Afghanistan: State Failure, Terrorism, and Insurgency in Context — Part 2

Abstract

Defining violence in Afghanistan as being terrorism-related is quite a recent phenomenon, and really only emerged during the period of the end of the Taliban rule. Prior to these events, violence in Afghanistan was usually described as taking the form of rebellions, revolts, militia movements, or acts of tribal warfare or insurgency. The year 1979 marked the beginning of a key turning point in relation to terrorism in Afghanistan. The 1979 Soviet invasion triggered the rise and expansion of post-jihad militant and religious extremist groups. However, it must be noted that at that time these groups were not described as being terrorist in nature, and were instead referred to as being freedom fighters. Freedom fighters are seen as being part of a resistance movement, usually against an oppressive government or outside force, compared to a terrorist who uses violence to promote fear (see Table 2.1). This difference of definition may have emerged from the type of tactics used by the mujahideen at that time. The mujahideen tended to use guerrilla warfare tactics in their campaigns against the Soviets and the targets of this warfare were usually military in nature and not civilian or non-combatant. This would have prevented them being classified as a terrorist group according to the most well-known definitions of terrorism. A shift occurred, however, in the period immediately following the withdrawal of Soviet troops, whereby the mujahideen were now left to fend for themselves.