59 pages • 1 hour read
Suzanne RedfearnWhere Butterflies Wander
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Historical Context: The Afghanistan War of 2001-2021
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and child death.
The Afghanistan War of 2001-2021 was a war on Afghan soil between the US and its allies and a number of military-political groups in Afghanistan, including the ruling organization in 2001, the Taliban. It was the United States’ longest war. As with any war, soldiers on both sides and civilians experienced PTSD and other issues as a result of their wartime experiences. About 2,400 US military personnel and 2,900 contractors were killed, with tens of thousands wounded (Bateman, Kate. “In Afghanistan, Was a Loss Better Than Peace?” United States Institute of Peace, 3 Nov. 2022). Afghan civilian deaths are estimated at over 110,000, in addition to over 70,000 deaths of Afghan police and military personnel (“Instability in Afghanistan.” Center for Preventative Action, 1 July 2024).
The US invaded Afghanistan primarily as a response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America, the largest terrorist incident on American soil. These attacks were committed by the international Islamist group Al-Qaeda and supported by the Taliban, the fundamentalist government of Afghanistan. When the Taliban refused to expel or extradite the leaders of Al-Qaeda, the US invaded Afghanistan as part of the George W.
