Afghanistan Cold War

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan just to see themselves as the big “Losers” of the war. The defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan was a serious blow to the prestige of the Army, to national pride and faith in the soviet political leaders. The scars it left on many of the remaining soldiers created social and political problems. A reform of the military was necessary. In the midst of all these turmoil, “there was also corruption and inefficiency within the states bureaucracy” (p.3 smitha.com) and nothing seemed to get done. The soviet people and some Eastern European countries were fed up of all these ongoing problems the Soviet Union was facing. The soviet people were fed up with the high communist party which stood ground and dominated the entire soviet politics, as this was the only party in the states since Stalin’s regime. The party had become rigid and corrupt which discouraged younger party members who saw little chance of advancement. At this stage corruption was the order of the soviet system of government which buoyed lack of commitment to the government.

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on December 1979, the goal was to help Afghan communist forces set up a communist government. The Soviet Union felt Afghanistan had key resources and a foothold in the Middle East to spread communist ideas. The result would be a war that the Soviet Union wishes it never got involved in and likened to their “Vietnam War”, meaning winning a number of battles but not the war like what happened to the U.S. in Vietnam. The background of the war, outcome of the war, and impact on the United States are key to understanding the Soviet-Afghan War.

“Afghanistan was a monarchy ruled by King Zahir Shah. On July 17, 1973, when the king was on away on vacation, a man by the name of Mohammad Daoud Khan attained power. The military takeover did not cause any bloodshed, but as we see through Amir's story, it was still a frightening time for the people of Kabul who heard rioting and shooting in the streets. For six years, Mohammad Daoud Khan was President and Prime Minister of Afghanistan. Then, on April 27, 1978, he was violently overthrown by the PDPA, People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. Daoud was killed in

For over 2 centuries, Afghanistan has known virtually no time without war. Beginning around 326 B.C. with the conquests of Alexander the Great, to the Persians, British, Russians and most recently, America and our NATO allies, Afghanistan has been cultivated into the country that it is today through a trial by fire. Regardless of this relentless onslaught of foreign military power, the Afghan people have tirelessly defended their homeland with no outside power ever being able to subdue them completely. Following the withdrawal of the Soviet Union in 1989, the country fell into civil war, torn even further apart by fiercely dedicated tribal warlords. This power vacuum led to the rise of a group called the Taliban. Led by a one eyed man

When the soviet union invaded afghanistan the war lasted for 9 years 1979-1989. Between 1 million to 1.5 million people were killed in that war and millions of people when to a diffrent countries such as pakistan or iran as refugees. The United States supported Afghanistan by supplying arms to the Mujahadeen. Ronald Reagan sent billions of dollars to the Mujahadeen so he can help Jihad against the Soviet Union. “Reagan believed this defense shield could make nuclear war impossible. Reagan deployed CIA special activities division paramilitary officers to train, equip and lend the Mujahideen battalion against the Soviet army”. Reagan’s objective was winning the Cold War and the rollback of communism. The United States also offered financial and

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the eventual civil war both effected America in many ways. After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, they learned that their troops “were of little use in a place like Afghanistan” (Paul) because of the harsh terrain and environment. Using airstrikes, the Soviets began to decimate many of the villages within Afghanistan. It was because of this act of aggression that America started arming the resistance fighters with anti-aircraft missiles. With the assistance of the United States, the Soviets retreated from Afghanistan, which led to internal fighting within the tribes for power.

Army, Dwight D. Eisenhower, General of the Army, U.S. Army, or George Washington, General and Commander in Chief, of the Continental Army ( Bender, J ). People of respectful military status or wealth often gain influence with said power, so is it understandable as to why Osama would be looked upon to lead. Osama left college in 1979, he then ventured across the Saudi Arabian border into Pakistan and joined forces with who would later be one of the co-founders of al Qaeda: Abdullah Azzam. The two associates used money, and mechanisms from Osama's construction company to supply and reinforce the Mujahideen. Who were resisting the Soviet Union from advancing on Afghanistan. In the eyes of his mujahideen brothern Osama was seen as a leading factor as to why Afganistan was sucesfully protected. When Osama returned back home his name had already been spread around as now all of his sournding neighbors believed from his actions that Osama was their to help and is acting in the peoples intrist. Only gaining bin Laden more credibality in his

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan- In 1979, the USSR invaded Afghanistan to support the communist government in Afghanistan against noncommunist guerillas supported by the Americans and West. The war began when the USSR began land reforms that were resented by many people, which The war dragged on, costing thousands of Soviet lives despite the fact that the Soviet troops were not able to achieve their objectives, hence the reason why the war was called “Russia’s Vietnam.” Osama bin Laden was among the anti-Communist guerillas and would later lead the terrorist organization that orchestrated the 9/11 attacks.

The War in Afghanistan has been an all consuming conflict for the US government since we started to launch air strikes on October 7, 2001. This is a conflict that’s been brewing since before the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This war has the continuation of past conflicts in it, conflicts that can be connected a good deal to the interference of other large powers, such as the USSR. From keeping an eye on the oil reserves, pressuring Iran, and keeping Pakistan stable, our interests and motives for occupying Afghanistan are undeniably laced with many ulterior motives, providing us with the issue of unfavorable opinion and our interests being the source of terrorist attacks. Afghanistan is a country that has been plagued with

Russian military involvement in Afghanistan has a long history, going back to Tsarist expansions in the long standing relationship between Russia and Britain (Rubin 1995). This began in the 19th century with such events as the Panjdeh Incident, a military conflict that occurred in 1885 when Russian forces seized Afghan territory south of the Oxus River around an oasis at Panjdeh (Rubin 1995). This interest in the region continued on through the Soviet era, with billions in economic and military aid sent to Afghanistan between 1955 and 1978 (Rubin 1995).

After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, Islamic fighters rushed to Afghanistan to support their brothers and fight against the communists. Most Arab nations and the U.S. facilitated the

Prior to the United States invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the United States was involved in Afghanistan the early 1980's. To truly understand the how our government is in this mess Afghanistan war, we must look back at the Soviet Union involvement into Afghanistan as well. In 1979, the USSR entered neighboring Afghanistan as an attempt to boost the newly established pro Soviet regime in the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul. The takeover of the country was fast: nearly 100,000 soviet soldiers took over major cities and highways in order to complete military and political control. This began a brutal, decade long invasion by the Soviet Union to subdue the Afghan civil war and maintain a friendly and socialist government on their southern border.

In 1979 the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, an action that the U.S national Security advisor Brzezinski considered, “the greatest threat to peace since WWII.” The Soviets seized control of the government, killed President

The Taliban emerged as a rebellious movement after the invasion of the soviet troupes in Afghanistan. Despite the Pakistan and the U.S providing the soviet troupes with adequate military and financial support, the Mujahedeen were able to inflict massive losses to the foreign troupes. During the wars between the Mujahedeen and the Soviets, about fifteen thousand soviet soldiers perished as a result of war inflicted deaths. The soviet troupes left Afghanistan in the year 1979 following a victorious defeat by the Mujahedeen fighters, and Ahmed Shah Massoud assumed power three years after the soviet’s departure. Ahmed captured Kabul and overpowered President Sayid Mohammed Najibullah’s

On May 25th, 1997, Pakistan recognized the Taliban as the Government of Afghanistan, the following day, Saudi Arabia also made this recognition. In August of 1998, the United States had become suspicious of the Taliban forces, and the U.S. fired five missals at Afghanistan because of suspicions that the Taliban was behind the bombings of the U.S. embassies in East Africa.