The conflict between Israel and Palestine began in the early 20th century. The British has signed the Balfour Declaration before the end of WWI, with the intent that a new state would be created for the Jewish people. At the time, Britain and her allies were fighting the Ottoman Empire, which had controlled much of the Mediterranian Middle East for centuries.
The problem with this plan was that Jews would take back the land surrounding Jerusalem, the "holy" city of three major monotheistic faiths. The ancient ancestors of the Jewish people, the ancient Israelites, had settled this area (Judea) centuries before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. These ancient settlers were banned from the region, when they led an insurgency against Roman rule in the second century. The Romans destroyed their temple and sent the Hebrew inhabitants off as slaves. Thousands of Jews settled in Western and Eastern Europe.
After centuries of discrimination and persecution (see Spanish Inquisition), and with the atrocities and slaughter of the Holocaust, the Jewish people began to set their sites on returning to their traditional homeland.
After WWII, with the support of Britain and the U.S., Jewish soldiers returned to Palestine to retake their land. They had been gone for nearly 2000 years. Ironically, there was a small Jewish population that had been living peacefully in Palestine for centuries. But the Jewish Zionist movement had the goal to reclaiming Jerusalem and creating a modern state for their historically troubled people.
In 1948, Israel became a state.
This upset the many surrounding states, all of which were of Muslim majority. This war over land also took up a religious theme. Egypt, Syria, and Jordan all came to the defense of the Palestinians, in several wars throughout the 20th century, but everytime, Israel was able to defend its newly founded nation.
In the 1987, the antifada movement began when Israel, in order to protect itself, maintained an "occupation" of the Palestinian people living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The antifada movement was an act of protest and civil disobediance, in order to "shake off" the Israeli occupation. Desparate Palestinians also became quite militant. Suicide bombings and rocket attacks kept Israelis living in a state of fear and defense. Palestinians in Gaza live in abject poverty, with little resources or opportunity.
Recently, there have been talks of creating a Palestinian state. Mahmoud Abbas, of the Palestinian Authority (governemnt in the West Bank) has sought U.N. recognition of Palestine as a state. Israel and U.S. have blocked such requests.
The issue now is land. Israelis, in order to provide for their growing population, keep constructing housing settlements in the West Bank. This upsets the Palestininians, who beleive that the Israelis are moving in on the the land that will be theirs when they get their own state. Another issue is water resources.
This conflict has been going on since 1948.
Why has it been so difficult to find a solution?
Afghanistan: the place people conquer on their way to other places
Afghanistan has been, historically, the great passageway that connected the many regions of the Eurasian continent. It's mountainous terrain has enabled its people to fend off occupations, while enabling them to maintain a certain level of autonomy and isolation.
The mountains of Afghanistan have been a passageway of goods and people for millenia. It was a crucial land pass during the middle ages of the great Silk Road, that brought Asian goods to Europe. The people of Afghanistan, through its various tribes, have been able to defeat some of the world's largest and best equipped armies. Alexander the Great had great difficutlty in Afghanistan. So did the British, when they were at the peak of their empire's power.
In the 20th century, the Soviet Union also tried to take over Afghanistan and maintain order (to support the elected socialist party). Even they were unable to defeat the insurgency of muhajedeen warriors. These young rebels were being supported by the CIA and other Arab nations. After ten years in Afghanistan, the Red Army retreated. Ironically, when they withdrew, the Soviet Union had collapsed (1989). It was dubbed the Soviet's "Vietnam". They spent time, money, and resources in a war that defeated them.
The U.S. had supported the guerrilla groups that fought off Soviet occupation. After the war, the warring tribes of Afghanistan plunged into civil war. In 1996, a new unifying force took over: the Taliban. This militant group of young men came straight from the Islamic madrassas of Pakistan. Pouring into Afghanistan with their fundamentalist Islamic values and key military training, they were able to take over and dominate southern Afghanistan. This is where they created a safe haven for Al Qaiada.
Hense, 9/11 and the U.S. war in Afghanistan. It has become the longest war in modern U.S. history (over 10 years).
Can the U.S. be the first great empire to succefully tame this land? What are the goals of this war?
Do Afghans welcome intervention, or did they prefer to be ruled by the Taliban?
