SOVIET-AFGHAN WAR (1979-89)!

In April 1978 Afghanistans government was overthrown by the left-wing Peoples Democratic Party, helped by the military. The new government, which had little popular support, formed close ties with the Soviet Union, launched ruthless purges of all domestic opposition, and began extensive land and social reforms that were bitterly resented by the devoutly Muslim and largely anticommunist population. Rebellion against the government arose among both tribal and urban Islamic groups, known collectively as the mujahideen (Arabic muj!hid"n, those who engage in jihad).

In order to save the Afghan Revolution against the rebels the Soviet Union invaded the country on Christmas Eve 1979, sending in some 30,000 troops. However, the communist leader Babrak Karmal was still unable to attain significant popular support. Backed by the United States, the mujahideen rebellion grew, spreading to all parts of the country. The Soviets first tried to make the Afghan army suppress the rebellion, but the army was ineffective and many of its soldiers deserted to the rebel side. The Afghan War quickly settled down into a stalemate, with more than 100,000 Soviet troops controlling the cities, larger towns and major garrisons and the mujahideen moving with relative freedom throughout the countryside. The Soviets then tried to eliminate the mujahideens civilian support by bombing the rural areas. These tactics sparked a massive flight from the countryside; by 1982 some 2.8 million Afghans had sought asylum in Pakistan, and another 1.5 million had fled to Iran. The mujahideen were eventually able to neutralize Soviet air power through the use of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles supplied by the United States.

The mujahideen were fragmented politically into a handful of independent groups, and their military efforts remained uncoordinated throughout the war. The quality of their arms and combat organization gradually improved, however, owing to experience and to the large quantity of arms and other war matriel shipped to the rebels, via Pakistan, by the United States and other countries and by sympathetic Muslims from throughout the world. In addition, many Muslim volunteers traveled from all parts of the world to join the opposition.

The war in Afghanistan became a major failure for the Soviet Union, just like Vietnam had been for the United States. In 1988 the Soviet Union signed an accord with the United States, Pakistan and Afghanistan and agreed to withdraw its troops. The Soviet withdrawal was completed in February 1989, and by then some 15 000 Soviet soldiers had died and more than one million Afghans.

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Different interpretations The view of many in the United States was that the invasion of Afghanistan was a key example of how the Soviets were trying to expand their empire and spread communism. Another, and more established view, is that the Soviet Union was responding defensively to a genuine threat to its security along its borders. The U.S. response was cynical and intended to take advantage of the unstable situation caused by Islamic fundamentalism in Afghanistan.

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Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan in 1979? What was the response from the mujahideen and the USA? Why was the Soviet Union unable to defeat the mujahideen? What are the different interpretations of the Soviet invasion and what role did the Cold War play?

Sources: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1499983/Soviet-invasion-of-Afghanistan http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan http://www.greggirard.com/content/gallery/Kabul003.jpg Rogers, K. and Jo Thomas. 20th Century World The Cold War. Harlow: Heinemann International, 2008.

Civil war 1992-2001

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In April 1992, various rebel groups stormed the capital of Kabul and the communists fell from power. Instead an Islamic republic was proclaimed. However, law and order broke down across much of the country and Afghanistan became ruled by local warlords who took control of the border trade and carried out kidnapping. The people generally fell into a state of despair. Partly in response to this situation, the Taliban (Persian: Students) emerged in the fall of 1994. Its leader was a former mujahideen fighter, Mullah Mohammad Omar and its members first came from madrasah (religious school) students in Pakistan and the southern province of Kandah!r. The Taliban defeated the warlords and by 2001 had taken control of over nine-tenths of the country, including Kabul. Only a small section of northern Afghanistan was still controlled by other mujahideen fractions, now known as the Northern Alliance. The Talibans success was largely due to the warweariness of the Afghan people. It was also supported by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

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The Taliban was denied Afghanistans seat at the UN and came under vigorous international criticism for its extreme viewswith regard to women in particularand its human rights record. When it refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, an Islamic extremist accused by the United States of organising a global terrorist network, the UN imposed sanctions in 1999 and again in 2001. The Taliban was also opposed by Iran, which objected to the treatment of the Sh#$ite Muslim population and to the smuggling of narcotics across the Iranian frontier. Struggle for democracy Conditions continued to deteriorate in late 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States. The Taliban refused repeated U.S. demands to hand over bin Laden and his associates and to dismantle terrorist training facilities in Afghanistan. The United States and Britain launched an intensive bombing campaign and a ground offensive together with the Northern Alliance. On 7 December the Taliban surrendered Kandah!r, the militias base of power and the last city under its control. A temporary government was installed by various anti-Taliban groups with the help of the international community. Democratic elections, in which women were granted the right to vote, were held in October 2004, and Hamid Karzai was elected president, winning 55 percent of the vote. In 2005 elections to a national assembly were held, for the first time in more than 30 years.

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Violence still continued, however. In July 2006, NATO troops replaced the U.S.-led coalition at the head of military operations. Fighting between NATO and Taliban forces continued, and civilian casualties remained numerous; in 2008 they reached their highest levels since the start of the war. Newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama announced in February 2009 that the United States would send more troops to Afghanistan. To make matters worse, opium production reached record levels and it was estimated that Afghanistan produced more than nine-tenths of the worlds opium. Both the Taliban and supporters of the central government profited from the production. Indeed, the Taliban derived a substantial income from the industry, using the proceeds to fund their insurgency. The number of NATO troops in Afghanistan peaked in 2010 at nearly 150,000. The results were mixed; although NATO troops were able to sweep the Taliban out of areas that it had previously controlled, the Taliban continued to launch devastating surprise attacks. Two factors that helped the Taliban were the widespread unpopularity of the Afghan central government and NATO among Afghans and the presence of a safe haven for Taliban fighters across the eastern border in Pakistan. With no military resolution to the conflict in sight and public support for the war declining in both Europe and the U.S., NATO members agreed in November 2010 to withdraw combat troops by 2014.

The gradual transfer of security responsibilities to Afghan forces began in 2011. However, many observers question their ability to control the country after the withdrawal of NATO in 2014, especially with a presidential election scheduled for April of that year.