THE ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES ON AFGHANISTAN’S FOREIGN POLICY (2001-2014)

ABSTRACT

As for the multidirectional argumentation following in the article, it assumes further detailing and discussion.

After the 9/11 attacks, the United States political system aimed to establish its hegemony under the slogan of "fighting terrorism and presence in Afghanistan" using its geopolitical characteristics. Underdeveloped and third-world countries are typically more impacted by the game of great powers in the field of international relations. With its presence in Afghanistan, the United States has significantly influenced the country, especially in the foreign policy, and has played a key role in Afghanistan's foreign policy. Afghanistan's foreign policy has been influenced by the policies of powerful countries more than any other country. Thus, studying the role of the United States in Afghanistan's foreign policy is an important issue that can help one become more familiar with Afghanistan's foreign policy, challenges, and opportunities.

As the most prominent foreign actor in Afghanistan, particularly in the post-Taliban* era, the United States appears to have played a crucial role in shaping foreign policy and the development of Afghanistan. This article firstly discusses the many influences of the United States political system on Afghanistan's foreign policy, along with the historical context of US-Afghan relations, the US's involvement in Afghanistan's foreign policy, and the relationship between the US and Afghanistan's foreign policy. Additionally, America's involvement in Afghanistan's relationship with its neighbors and the region, as well as Afghanistan and American foreign policy, are discussed.

АННОТАЦИЯ

С учетом представленной в статье разнонаправленной аргументации, она предполагает дальнейшую детализацию и дискуссию.

После инцидента 11 сентября политическая система США под лозунгом "борьба с терроризмом и присутствие в Афганистане", используя свои геополитические особенности, попыталась проложить путь для установления своей гегемонии. Обычно слаборазвитые страны и страны третьего мира в сфере международных отношений больше подвержены влиянию игры великих держав, чем влиянию. Таким образом, благодаря наличию аппаратного и программного обеспечения в Афганистане, Соединенные Штаты оказали большое влияние на страну, особенно в сфере внешней политики, и сыграли многочисленные роли во внешней политике Афганистана. На внешнюю политику Афганистана больше, чем на любую другую страну, влияет политика влиятельных государств. Изучение роли США во внешней политике Афганистана является важным вопросом, который может сделать человека более знакомым с внешней политикой Афганистана, вызовами и возможностями. Как крупнейший иностранный игрок в Афганистане, особенно в постталибскую* эпоху, США, по-видимому, сыграли определенную роль во внешней политике и эволюции Афганистана. В этой статье сначала обсуждаются многочисленные влияния политической системы США на внешнюю политику Афганистана, а также исторический контекст американо-афганских отношений, участие США во внешней политике Афганистана, а также внешняя политика США и Афганистана. Обсуждается участие Америки в связях Афганистана с соседями и регионом, а также Афганистан и американская внешняя политика.

Keywords: Afghanistan, foreign policy, political institutions, international relations, terrorism, United States, September 11.

Ключевые слова: Афганистан, внешняя политика, политические институты, международное отношение, терроризм, США, 11 сентября.

Foreign policy is a strategy or a series of actions by government decision makers seeking specific goals within the framework of national interests and in the international relationships [2, p. 31]. According to James Razona, five factors—the individual element, the social role factor, the community factor, the government agent, and the agent of the international system—have an impact on a nation’s foreign policy. Meanwhile, one of the key elements influencing a nation’s foreign policy is the composition of the world’s power and the nature of the international system. According to James’ classification of nations, the international system has the most effects on tiny and underdeveloped nations relative to large and geographically diverse nations as well as economically, politically, and socially developed nations [9, p. 96]. Afghanistan has been among the smallest and underdeveloped countries. According to James’s theory, the impact of the international system on its foreign policy is primarily. Afghanistan, among the countries of the region, has had the greatest impact on the international system and the political system of major powers, and has been exposed to foreign invasion and aggression more than other countries in the region. Therefore, in the field of foreign relations and the regulation of its foreign policy, it has been more than other factors affected by the competition of great powers in the international system.

Small and undeveloped countries are more affected by external powers due to national needs. It seems that Afghanistan’s foreign policy is most influential in the current situation due to the American political system. America's unilateral policy in the world has affected Afghanistan’s foreign policy more than other powers. Providing Afghanistan’s national needs from foreign sources, the need for international and regional assistance and cooperation to deal with national threats are factors that have provided the context for the influence of major powers, especially the United States in Afghanistan.

