- The
new Afghan army is not progressing as quickly as was
originally hoped. There are now two battalions - the first
trained by the US, the second by France, each consisting of 300
men. There may only be 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers trained by
year's end, and the United Nations suggests the army should at
least have 60,000 men. The Afghan Defense Ministry wants
150,000 trained men. 8/15/02
- New government's
cabinet
- In the third day of loya jirga, Hamid
Karzai was elected as Afghanistan's leader for another 18
months. 6/13/02
- Kite
fighting, another Afghan pastime.
- Once about 40,000 strong, the
Jewish population is down to two men living in the synagogue
in Kabul, who don't speak to each other. One accuses the
other of really being a Muslim and Taliban spy. 3/28/02
- US's Purdue University, which specializes in agriculture and engineering,
will
work with Afghanistan to rebuild Kabul University. Purdue
helped create the engineering department at Kabul University in
the 1960s. 3/5/02
- The World Bank's Directory
of Expertise - Because Afghanistan lost most of its skilled
people, this website is where "individuals from around the globe interested in contributing their skills and
talents towards rebuilding Afghanistan can post their professional information."
2/28/02
- Soccer
game begins in bloody chaos. 2/15/02
- New Transportation
Minister was killed by Muslims who stormed the plane he was on
in Kabul. The Muslims were on a pilgrimage to Mecca in
India. 2/14/02
- Appointed Paktia governor Padsha Khan, ethnic
Pashtun, threatens
to attack tribal rival who is preventing him from taking office.
2/10/02
- Afghan Warlords - the
Godfathers (1/02)
- Interim government adopts
the black, red and green flag approved by the 1964 constitution as its national emblem,
but added the words "La Ee Laha Ielalaho Mohammad Rasoolalah" (There is no
god but Allah, Mohammad is the mesenger of Allah). 1/26/02
- Fun and games again: The
national sport,
- 20 men on horseback, armed with whips, fight for possession of the headless carcass of a
- Receives
$4.5 billion in aid pledges. Karzai warned they must
receive the money soon to prevent further strife - most work in
the last month has been done by UN and foreign agencies. 1/22/02
- Fighting
continues amid rival warlords, including Abdul Rashid Dostum,
even as donors meet in Tokyo to decide on aid to rebuild
Afghanistan. 1/21/02
- Former Taliban leader Wali Mohammad Ibrahimkhiel
is now an even more powerful commander under Afghanistan's new
leadership, with thousands of soldiers at his command.
1/02
- Begins
trying to rebuild a tourism industry - the Kabul Museum is
empty and the zoo's lion, Marjan, only has one eye. (Marjan
died 1/26/02.)
- Heroin
shipments are moving. Prior to 2000, (Taliban laws and war on
terrorism), Afghanistan was the world's top producer of poppies -
for opium and heroin.
- The
United Nations Mine Action Programme (MAPA) will begin clearing
about 25,000 unexploded cluster bomblet units from 103
sites. It has almost completed clearing Kabul of new UXO
(unexploded ordinance), mostly 500-2000 lb bombs. 1/3/02
- Land
mines are a continuing problem. The International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has made 67,000 artificial limbs
since 1988. 1/2/02
- During Taliban rule, Afghan
refugees, as well as those from Iran and Iraq, fled by boat to
Australia via Malaysia (where they can enter without visas) and
Indonesia. The United Nations High Commission
for Refugees in Jakarta grants refugee status. Many of these
"Afghan boat people" are wanting to return to
Afghanistan now. 12/27/01
- Arts and theater in Afghanistan? Actors
in exile are coming back to work in Kabul, now that the
Taliban is no longer in power. Afghan movie industry has
only made one film since 1992, called "The Summit" about
a jihad.
- Afghanistan's foreign minister, Abdullah, said that
the
new provisional government would wipe out drug production and trafficking within its
borders.
- The new education minister, Rasul
Amin, says rebuilding the school system must be started from
scratch with no budget, few qualified teachers, and only one
telephone.
- The
interim cabinet, which took office 12/22/01, began reigning in the
independent governors in Afghanistan, making them answerable
to the powers in Kabul. Karzai
appointed Uzbek warlord General Dostum as deputy defense minister,
marking the start of a national Army for Afghanistan, in which Dostum
wants to incorporate his tens of thousands of existing fighters.
12/24/01
- Karzai paid tribute to neighboring Iran and called Iran a "brotherly" country.
12/10/01
- Uzbek warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum, who had taken charge
of Mazar-e Sharif from the Taliban, will boycott the new interim
government. He claimed this was a humiliation and he would deny officials of the new government access to the north, where
Afghanistan's oil and gas resources are located. 12/6/01
Decided 12/9/01 that he would try to work with new interim
government.
- Hamid Karzai
has been selected to head the new interim government, scheduled to
begin Dec. 22.
- New interim cabinet includes 30
people
- Afghan
royalists speak bitterly, "We trusted the Americans but terrorists are still in Afghanistan and the Northern Alliance has entered
Kabul. The 1992-96 reign under Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani was marked by bloodshed and corruption.
...we'll face another civil
war, another tragedy." 11/20/01
- N.
Alliance says they don't welcome foreign troops on
their soil. 11/17/01
- Malaria
breakout has resulted in 1600+ cases so far over the last 10
weeks. 11/9/01
- As of beginning of 10/01, only Pakistan recognizes the
Taliban as the ruling government.
- Under Taliban, shot down unmanned aircraft 9/22/01 (may have been US
intelligence-gathering "drone"); Taliban claims it was a
helicopter belonging to the Northern Alliance
- Closes its air space 9/17/01
- The Hezb-e-Islam
Foreign Policy
- Overtaken by Taliban in 1996. Taliban are
Sunni Muslims, as is the majority of the country.
- Afghanistan
On-Line - You can buy a Pakol ("traditional Afghan hat
from the Nuristan region") from this site, as of 12/19/01
- Prior to 12/22/01, when the new Afghan interim
government took power, the North Alliance
was allied with the US to dethrone the Osama bin Laden-sympathizing
Taliban. Controlling the northern territories in Afghanistan,
the North Alliance was led by Burhanuddin Rabbani, an ethnic Tajik and
former Afghan President; his
deputy prime minister was Abdul Rasul Sayyaf.
|
US Strikes
in Afghanistan Photo Essay by Time
View map
of latest coalition strikes in Afghanistan
Caves
and Tunnels, interactive, by USA Today
Cave
Detection Methods by USA Today
Cave
fighting is deadly business by FoxNews
Caves
of Afghanistan, warlords, etc. by Time
Aid
Workers free 11/14/01
Taliban
flees Kabul,
takes detainees 11/13/01
Trial
still pending 11/12/01 |
