|
|
Article: Afghanistan's strategic position makes it historical battleground.(Arts and Lifestyle)
- Article from:
- The Boston Herald
- Article date:
- November 6, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Boston Herald. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
It was a sight British colonists never forgot.
In January 1842, a bloodied Englishman on an exhausted horse rode into a British stronghold in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. He was the only English survivor of 16,000 crack British soldiers in a fierce battle against Afghans in Kabul. Never again would the British underestimate the toughness of Afghan defenders.
Despite the humiliating defeat, Great Britain fought two more wars in Afghanistan, seeking to counter Russian expansion, in something Rudyard Kipling called The Great Game.
Now, in what some call a Second Great Game, this land-locked region has become a battleground for two modern powers: Islamic ...