The impact of the US political system on Afghanistan’s foreign policy is the main issue of this research. In this research it is tried to answer the questions: Why has Afghanistan been more influential than any other country in the region than the American political system? What are the consequences of this impact for Afghanistan? What is the US interest in this influence? In the research it is tried, and at the same time it wants to consider and study the theoretical nature of qualitative research based on the descriptive-analytical approach to these important issues in Afghanistan’s foreign policy.

Less than a century ago, an informal partnership was the start of the United States and Afghanistan’s relationship. Yet, the formal alliance between the US and Afghanistan was first established nearly 50 years ago. The birth and growth of these contacts and impact can be researched and studied less than the last fifty years whenever we pay attention to the time of development and expansion of American ties, its influence on the events and developments in Afghanistan [1, p. 6].

During the reign of Zahir Shah in Afghanistan and the arrival of Roosevelt in the United States, Afghanistan was recognized by the United States in 1935. With the beginning of the Second World War and the influence of the governments in Afghanistan, the importance of the strategic direction of Afghanistan as a neighboring country with the Soviet Union and British India became clearer for the US defense ministers [5, p. 104-105]. The United States launched some structural reconstruction programs in Afghanistan from 1930 to 1940, a good stage in relations between the two countries. President Eisenhower visited Kabul in 1959. The main consequence of this trip was the 500 million dollar loan to Afghanistan, which was used in the fields of education, health and agriculture until 1978. In Kabul, the US embassy grew during this time. The Afghan king, Muhammad Zahir, visited Washington and held a meeting with President John F. Kennedy. As a result of the political changes in 1978, Afghanistan’s ties to the US deteriorated. When the US ambassador to Kabul was assassinated in 1979, it marked the beginning of a relationship problem between these two administrations. After the Seventh Thor coup and the change of government in Afghanistan, intelligence and combat programs superseded diplomatic collaboration in the two nations' relations. Carter’s national security adviser Brzezinski developed the Carter doctrine with Afghanistan in mind. The theory was based on the opposition to the democratic Republic of Afghanistan, which had extensive backing from the Soviet Socialist Union and gave the US a justification for retaliating against Vietnam War. In addition the Reagan doctrine, which was aimed at bringing down the Soviet Union, had done well in Afghanistan.

The second method of US support for the Afghan Mojahedin cost the US $ 4.2 billion over the period of 1978 to 1993. During this time, Pakistan's pro-Mujahedin government received 2.2 billion dollars from the program. With the Mujahideen’s triumph in 1992, Afghanistan’s protracted civil warfare escalated into a significant conflict. This is a mysterious period in Afghanistan’s relations with the United States. Civil conflict was dominated by the US-backed mujahidin. As American support for the establishment of the Taliban* group in the Maiwand area of Kandahar province and Pakistan’s extensive support ceased, relations between the two governments deteriorated. Carter-Brzezinski’s doctrine, states that the Pakistani government which is close to Afghanistan, received support. The US government provided the Afghan mujahedin with $3.2 billion from the Pakistani route between 1981 and 1987. This was the beginning of US backing for the Afghan mujahedin. In order to strengthen its military, the Pakistani government has received US$ 3.5 billion, which has enabled it to purchase 40 F-16 bombers. The relationship between Afghanistan and the United States has changed since the 9/11 attack. On October 7, 2001, the United States entered Afghanistan with its allies and launched its first war of the twenty-first century under the excuse of battling terrorism [12, p. 2-7].

Major regional and international powers have always had an impact on weaker nations. Hence, these impacts must be taken into consideration while discussing Afghanistan’s foreign policy toward the United States. On the other hand, given the mutual objectives of establishing foreign relations, Afghanistan, despite its influence on its foreign policy from the United States, seems to have tried to deal with foreign policy with that country search for several goals and consider them the basis of their foreign policy with the United States.

In its foreign policy against the United States, Afghanistan relies on several principles of international relations accepted by the United States. The preservation of independence and national sovereignty is the most crucial tenet. ‘Respect for national sovereignty and equality of governments provides the foundation for our partnership,’ the long-term strategic cooperation agreement between the Afghan government and the United States reads in its opening [4, p. 50]. The basis of this cooperation is strengthened by respect for the rule of law and strict adherence to Afghanistan’s constitution and all applicable laws. The parties reaffirm their unwavering dedication to Afghanistan’s territorial integrity, national unity, and national sovereignty. This emphasis implies that the core of Afghanistan’s foreign policy against the United States is protecting independence and national sovereignty.

