In fact 92% of the world's supply of opium comes from Afghanistan. The Taliban have tapped into this rich resource and it provides them with sufficient cash to pay their soldiers more than the Afghanistan government pays its own troops (Schmidt, 2010, p. 63).
hile he Taliban do not "mastermind" the opium trade, Schmidt explains, they do benefit financially from integrating their radical politics into the marketing of opium. In 1999 Afghanistan poppy farmers -- and those that convert the poppies to opium -- produced forty-five tons of opium, about fifteen times what had been produced in any of the previous 15 years. The Taliban use the millions of dollars from the sale of opium to buy new and better weapons, to sponsor new Madrassas (schools that teach radical Islamic politics to young men) in Pakistan, and to "barter for cars and all manner of consumer goods, including houses" (Schmidt,….

" According to anuri "...the inference drawn here is that since there are no inherent rules (or 'guiding principles') in the international system, states act upon their natural predatory instincts in order to prove the 'initial impetus' for conflict, and therefore the states that are preyed upon must respond to the predator by defending themselves, or indeed counterattacking them." (2007)
The realist view is such that holds that the outbreak of conflict is supported alone by domestic policies and predatory practices." (anuri, 2007)

Garib (2003) writes in the work entitled: "Realism and Liberalism Reconsidered in Post 9/11 American Foreign Policy" that while the liberalism of former President George W. ush is "ostensibly present in the National Security Council's 2002 National Security Strategy, which speaks of America crating 'a balance of power that favors human freedom' and of a new American international outlook which seeks to create political and economic freedom, peaceful relations….

Afghanistan has experienced war and lack of infrastructure for over a decade. Ever since the end of the civil war in Afghanistan which began in 1996 and ended in 2001, Afghanistan has had to deal with Taliban (a section of Islamic extremism), and intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO as well as other allied forces in the War in Afghanistan which (although it is meant to deal with the civil war in Afghanistan) has created its own obstacles in Afghan recovery. Essentially what the three challenges Afghanistan face are: enhancing security, constructing the civil society and infrastructure of Afghanistan, and controlling Islamic extremism. The seeds of each obstacle can be seen in the beginnings of the 1996 Afghan civil war. Here is where the Taliban first formed, and the country started to lose their infrastructure to bombings and missile attacks. Ever since then, only a few places….

The Karzai government adopted a five-point plan for accountability. It refused amnesty for gross violators of human rights abuses. An action plan was created by Afghan officials and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, with the support of the United Nations and the international community. The plan consisted of a five-part strategy for peace, justice and reconciliation in Afghanistan. It contained measures to concretely recognize and remember the sufferings of the Afghan people during the long civil war; to increase public confidence in their State institutions; to promote reconciliation and national unity; and to strengthen the criminal justice system, including the affirmation that amnesty would not be granted to gross human rights violators (ureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor).
The test of these measures, of course, lies in the efficient implementation. Afghan government adopted a controversial amnesty law, which seemed to shield certain groups from legal or judicial pursuit.….

The majority of the population was left extremely poor, lacking food, clothing, housing and medical care. The economy virtually collapsed..." During this time, any formal financial sector was essentially nonexistent, basic infrastructure was lacking, and a severe drought from 2002-2001 further ravaged the economy (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).
During this decade, violence and political instability had a tremendous impact on Afghanistan's economy. Inter-regional trade was greatly disrupted, and often brought to a virtual standstill by violent instability. However, the appearance of the Taliban regime saw improvements in inter-regional trade in areas controlled by the regime (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)

In the last decade, the opium trade played an important role in Afghanistan's economy. In an economy where the monetary system was virtually destroyed by prolonged war, opium "became both the medium of exchange and the only form of saving" (United Nations Office on Drugs and….

It has been suggested in some quarters that negotiating with the Taliban may be a solution, but at no point has that group ever demonstrated a propensity to negotiate nor has it demonstrated the integrity to follow through on any agreements. Thus, this option is impractical.
Each of these alternatives meets at least one of the objectives, but each comes with an associated cost. The first alternative addresses the first and third objectives, but carries with it a high cost, uncertain time frame and allows for the second objective to fail. The second course of action makes the first and third unlikely to succeed, may not address the second and only partially addresses the fourth objective. It is a compromise, but a relatively poor one. The third option allows for the first option to be addressed, probably the second and maybe the fourth, but it does little to ensure the….

