A look at the people and culture of Afghanistan

Afghanistan has a very unique cultural makeup. Much of the country has a very honorable and peaceful population. Unfortunately, in the past 30 years, Afghanistan has been in a constant state of war either with the Soviets, the Americans, or with themselves. This has produced a generation that has grown up with war as the backbone of their upbringing. This new generation has seen very little peace in their days, and know little about such a concept. To learn more on this subject, see the first part of this series: A short military history of Afghanistan.
At various times throughout recent history, Afghanistan has been governed by all different forms of government: theocracy, republic, monarchy, anarchy, and communist state. Most of which have been born out of the fires of war and turn out to be short-lived.
Many of the people live a tribal, agrarian life. Some live their entire lives in one village and have no contact with a neighboring village three miles away. As such, many of the tribes are self-sufficient. This also allows for intense loyalties to one’s tribe and country to develop.
Marcus Luttrell is a Navy Seal soldier who served in Afghanistan. He tells his story of how he was a survivor of a mission where his three companions were killed, one of which was awarded posthumously the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was taken in by a tribe and nursed back to health. While he was here, he learned a great deal about how Afghan society works. He tells of how the tribesmen that took him in protected him from the Taliban soldiers from a neighboring village, at great risk to themselves. Because they promised him protection while he was in their village, they risked their lives and very nearly lost some of them to keep their oath. This act shows a great deal about the average, non-extremist peoples of Afghanistan. They are a peaceful people who do not care if you are American, or Afghani, they will treat you with respect and honor. The Golden Rule still applies in this country. Most of the ordinary people live by a code of honor.
The vast majority of the people who live here are Muslims as well. The country for six years before the U.S. led invasion was governed by the strict Sharia Law, which takes the teachings of the Koran and applies them to the letter as law of the land. During this time, all other religions were not tolerated.
This cultural heritage shows a people that are in the minority on the world stage. In the past great militaries could defeat a country and that would be that. Not anymore. A great world power must also on this theater of war learn how to win hearts and minds proactively. This means knowing their culture and not trying to destroy it to create another, more Western one. In the next part to this series, it’s time to see the strategies that have not worked as the U.S. presence in Afghanistan moves into nine years with no end in sight…