The US political system has had many effects on Afghan foreign policy. Part of these effects goes back to Afghanistan’s relations with neighboring countries and the region. Domestic, regional and international actors in Afghanistan are looking for a variety of interests. European and NATO countries, Iran, Pakistan, America, India Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and China are among government actors, and al-Qaeda*, the Taliban*, the Hekmatyar Islamic Party and some local groups and tribes in Afghanistan and Pakistan play a major role as nongovernmental actors in the region. Afghanistan’s progress has always had three levels. At the national level, it has caused all its infrastructure to be in the worst condition. At the regional level, it has spread insecurity and threats in various fields, especially for neighbors. At the international level, the spread of terrorism and the transfer of drugs can be considered important. Afghanistan has become the object of competition between national, regional, and international entities in such a circumstance, and this competition is a source of insecurity.

Afghanistan’s foreign policy has been impacted by the US political system, which has also altered its interactions with regional players. During the Taliban's* rule in Afghanistan, Pakistan reaped the most rewards. Nonetheless, this puts Pakistan’s interests in Afghanistan in jeopardy. One of these impacts is the hostility between Pakistan and the Hamid Karzai administration. On the other hand, one of these effects is the improvement of ties between Afghanistan and India. The active presence of India in Afghanistan, which poses a greater threat than ever to Pakistan’s interests there, is of interest to the United States. One of the key regional players in the changes in Afghanistan is India. India supports Afghanistan's growth and government-building because it will not be happy if the Taliban* take control of the nation once more and serve Pakistan's strategic interests. Therefore, some believe that the United States should once again direct its South Asian policy formulas from the ‘central Pakistan’ to ‘central India.’ The desire of the Afghan government to expand relations with India has undoubtedly been influenced by the regional policies of the United States toward Afghanistan.

Iran, on the other hand, places a higher importance on upholding stability in its surrounding region. But it stresses that the big powers’ overzealous involvement in this region have not only not brought about stability, but have also exacerbated disastrous catastrophes. Iran is facing security, economic, and social challenges as a result of factors like the influx of immigrants into the country, the rise in drug manufacturing and trafficking, and the detrimental effects these factors have on the economy and society of the nation. Iran has no significant border issues with Afghanistan, in contrast to Pakistan. The objectives of Iran’s strategy in Afghanistan are security and development. Iran's worry about the United States’ ongoing presence in Afghanistan, however, stands in the way of its cooperation with the United States and other actors for the stability of Afghanistan and the achievement of these objectives. This anxiety is justified because Iran has every reason to be wary of American involvement in Afghanistan in a world where the country could launch an attack at any time. As Afghanistan and Iran share significant cultural similarities, the United States and Afghanistan have developed tight ties over the past ten years, which has surely hampered the growth of relations [4, p. 40-45]. In conclusion, it can be argued that Afghanistan’s ties with the United States over the time frame covered by the current research have a significant impact on Afghanistan’s relations with its neighbors and the region.

A new era in the political history of this area began with the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of the Central Asian nations. The nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan are bordered by the two major powers of China and Russia to the north and partially to the east and west; Iran, which makes up part of the region’s southern borders, has poor relations with the west and the United States. Because Afghanistan and Pakistan are in the political domain of the United States and the West, Afghanistan is the only option to link this region to open waterways and the United States and to keep these five nations from joining Russia and China.

Oil and gas, which are among the most valuable natural resources in Central Asia and are crucial for meeting a portion of the world’s demands economically, are also abundant in Afghanistan. These vast resources ought to be available to the US if it wishes to establish a single-polar or so-called new world order. In order to achieve its objectives in Afghanistan, the United States works in stages and adopts a distinct strategy for each one [10, p. 193].

According to Richard Nixon in his book beyond Peace, Afghanistan still holds a geopolitical position as a key player in Central Asia; as the Soviet Union demonstrated when it attacked Afghanistan in 1979, Britain understood the significance of this nation in the nineteenth century. We also need to comprehend the geopolitical situation of today. Whoever controls Afghanistan will be the key to conquering Central Asia [8, p. 25].

