Will Afghanistan achieve peace and prosperity Research Paper

Will Afghanistan achieve peace and prosperity - Research Paper Example It is a landlocked nation occupying part of South, Central and Western Asia. Afghanistan’s population is approximated to be thirty million head counts which almost the same as that of that of Uganda in Africa. Afghans population growth rate is approximately similar to the population growth rates of most third world country like Brazil. Afghanistan is approximately 647,500 square km making it one of the top fifty most populous countries in the world as a result of the large population occupying a small area1. Location of Afghanistan on the globe as produced by the UN, retrieved on December 1, 2013 Afghans urban civilization is believed to have begun in early 3000 to 2000 BC. Afghanistan is home to people from various parts of the world given its strategic location as a connection point between the Middle East, Central Asia and India. This is clearly seen the wake of military campaigns in this nation dating the era of Alexander the great of Britain, Russia, Arab Muslims, and Gen ghis khan. Afghanistan is a nation which was formed after an agreement between British and Russia. The fight for Afghanistan is experienced in the modern era of religious groups likes Taliban and the Western nation each having the desire to control the mineral deposits in Afghanistan2. The history of Afghanistan is begun in 1709 after the establishment of Hostaki dynasty, which led to the rise of Pashtuns. The Hostaki dynasty was preceded by the Duran Empire in 1747. After the great Anglo-Afghan war, the king began to modernize Afghanistan using the British system. This method of modernization was met by opposition from the conservative Muslims. When the British withdrew the neighboring India during the cold war, Russia and the United States started influencing Afghanistan. These influences from United States led to war between Russian backed Afghanistan government, and US backed Mujahedeen militia in 1779. This was the beginning of a series of wars in Afghanistan including the 1990 s civil war, the Taliban wars and the present war led by the United Nations security forces (Riphenburg 2006). A photo of American forces in Afghanistan: produced by CIA, retrieved on December 1, 2013 Resources Afghans natural resources include coal, copper, iron ore, lithium, uranium, rare earth elements, chromite, gold, zinc, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, marble, precious and semi precious stones, natural gas and petroleum. Afghanistan government estimates quite a large number of untapped mineral resources. Afghanistan is endowed with five major rivers which include: Helmand River, the Kunar River, the Oxus River, the Hari rod river and the Panjisher River. The five rivers in Afghanistan are fed by the snows and glaciers on the mountains of Afghanistan, and they flow to the neighboring Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Tajikistan and Pakistan. This implies that Afghanistan supplies its neighbors with freshwater which is very crucial for the survival of any nation. Poor management of water resources is a contentious issue in Afghanistan3. Afghans landscape; produced by Aljazeera, retrieved in December 1, 2013 This is because most residents of Afghanistan do not get the chance to enjoy this crucial resource regardless of its abundance the country. Everyone wants to control the parts endowed with water resource since most leaders believe that once they take control of water resource, they can control a vast population of any nation. A country like Afghanistan which has this great resource in abundance should not be complaining of scarcity of water. This though does not surprise many due to poor management of water resources in Afghanistan. Afghanistan also lack proper infrastructure, which can aid in water storage since water is available