(Cherie Booth, 2001)
MONI BASU (2001) writes, "In every developing nation, the United Nations says, men fare better than women, with the exception of life expectancy (because of biological reasons). In Islamic nations, such as Afghanistan, women not only live in crushing poverty but are subjected to injustices imposed on them in the name of God. The threat of being penniless often forces Muslim women to remain in bad marriages, as it does poor women worldwide."

If the economic conditions improve it can lead to more rights for women in Afghanistan. During the Taliban regime, many professional women were not allowed to participate in economic activity, which deteriorated the economy even further. With economy sliding downwards, women rights also declined continuously, resulting in an extremely oppressed social setup.

The world is now watching closely as Afghanistan went to polls recently. People want to see how America-led government can bring reforms to this….

Master of Arts in Strategic Security Studies
In my quest to serve my country better, I wish to pursue graduate study at the College of International Security Affairs. The threats we face as a nation keep evolving. This effectively means that going forward, the U.S. And the global community by extension will have to contend with a new set of threats that would require a new set of skills to contain. It is with this in mind that I seek to pursue the Master of Arts in Strategic Security Studies (MASSS). This course will equip me with specialized knowledge especially when it comes to issues to do with global security. On completing the course successfully, I will be ready to tap my enhanced understanding of the global threat environment to formulate as well as implement the appropriate strategies to match diverse conditions. This is particularly important to me given that in….

America-Afghanistan elations
While it might seem counter-intuitive to the average American, it would be beneficial to the United States to remain allies with Afghanistan. The most passionate argument against this opinion is generally one which recounts the events of September 11th, and which argues that given the pure evil that was waged on U.S. soil and the lives that were lost, not to mention the sense of safety and security that was forever damaged, no possible alliance could ever be possible between the U.S. And Afghanistan. Such an opinion does have its validity in some perspectives, but more than anything, such a perspective fails to keep in mind that it was not the nation of Afghanistan which condoned such savage attacks on the U.S.; it was renegade forces within this country known as the Taliban. A brief history of Afghanistan is useful at this point.

Afghanistan is a country the size of….

U.S. And Afghanistan emain Allies?
After the infamous September 11 attacks, the U.S. launched a massive war campaign in Afghanistan to topple the Taliban government which was at the time believed to be supporting terrorist activities. This campaign was dubbed Operation Enduring Freedom. It is important to note that at the time of the September 11 attacks, Osama Bin Laden, the key architect behind the attacks was residing in Afghanistan. After the Taliban government was overthrown, the two countries, i.e. The U.S. And Afghanistan, sought to resume their diplomatic ties. The enhancement of diplomatic ties between the two countries is beneficial to both countries from a number of fronts. In that regard, the two countries should remain allies.

Afghanistan: Overview

The Afghan government is headed by a president who serves for a maximum of two five-year terms. The current president is Hamid Karzai. According to the Central Intelligence Agency -- CIA (2013),….

Afghanistan should be considered more than a war and conflict area that has much more to offer, especially in textile. If education is institutionalized in the region, many sectors will start developing, and the country can become self-sufficient in the textile field in no time. By making valuable use of its human and social capital, the country can move on from its war problems and provide a source of happiness and contentment for its citizens if proper educational opportunities are established. There is currently no formal textile education in Afghanistan; however, there have been opportunities for Afghani textiles and their popularity worldwide that could be capitalized on if textile education is formally given to the students. The degree holders could directly use the textile degree here in fields like cloth coloring, textile designers depicting Afghanistan's cultural heritage, fashion designers using the culturally famous clothing pieces and artwork, and clothing technologists for….

