Afghanistan in US foreign policy since the USSR occupation

In today's international system, the foreign policy of the USA is closely related to all states and organizations that are part of this system. The USA, which emerged as a superpower after the Cold War, has a great say in many areas of the international system. In this study, the foreign policy of the USA will be evaluated on the example of Afghanistan. While doing this, the origins and development of the foreign policy of the USA will be mentioned first. In the period until the occupation of the USSR in Afghanistan, the foreign policy of the USA had been guided by the Cold War dynamics, and this policy has undergone a great change after the collapse of the USSR. As a superpower, the efforts of the USA to gain influence and control around the world are mostly seen in the Middle East region. During and after the invasion, the USA showed a special interest in Afghanistan, where its geo-strategic position was very important, and during the occupation, the USA used Islam as a shield against communism. However, by September 11, these Islamist groups, which received great support from the USA, became the biggest enemies of American foreign policy. It would be best to examine the US Afghanistan policy in three parts: before, during and after the USSR occupation. The US Afghanistan policy focused on the geo-strategic position in the pre-occupation period, and it was shaped according to the threat of the USSR and communism during the occupation. In the post-occupation period, especially after the September 11 attacks, it shaped by the fight against global terrorism, capturing Osama bin Laden and eliminating the Taliban threat. Today, there is still a US military presence on the territory of Afghanistan, but as of 2010's a reconciliation environment has begun to form and the peace process has been accelerated.