- Do the
people of Afghanistan support the national government or the shadow government?
If not, who do they support and why?
·
A
larger percentage of the people of Afghanistan (ninety-two percent) are in the
support of the national government. This is because they are afraid of the
extremism of the Taliban and would not want the organization to take control
over their country. SOURCE: Chua,
Amy. (2018) Political Tribes: Group
Instinct and the Fate of Nations. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing.
·
They
thus support the US government’s intervention that seeks to restore control of
the country back in the hands of the national government based in Kabul.
·
They
are wary that continued Taliban rule would expose them to further brutality and
extremism because those are the methods that the organization is known for. SOURCE: https://www.thenation.com/article/what-the-us-military-still-doesnt-understand-about-afghanistan/
- Which
people/groups are friends, tolerate each other, or are enemies? Why?
·
People
belonging to the same tribal ethnic groups are friends and loyal to each other.
Generally, even though a huge majority of them support the national government,
Afghans pledge more loyalty to their tribal ethnic groups. SOURCE: https://info.publicintelligence.net/MCIA-AfghanCultures/Pashtuns.pdf
·
They
believe that the groups are more concerned about their personal interests and
represent stability.
·
Enmity
may emerge between various ethnic groups as they feud with one another over
property, land, or resources.
·
Members
of the same ethnic group may also become enemies due to honor issues, family
disagreements, and jealousy, but never ethnic discrimination. SOURCE: https://info.publicintelligence.net/MCIA-AfghanCultures/Pashtuns.pdf
- Is there
known government corruption? Where are the corruption points?
·
There
is known government corruption in Afghanistan. The judiciary was rated by the
citizens as the country’s most corrupt institution.
·
The
corrupt are going without being punished as per the law because the police and
judiciary are dysfunctional.
·
The
decisions made by the judiciary about corruption cases are often biased towards
parliament and government.
·
Moreover,
police investigations into cases of national interests get blocked by such
powerful figures as politicians who want to protect their associates from
facing justice (Transparency International, 2016).
·
Many
elected officials lack integrity. Many legislators in the country register and
run large businesses not in their names but names of their relatives. SOURCE FOR THIS SECTION: https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_in_afghanistan_what_needs_to_change
- Does the
country produce/sell drugs (opium)? If so, how does this impact relationships
between people, government, or groups?
·
The
country produces opium even though the crop was illegalized by the United
States. Its production and sale is thus done in the black market which fetches
huge revenues that do not benefit the government but individuals involved in
the trade. SOURCE: https://qz.com/859268/americas-failed-war-on-drugs-in-afghanistan-is-threatening-to-doom-its-war-on-terror-as-well/
·
Opium
becoming a black market commodity in the country was occasioned by the ban that
was placed on it by the U.S.
·
There
had been a 43% increase in the production of the crop over the year 2015
(Hall-Blanco, 2016). SOURCE:
https://qz.com/859268/americas-failed-war-on-drugs-in-afghanistan-is-threatening-to-doom-its-war-on-terror-as-well/
·
The
production was further fueled by the capture of Helman province by the Taliban
since the province is a major opium production area. SOURCE: Chua, Amy. (2018) Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations. New York,
NY: Bloomsbury Publishing.
·
As
a result, warlords and tribal ethnic groups have been fighting each other over
the production of the lucrative crop. SOURCE: Chua, Amy. (2018) Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations. New York,
NY: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Extra clarification…
what tribes are most important/influential?
·
The
most influential tribe in Afghanistan is the Pashtun Tribe which doubles as the
largest in the country. They believe they should continue ruling the country
after having ruled it for over two centuries. SOURCE: https://info.publicintelligence.net/MCIA-AfghanCultures/Pashtuns.pdf
·
The
tribe is made up of two sub-tribes namely the Durrani and the Ghilzai. The
Durrani are at the helm of political leadership in southern Afghanistan and
believe the Ghilzai are inferior to them. SOURCE: https://ctc.usma.edu/tribal-dynamics-of-the-afghanistan-and-pakistan-insurgencies
·
On
the other hand, the Ghilzai occupy eastern Afghanistan and are aggressive
fighters, with its most notable sub-tribe being the Ahmadzai. SOURCE: https://ctc.usma.edu/tribal-dynamics-of-the-afghanistan-and-pakistan-insurgencies
References
Hall-Blanco, A. (2016).
“America risks losing the war on terror in Afghanistan unless it legalizes the
opium trade”. Quartz. Retrieved
September 4, 2018 from https://qz.com/859268/americas-failed-war-on-drugs-in-afghanistan-is-threatening-to-doom-its-war-on-terror-as-well/
Transparency
International. (2016). “Corruption in Afghanistan: What needs to change”. Transparency International. Retrieved
September 4, 2018 from https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_in_afghanistan_what_needs_to_change
