A Afghanistan Afghanistan is a predominantly Muslim, landlocked country bordered by Iran, Pakistan, and the former Soviet republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan It is not a nation-state along European lines—it shares no common language or ethnic heritage Instead, it consists of a host of different groups, including Pashtuns, Hazaras, Tajiks, and Uzbeks It also occupies rugged, divided terrain This diversity has translated into a weak central state prone to interventions from the outside From the 19th to early 20th centuries Afghanistan was caught between the Russian and British Empires as each expanded into Central Asia During the second half of the 20th century Afghanistan again found itself a buffer between large empires, in this case between the Soviet Union and the United States In 1933 Afghanistan’s king, Mohammed Zahir Shah, began what would become a 40-year reign, during which he would only rule directly during the final decade Just before the end of World War II, in which Afghanistan was neutral, one of Zahir Shah’s uncles, Shah Mahmud, gained control of the country In the immediate postwar years Shah Mahmud saw the breakdown of relations with Pakistan and Afghanistan’s subsequent movement toward the Soviet Union Tensions with Pakistan, especially over the border issue, would characterize postwar Afghanistan’s history The 1,300-mile border with Pakistan, the so-called Durand Line, had been established by the British decades earlier to divide the fractious Pashtun tribe Pashtuns ended up on both sides of the border The departure of the British in 1947 gave Shah Mahmud and other Pashtuns in Afghanistan hope for Pashtun unification Mahmud and others called for an independent “Pashtunistan” and encouraged rebellion on the Pakistan side of the border In 1950 in retaliation, Pakistan halted shipments of petroleum to Afghanistan Crippled without oil, Afghanistan turned to the Soviets and signed a major trade agreement Pakistan, meanwhile, became an important part of the American military alliance In 1953 Mohammed Daoud, the king’s cousin and brother-in-law and a young, Western-educated modernizer, came to power His vigorous pursuit of Pashtun unification created more tensions with Pakistan and pushed Afghanistan further toward the Soviets Interested in spreading and consolidating power along its border regions, the Soviet Union was eager to assist At the same time, though, the United States also tried to win influence in Afghanistan As part of cold war strategy, the United States wanted to create an alliance of nations along the Soviet Union’s border—Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Turkey Daoud refused to join the resulting Baghdad Pact but accepted U.S aid During his 10 years in power, Daoud pursued a cautiously reformist agenda, in which economic development became the chief goal of the state To help with modernizing projects, Daoud skillfully played the Soviets and the United States off of each other Afghanistan received $500 million in aid from the United States and $2.5 billion from the Soviets Daoud used this aid to consolidate his own power