Talk:Afghanistan

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

• Arms of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.svg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 20:09, 4 May 2022 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 7 May 2022

The first bit needs to be changed. Afghanistan has always been considered to be a crossroad between the Middle east, Central asia and South asia. Only south asians themselves consider afghanistan to be south asian. Afghans consider themselves to either be middle eastern or Central Asian. Afg.7777 (talk) 19:48, 7 May 2022 (UTC)

 Not done The material you're asking to be changed appears to be reliably sourced. --RegentsPark (comment) 21:38, 7 May 2022 (UTC)

Languages

Based on population and the percentage people speak specified language, Persian (Dari) must be first and then followed by pashto and other languages. This is a rule and does not relate to favourism. Zaki Frahmand, 13 May 2022, 22:22 UTC

I think the difference here is that Pashto is definitely an official language of the government, while it is unclear if Persian has that status. ― Tartan357 ^Talk 12:55, 13 May 2022 (UTC)

I follow Afghan news frequently, and I will say yes. Both Persian and Pashto have equal status, same as before. The headers of all official letters published by Taliban are bilingual. The texts are either Pashto or Persian (or Both) depending on the Wilayat. Same with public posters and stuff. Examples here Link The small poster on the right is in Pashto. The one on the left is Persian. The big one behind the guy is in Pashto. BasilLeaf (talk) 17:21, 13 May 2022 (UTC)

If you have government examples of them consistently using both, then I'd say go for it. ― Tartan357 ^Talk 06:43, 20 May 2022 (UTC)

current leader:

Mullah Abdul Ghani Brader Baheer Pathaan (talk) 22:27, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

He is only the first deputy prime minister. You will see this at Afghanistan#Development_of_Taliban_government. He ended up much lower in the chain of command than most media outlets were predicting in August. ― Tartan357 ^Talk 22:29, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

Egregious source misrepresentation

WatanWatan2020, who previously inaccurately stated that "Afghanistan has been described as one of the most wealthiest countries in the world," is now insisting ([1], [2], [3]) that "The nation has raised and had maintained one of the most powerful militaries in the world throughout its history, at one point, having the Royal Afghan Air Force infamous for being as large and as capable of its time" (whatever that is supposed to mean), citing Small Wars Journal. Unfortunately, Small Wars Journal does not support a statement even remotely resembling WatanWatan2020's proposed addition.

For starters, the cited article only addresses the Afghan Air Force (formed in the early twentieth century), not any other branches of the Military of Afghanistan, as one might have expected given its title ("The Afghan Air Force: A Harsh Lesson in the Expensive Game of Airpower Reconstruction"). Furthermore, the cited article makes clear that the Afghan Air Force was not a significant regional power during the reign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan—directly contradicting WatanWatan2020's proposed addition—has been historically dependent on foreign assistance, and was reduced to a "feeble" shell of its former self by the Afghan Civil War (1992–1996) following an unprecedented expansion during the era of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (subsidized by the Soviet Union). To wit:

First formed in 1924 by King Amanullah Khan with British and Soviet assistance, the Afghan Air Force would not reach the height of its power until the 1979 Soviet invasion. At one point, the AAF consisted of 400 aircraft and 7,000 active personnel, making it one of the largest air forces in Asia. After the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, the AAF, still heavily dependent on foreign support, lost its leading supplier of parts and maintenance personnel. During the ensuing civil conflict, the warring factions scavenged most AAF assets. By the time the Taliban took over in 1996, many of the remaining aircraft were useless, lacking spare parts and people with the skills to maintain them. In the early days of Operation Enduring Freedom, American airstrikes destroyed what was left of the feeble air force.

Notably, the rest of the cited article is devoted to chronicling a huge litany of problems with the Afghan Air Force under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The author concludes that the U.S. totally failed to rebuild and modernize the Afghan Air Force:

Between 2008 and 2021, the United States spent approximately $8 billion to train and equip the Afghan Air Force. Unlike Iraq, where the U.S.-trained Iraqi Air Force is on a slow rise back to regional prominence, the U.S. has little to show for its investment in Afghanistan, even before the Taliban takeover. ... The United States should consider Afghanistan a case study for what not to do in any future attempts to rebuild or modernize partner nation air forces.

Having examined the cited article in context, it is clear that WatanWatan2020's assertion that "[Afghanistan] has raised and had maintained one of the most powerful militaries in the world throughout its history" is inaccurate if not utterly surreal. This user's continued edit warring over such a clear-cut violation of WP:V in a topic area subject to discretionary sanctions is alarming, and calls into question the user's competence and fidelity to Wikipedia's encyclopedic mission.TheTimesAreAChanging (talk) 07:35, 26 May 2022 (UTC)