According to Nixon, the United States has long desired to fall to the republics. Most crucially, Afghanistan's strategic location in western China, where it is linked with the provinces of Xinjiang and Tibet, allows the United States to include China, which will definitely be its greatest opponent in the globe, on the one hand, by controlling Afghanistan [6, p. 33].

Americans are considering their economic and political interests in Afghanistan and the countries of Central Asia in their long-term plan to dominate this nation and the emergence of a pro- or dependent government in this region in order to be able to control Iran and Russia by establishing the government in Afghanistan and establishing a military base in eastern Iran [13, p. 99]. Also, according to George Bush, the 9/11 tragedy marked a turning point in US defense strategy. According to Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary, ‘Preventive attack’ is the top objective of American foreign policy, and protection against terrorist strikes in the twenty-first century necessitates the relocation of conflict to hostile territory. The US strategy should therefore center on the axis of attack rather than defense [7, p. 139].

Robert Fisk, in an article in the independent newspaper, explained the reality very clearly: ‘This is not a war against terrorism, but a war against the enemies of America’ [6, p. 45], anyone who does not allow his country to be plundered by the United States, any country wants to remain independent and not subject to the demands of the United States, is considered an enemy. Afghanistan is therefore the first and best option to combat terrorism in order to solidify and maintain US hegemony [3, p. 854].

The finest place in the region to carry out US policy is Afghanistan. Afghanistan is one of the most influential countries in the international system, and its domestic policy is due to foreign factors and policies of influential countries in the country more than it is based on the collective demands and natural trend of its history. General dependency on foreign support by the government and its political system, as well as dependence on support from the region’s nations by the opposition, point to this scenario. A testament to the aforementioned claim is the provision of Afghanistan’s national needs from abroad as well as the demand for international and regional aid and cooperation to address its domestic dangers [11, p. 358]. In the meantime, the United States has had a greater impact on Afghanistan than any other foreign nation, particularly in terms of its foreign policy, and was the biggest foreign actor there during the post-Taliban* era.

Since 1919, when it earned independence from the British Empire, Afghanistan has experienced a relatively tranquil period. There succeeded the takeovers in 1973, 1978, September 1979, the beginning of civil war in Afghanistan in 1978 with anti-soviet help from abroad, successive requests from different higher authorities in Afghanistan for the introduction of Soviet troops, the introduction of Soviet troops in December 1979.

The collapse of the Soviet bloc and the fall of the communist regime in 1992 created new conditions for Afghanistan. From 1992 until the fall of the Taliban* government in 2001, Afghanistan evolved as a venue for struggle among the countries of the region. Since 2001, when US and NATO soldiers arrived in Afghanistan, the nation has evolved into a battlefield for rivalry between regional and international powers under the guise of battling terrorism and reestablishing the nation’s stability and security.

Following September 11 attacks, the two nations of the United States and Afghanistan experienced a period of improved diplomatic and strategic ties. With widespread American support, three governments were established: the interim government, the transitional government, and the post-election government. The US embassy was reopened and quickly rose to prominence as one of the most significant and costly diplomatic operations worldwide. As the primary objectives of its hardware and software presence in Afghanistan, the United States listed the fight against terrorism, stability and security, and the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s foreign policy also entails combating terrorism, maintaining security, forging extensive commercial ties with the nations in the area in order to advance and enhance Afghanistan’s economy, as he has stressed. Yet, the United States has attempted to pave the path for the institutionalization of its hegemonic dominance with the phrase ‘fighting terrorism, presence in Afghanistan, and the utilization of its distinctive geopolitical qualities.’ This necessitates that those who break the new rules of the international game be penalized in a way that makes all nations aware that hegemony is the ultimate power in the system and is unhindered in exercising it. Several situations allow for action to be taken without the use of force.

Undeveloped and third-world countries have an impact on the global order and the foreign policies of major powers. Afghanistan has been affected more than any other factor in the foreign policy of powerful countries and is among the countries that are influential in the international system, and its domestic policy is more than the collective demands and natural course of its history It is due to foreign factors and policies of influential countries in the country, and Afghanistan has been subject to invasion of foreign countries more than any other country, according to the assessment of the authors of the article. We must first reevaluate our home policies and make major adjustments to reflect the general will before we can pursue an impactful foreign policy in the international system.

*(terrorist organization banned in Russia, ed.) / (террористическая организация, деятельность которой запрещена в России, прим. ред)

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