Afghanistan, losing the first and third conflicts. In the winter snows of the Hindu Kush mountains, the Afghans slaughtered the British army when it was forced to escape. The British army suffered a total loss of 4,500 soldiers and 12,000 civilians. The outcome of the Second Anglo-Afghan War, which took place between 1878 and 1880, was more favorable for the British. In the third war, the roles were reversed as Afghanistan reclaimed its freedom. The BBC said that several Afghan tribes engaged the prevailing British troops with extremely basic weaponry and defeated them. The loss in the Anglo-Afghan wars dealt a fatal blow to the British Empire’s power.

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, becoming the second nation to do so. The KGB (the former Soviet Union’s intelligence and internal security service) penetrated the Afghan presidential palace in a matter of days. They assassinated the president and his cabinet members and assisted in the start of a coup supported by Moscow. They sought to replace Babrak Karmal as the puppet master. This invasion started the nine-year civil war in Afghanistan. By the time Soviet troops withdrew in early 1989, the struggle had claimed the lives of 125,000 Afghan, Soviet, and foreign soldiers, as well as an estimated 1 million civilians.

Following the World Trade Center assault in 2001, the United States also launched an offensive against Afghanistan. This assault was planned by Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan was seen by the US as giving Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda a safe harbor. As a result, the US Army invaded Afghanistan and also invested heavily in training forces to combat the Taliban. Following the departure of US forces and the Taliban’s takeover once again, the conflict came to a conclusion in 2021.