The Impact of International Interest in Afghanistan’s Access to Oil :: Essays Papers

The Impact of International Interest in Afghanistan’s Access to Oil Newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and the web: everywhere one turns, the media confronts our society with news concerning Afghanistan. Although September 11th was the peak of Afghanistan’s spotlight in the international media, this event was not the first time that Afghanistan has gained international attention. Beginning with its political relationship with Russia, Afghanistan slowly gained recognition, acknowledgment and even popularity among world powers. Moving towards the present, in which the United States, Great Britain, Russia, Japan, and China are competing for Afghanistan. Why all this commotion over a politically-torn, landlocked, Middle Eastern country? Although each country has several potential interests invested in Afghanistan, all of these nations share the common interest of Afghanistan’s access to oil. Many political conventions have resulted form the global interest in creating oil pipelines through Afghanistan. Although Afg hanistan is not a world power, the fact that this country can provide access to rich oil and gas reserves has allowed Afghanistan to have influence over and even affect international diplomacy. To begin, it is important to understand the political history of Afghanistan in order to comprehend the current political tension and issues concerning this country. Afghanistan’s history is complete with numerous wars and invasions throughout various historical periods. Majority of these conflicts occurred because of a political Afghan leader’s desire to continue holding the state of power in the country or because of foreign invasion. Desire to maintain power becomes an issue in Afghanistan due to the multi-ethnic nature of the population1. To begin, â€Å"the location of Afghanistan astride the land routes between the Indian subcontinent, Iran, and central Asia has enticed conquerors throughout history†2. First, the Muslim-Arab conquests left Afghanistan a Muslim country in the late 7th century. In the following centuries Afghanistan was invaded from the north by Genghis Khan and later by the Moguls. The conquests up to the 17th century lef t devastated Afghanistan. However, authorities invested the majority of their interests in attempting to control the political power against rebellious activities preventing swaying them from focusing on social and economical forms as well as the development of the country. The first unified Afghanistan State was not established until 1747 by Ahammad Khan Durani.