The Dishonest Invasion: The Soviet Invasion

In April 1978 Afghanistan’s centrist government, led by President Muhammad Daud Khan, was overthrown by Soviet left-wing military officers, led by a man named Nur Muhammad Taraki. The Soviet Union was in support of the communists in Afghanistan and against the anti communist, “Muslim guerrillas”. The Soviet Union wanted to replace Afghanistan’s existing government to spread communism. The war ended up straining the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union nearly to the breaking point. The United States was not in favor of the Soviet Union trying to invade Afghanistan. This ineffective war lasted eight years, cost many lives and a lot of money, and was often compared to the Vietnam War. The Muslim rebels eventually succeeded

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.

Sanjidah Chowdhury With the information provided from the CIA article entitled “A Cold War Conundrum: The 1983 Soviet War Scare” by Benjamin B. Fischer, it seems that Intelligence and the Secret World contributed to the already heightened state of fear felt by the Soviets. Intelligence and the Secret World didn't in itself make 1983 a more dangerous time, but it allowed for certain reactions to occur that escalated the situation. Soviets during 1983 were acting hyper-vigilant for any possible threats. Any movement made by the US would probably cause a reaction from the Soviets. Their fear of a surprise attack was understandable.

After the September 11 attacks, it was widely believed that the terrorists responsible were hiding throughout the hills and caves of Afghanistan. The United States chose to invade Afghanistan because it was searching for the terrorists. President Bush believed that the Taliban was hiding Osama Bin Laden and his people. The United States and our allies were successful at removing the threat during World War II, but while our military was able to overthrow the Taliban and capture some of Bin Laden’s associates, we are still involved in a war in the Middle East.

“Perestroika”, was Gorbachev’s new idea for domestic economic planning, and the restructuring of Soviet economics. Gorbachev would later suggest to media sources that they begin reporting casualties of the war in order to gain public support over Politburo, and the Soviet hardliners, who opposed pulling out of Afghanistan. “Previously, the Soviet public routinely had been told that "soldiers in Afghani-Stan were planting trees and building schools and hospitals."' (Kuperman, 1999) The fact of the whole matter was that regardless of what the CIA was supplying to the rebels Gorbachev wanted out anyway. Though The Stingers contribution may have aided in expediting the directive far more than any other weapon in the region, it also served another purpose, it gave Gorbachev another reason to pull out of the war. Mujahideen causalities were 40,000 Soviet causalities were 14,500 dead 53,753 wounded and 415,932 ill from disease. Gorbachev eventually concluded that the continuing intervention was allowing the Americans to bleed his country. He also accepted that Afghanistan was an Islamic country and without that element no foreign regime would ever be credible .” (Freedman,

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.

There are so many, of reasons the Soviet Union lost their war in Afghanistan. The Taliban did not wholey defeat the Soviet Union and their retreat and subsequent withdrawal was caused by multiple factors. First and foremost was that the domestic issues in Soviet Union had demanded it. The war began while Brezhnev was still in power, continued under Adropov and Chernenko, but ended under Gorbachev. In fact, Gorbachev attempted to end the war in 1985 when he was first elected, but was unable to do so. After the disaster in Priyapyat , the Soviet Union "opened up". This new transparency brought increased criticism to the efforts in Afghanistan. Additionally, this "war by proxy" between the Soviets and Americans was seen as an anachronism in the age of Glasnost and Perestroika. The Soviets merely admitted that they were in no position to win a war in that country ,as the British had done twice and the Americans will do in the near future and if they perservered it would be at the expense of their more pressing domestic issues as well as new international

Following the attacks of September 11, the United States government responded with military force. It was clear that Al Qaeda was behind the attacks, and knowing that Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden were based in Afghanistan, President George W. Bush gave the Taliban an ultimatum: either hand over Bin Laden and his organization or the United States would strike with full force. Congress passed legislation authorizing the use of force in striking against terrorist targets.. Answer was NO. United Nation decided to solve the problem really fast and show to all world what UN power means. In October 2001 American bombs has hit first targets. To avoid sending tousands of troops so far away, CIA was recruting Local Warlors, Milicia etc and using The Afghan Northern Alliance (a military-political umbrella organization) to punish TALIBAN for terrorist

One of America’s nightmares in the height of the Cold War started coming to fruition in the December of 1979, the Soviets have invaded a country outside of the Eastern Bloc. The invasion of Afghanistan marked a ten year bloody occupation of the region to try install a friendly government, and curve the Civil War within Afghanistan. Ten years, million of lives, and billions of dollars later the Soviets failed, and withdrew from Afghanistan. The failed “intervention” contributed to the fall of the USSR, it also led to a major drive of terrorist activity throughout the Middle East, and Africa. The war also led to the creation of Al-Qaeda who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the US which is most likely the main effect of the war that the

The United States utilizing its networks to destabilize the Soviet Union as a regional hegemon, it supported a an Islamic fundamentalist group named the Taliban, and along with weapon support and logistics. As well as discussing the various guerilla tactics utilized and discussed by the class through the readings such as Mao Zedong. I will also elaborate on the success and the dependency of the various guerilla tactics used and how fundamental it was in their victory against a conventional army (Soviet Union), and the outcome would not have. As well as the success of the conflict only through its reliance on foreign aid, as well as the major influence of external actors from the United States, and other gulf countries, this in fact was colossal in the success of the conflict. The examination of these primitive as well as effective asymmetrical forms of warfare were pivotal to the success.

On June 22, 1941, the Nazis launched what they thought would be a quick and victorious war against the Soviet Union. Hitler believed that the Jews were responsible for Germany’s defeat in the first world war, and had the idea that Jews played a central role in bolshevism making this war more than strategic. He also believed that Russian territory would be better used as Lebensraum, or living space, for German citizens. Even before the invasion was launched, Hitler made clear to his officers how to handle the Soviets. In a March 30th meeting with advisors, Hitler said the war was a struggle of 2 ideologies, and that communism was a threat to German future. He said It is a “matter of struggle of annihilation... of Bolshevik commissars and communist intelligentsia.” The combination of these ideas would lead to policy aimed at destroying an entire generation of people. Through this essay, I will argue that the brutal Nazi policies in the east failed to pacify the civilian population, adding to the Partisan movement against Nazi occupation along with aiding the German resistance and ultimately did more harm than good.

The cold war was from 1947- 1991. During that time, the world was on the brink of a nuclear war, where the whole human population was in mere seconds of extinction. The cold war was called the cold war because it was an indirect war, not physical(hot) but non physica(cold). It was a war of two types of governments. Socialism and Capitalism. It was a dreaded time for both countries, and their people. There is evidence that the USSR started it, but there are many advocates for that now. So, it is up to our dear reader to decide for himself/herself who was really to be pointed to.

Some Background to the Afghanistan War is that during 1970’s Afghanistan became pro-soviet and a communist nation. However the fundamentalist Islamic group known as the Mujaheddin strongly opposed the government. The Soviets wanted to help their ally resist this threat but did not particularly want to send soldiers. However in 1979 when Hafizullah Amin came to power in Afghanistan he started to look towards the West, in particular America to help deal with this threat.

The CIA made efforts to support the Mujahideen against the Soviets in this war which it could not be proven that the Americans were involved. The way that the CIA did this was by aiding those who wanted to see the Mujahideen succeed against the Soviets. This included wealthy Saudi individuals who had the ability to channel millions, and eventually billions, through charity organizations. Intelligence resources from the Pakistani intelligence