Have the Afghans ever been beaten??

Question

My old gran has told me the Afghans are good fighters and its a waste of time trying to beat them (look at Russia) (shes a survivor of ww11 and parents of WW1)Scotland.

Answer 1

By their wives every day

Answer 2

It all depends what you mean.

It is true that the people of that region are hard and determined fighters and part of their culture is that everyone has a gun, and they will use it to end the most trivial of arguments.

It is also true that in the 19th century the British Army on the Northwest frontier of Pakistan (then India) was unsuccesful in taking control of Afghanistan, and took a bit of a beating.

The Russians however got the worst beating when they invaded in the 1980's and it became another cold war by proxy (the west supported the guerillas against the Russians).

But to ask if the Afghans have ever been beaten is a misnomer as you would have to define what an Afghan is to start with, as the people of that region do not consider themselves bound by nationhood.

What we call an Afghan will fight to the death to defend his land, but that will not be Afghanistan, it will be the region he lives in. A little bit like a Yorkshireman who will fight to rid the Yorkshire moors of the invader but couldnt give a toss about what was happening in Lancashire.

Afganistan is made up of dozens of different ethnic tribes, cultures and even races, which is why for hundreds of years they have had dozens of localised civil wars going on.

Thats why the Taliban found it so easy to take over and impose their brutal rule because they used the one element that all the various different tribes and cultures feared and that was Islam. The Taliban also made sure that they played to the inter tribal sensitivities.

Even that broke down however when the northern tribes, which included Uzbeks, and Pashtuns (Northern Alliance) got fed up with the Taliban (who originated in Pakistan) and then were joined loosely by the Southern Alliance, which included Shia who both fought the Taliban and sometimes each other.

This was further complicated by the presence of the Arab Brigades who were volunteers from the middle east who had fought the Russians, plus loonies from all over the world including the 9/11 and 7/7 bombing brigades.

Following 9/11 the U.S and Brits backed the Northern Alliance with air support and special forces and the rest is history.

So back to your question. The Afghans have never been to war as a nation, because they do not operate or think as a nation, and in most battles involving Afghans there have been Afghans on both sides which makes it difficult to say whether or not they have been beaten.

There is no doubt that if they went into conventional battle as a national army with just about any Western nation they would lose as they have no discipline, no order and limited skills (mountian warfare being one which they do have).

The problem we have over there right now is the same as any peacekeeping army anywhere. Our troops are easy targets for people dressed as civilians with half a ton of TNT in the back of their car.

Also one of our main tasks is to destroy the Heroin crop and thats a tough call when the farmers over there grow nothing else.

Answer 3

I don't think they have! i know that we (the Brits) tried it at the end of the 19th century without much success and then as mentioned the Russians were their for 15 or 20 years without much effect It does seem that the majority of Afghans actually want us there this time, not a difficult choice our ways or the talibans!! Lets just hope the Americans don't get too heavy handed with them and turn them against us as in Iraq.

Answer 4

as far as i know ,no army ever won "partisan " war. in any countries.u dont fight organized army... u fight every rock.tree every turn on the road. u r being shut at by the same farmer,shopkeeper that smiled at u an hour earlier.u can control a city a village but u dont risk goin out at night.and no amount of hi tech weaponry will help u .i dont think Afghanistan ever had army worth any thing -its the people. sometimes i think they are born with a sword or an ak-47 in their hands. they ve always fought .mongols,persians,brits,russians -- whomever....and in between-themselves..tribe against tribe ..family against family and so on . havin common enemy unites em 4 a while .they are very skilled in disorganized resistance......just an opinion.

Answer 5

Alexander the Great was the last one to come close although the Persians, the Mongols, the Tsarist Russians, the British twice and the Soviets all had a go at it.

Answer 6

No. But pick any large modern army, make them totaly ignore the value of human life and tell them to raze every building in sight, the result is an army capable of occupying ANY country! Of course the value of occupying a country that's been razed to the ground is desputable! Given the effort required it would be simpler to nuke 'em!

Answer 7

Afghans are stout Muslims.Afghanistan had its boudaries close to India Centuries back.The islamisation of Afghanistan has destroyed its martial arts and physical power.Now it is war devastated poor country.A lot of internal strife,terrorism has made average Afghan life miserable.

Answer 8

Alexander the Great...

The current war in Afghanistan is a sphere of influence war or proxy war between Islamists(Jihadist Arabs) and the US. The Northern Alliance are Afghani.

Answer 9

The Taliban are from Pakistan, so yes the Afghans have been beaten.

Answer 10

The Afghans are a formidable force, I wouldn't want to lead an army to war against them. In fact I wouldn't want to lead an army to war against any country.

Answer 11

they kicked the asses of the russians , but russia was going towards breaking up the union and didnt have the resources to continue fighting. but the states have the weaponry and manpower to grind afghanistan into dust. and they have but no doubt the states will get bored after they take whatever resources they can get and leave.