However, it is tempting to overstate the importance of Bin Laden's death. While he was a high-ranked person in his terrorist organization, Al Qaeda operates in cells. There are an untold number of men with the same amount of power as Bin Laden currently plotting against the United States. Killing Bin Laden most certainly did not eliminate the terrorist threat faced by the United States. In fact, it may have provided additional motivation to young terrorists throughout the Arab world. Killing Bin Laden did nothing to increase domestic security from terrorism. Therefore, his death had very little significance for national security. To understand how Bin Laden's death could be important politically and figuratively while having very little literal value, it is important to understand these two distinctions.

Legitimacy of the U.S. Led War on Terror

The War on Terror is, like its predecessor, the War on Drugs, an unwinnable war. There is….

ar in Afghanistan
After the terrorist group al Qaeda attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, the American military was sent to Afghanistan to attack the Taliban, and destroy their governing position. The Taliban became the target of the U.S. because they had allowed Osama bin Laden to use their country as a training ground for terrorist activities directed against the United States. However, the U.S. is now bogged down in what seems to be an unwinnable war against Taliban insurgents that cross the border from Pakistan. Moreover, there are militants in Afghanistan who object to foreign troops being in their country, and they have apparently joined with the insurgents and continue fighting the American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. This paper reviews the historical and contemporary causes of the war in Afghanistan, and critiques the positive outcomes as well as the negative outcomes of the U.S. engagement in Afghanistan.

How….

S. forces were made to operate on ground and targeted operations were planned against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters. There were significant individually planned battles and skirmishes between the U.S. army and Taliban often resulting in heavy losses to both sides. A tactic that Taliban often used in such conditions was the suicide attacks and planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that left the soldier carrying vehicles destroyed. The U.S. utilized an Iraqi style counter insurgency operations in the Afghan region that resulted in some strengthening of the conditions.
3.1.3 Power sharing agreements

In order to enhance the effectiveness of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan the U.S. forged agreements with many warring tribes and factions of the Northern Alliance to enhance the unity of these groups that were to be pitched against the Taliban. These agreements were aimed at removing the support base of Taliban and Al-Qaeda from the Afghan society at which….

War in Afghanistan from a Liberal Pluralist Perspective
The term "liberal" has taken on a specific meaning in Western politics that is somewhat different than the actual stated definition of the word. The word truly means "favorable to progress or reform" (Liberal, 2012) and is seen as the opposite of conservative which is being "disposed to preserve existing conditions" (Conservative, 2012). These terms have become politicized and the groups which carry the two labels may be better described by the opposite literal use of the word at any given time. However, another term, liberal pluralist, is something else again.

The book "The Practice of Liberal Pluralism" discusses introduces the topic of how liberal democracy has changed from it original meaning into something that is wholly different, at times, from the origins of the term (Galston, 2005,1). Democracy is a government which is focused on the people being served rather than the….

Chapter 1: Ancient Civilizations

The Rise and Fall of the Sumerian City-States
The Indus Valley Civilization: Unraveling the Enigma
The Ancient Egyptian Civilization: Pyramids, Pharaonic Power, and Daily Life
The Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations: Maritime Masters of the Aegean
The Zhou Dynasty and the Birth of Chinese Civilization

Chapter 2: Classical Civilizations

The Athenian Golden Age: Democracy, Philosophy, and the Arts
The Roman Empire: Conquests, Governance, and the Pax Romana
The Mauryan Empire: From Chandragupta to Ashoka's Legacy
The Hellenistic World: A Syncretic Blend of Greek and Persian Cultures
The Han Dynasty: China's Ascendancy and Technological Innovations

Chapter 3: Medieval Civilizations

The....

Modern Conflicts and the Evolution of War Titles

Modern conflicts have witnessed a significant departure from the conventional titles traditionally bestowed upon wars. These new titles reflect the evolving nature of warfare, the socio-political context in which they occur, and the shifting perceptions of war's causes and consequences.

The Decline of Traditional Titles

In the past, wars were often named after their geographical location (e.g., the Franco-Prussian War) or the specific conflict between two or more belligerents (e.g., the Hundred Years' War). However, such titles have become less common in recent decades. The increasing complexity and interconnectedness of global conflicts has made it....