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The Beginning of Ali and Baba
In 1933, the year Baba was born, there was a car crash that would go on to kill a Hazara husband and wife. The dead couple left behind a five-year old orphan boy. The judge of the case, Amir's grandfather, took the orphan boy in and raised him (Hosseini 24). The orphan boy would go on to be Ali, who grew up with Baba. The two grow up caring for each other, but understand that their statuses divide them. Both know that one has more power than the other. The relationship is similar to their sons. -
Zahir Shah Is Overthrown>> Rest of my timeline is continued on a doc
One night, Amir, Hassan, and Ali heard gunshots and glass shattering. Ali said that, "people hunt ducks at night" (Hosseini 35) in response to the gunfire, but was wrong. "[People] weren't shooting ducks at after all", as "that night of July 17, 1973. Kabul awoke the next morning to find that the monarchy was a thing of the past. The kingk Zahir Shah, was away in Italy. In his absence, his cousin Daoud Khan had ended the king's forty-year reign with a bloodless coup" (Hosseini 36). (REST ON DOC) -
The Calm Before The Storm
What we know as Afghanistan today, wasn't always the case. "Three decades ago, [it] was a stable, relatively prosperous and relatively secular country" (The New York Times, 2011, p. 2). -
The Soviets Begin To Invade
The beginning of the end of peace in Afghanistan began in the end of 1979, as "The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on December 27." They did this with the intention "To assist Babrak Kharmal, who had become president in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership" (The New York Times, 2011, p. 2). -
9 years of War (1979-1989)
The Soviet-Afghan war didn't happen for a short stint. In fact, the "Soviet troops stayed in the country for more than nine years, fighting a conflict that cost them roughly 15,000 lives and undisclosed billions of rubles, while undermining the cherished image of an invincible Soviet Army" (The New York Times, 2011, p. 2). -
The Fall of the Soviet Air Force
The once daunting and powerful Soviet Air Force, started to look less scary, as "After 1986, the Soviet Air Force was rendered largely useless by advanced Stinger antiaircraft missiles supplied by the United States to the rebels" (The New York Times, 2011, p. 2). -
The Soviets Depart
After a long time coming, "The last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989." However, the damage had already been done, as "They left behind a country that was not only devastated by the war but that had become a beacon to Islamic extremists from across the globe" (The New York Times, 2011, p. 2). -
The Post War Battle of Power (Summer)
The end of the war meant the throne was up for grabs. This caused Afghanistan to go "Into vicious internecine strife." With all the chaos, "By the summer of 1994, power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms. But one group would eventually gain control" (The New York Times, 2011, p. 2). -
The Beginning of the Taliban
Many thought peace would be restored, but spoke too soon. As a new movement began to spread, lead by a group called the Taliban. By 1994, their founder Mullah Omar, "Had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up to warlords to the north and east. With his promise of restoring the centrality of Islam to daily life, he created a genuinely popular movement in a country weary of corruption and brutality" (The New York Times, 2011, p. 2). -
Hope Turns Into Oppression
Shortly, after the Taliban was formed, its rules were thrust among the Afghan public and they took, "control of Afghanistan". With their control came "Strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, banning movies and music and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing" (The New York Times, 2011, p. 3). -
September 11th
The U.S. would go to experience its first terrorist attack from foreigners on it's soil. It happened "On the World Trade Center in New York on Sept. 11, 2001" (The New York Times, 2011, p. 3). -
The Taliban Resume
The Taliban weren't done after the 911 attack. Despite efforts from the U. S. to defeat them, they came back resurgent after 2001. They would go on "To wage a guerrilla warfare from a base in the mountainous and largely lawless tribal area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, as well as "extend [their[ influence in the southern part of Afghanistan" (The New York Times, 2011, p. 3). -
Obama Makes An Announcement
After years of violence in Afghanistan, the United States decided to get in involved. "In a speech delivered Dec. 1, 2009, at West Point, Mr. Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops" to boost security in the country" (The New York Times, 2011, p. 4).