Summary
Soviet Union + Afghan military against rebelling Muhjahideen, backed by Pakistan. Lasted 10 years and marked ==beginning of the Afghan Conflict==.
Significance
Kicked off the 1979-1995 Second Cold War
Keywords
- Muslim
- Kabal
- civil war
- Hafizullah Amin
- Mujahideen
- jihad
- Babrak Kamal
- Security Council motion
- vetoed
- export
- SALT II
- Moscow Olympics
- surface-to-air missiiles
- 👤 Mikhail Gorbachev
- Taliban
- Carter
- 👤 Ronald Reagan
American reaction
Important
The U.S. leader at the time was 👤 Jimmy Carter.
- blocked various exports to USSR, including vital grain deliveries
- non-ratification of SALT II (didn’t sign)
- 1980: Boycott of Moscow Olympics
- 1980: Carter Doctrine
- the Persian Gulf was a key strategic area
- 1980: Presidential Decree
- considered possibility of limited war focused on specific military targets
- USSR vulnerable – 79% of their ICBMs were land-based, compared to the US’s 25%
- set up Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) in Developing World
- 1981: Ronald Reagan – “So far, détente”
Conclusion
- UN-sponsored peace talks result in an agreement between Pakistan, Afghanistan, USSR, USA
- 1988 May: Gorbachev begins removing troops
- the USA and USSR keep supplying both sides with military equipment
- 1992: the Taliban takes over anyway
- Taliban: hard-line, fundamentalist Ilamic government
Impact on USSR
- nine years of war against Islamic fundamentalists
- 15,000 killed and 30,000 injured
- morale of the Soviet army was severely affected
- international condemnation led by (of course) the USA