Afghanistan is not a friendly place to outsiders. Especially the outsiders who execute their leader and place an unwanted one in his place. Ironically enough Afghanistan’s ally, the USSR did just that in 1980. Lets step back though to 1979 when the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (Hafizullah Amin) was asking the Soviet government for military aid. This plea for help was the result of attacks by the Islamic extremists (mujahideen) who wanted to oust Hafizullah Amin and Nur Mohammad Taraki and end the progressive reforms they wanted for Afghanistan. Some of these reforms included equal rights for women, secular education and new land laws. (SMSH) However these changes would never see the light of day, not because of the extremists but because of the USSR.
The USSR answered Afghanistan’s call for help on December 25, 1979. They sent a small contingent of Soviet troops to help out with the fight against the extremists. Yet this “invasion” as the Western powers perceived it was just the USSR helping out a friend in need. The USSR’s next move would be the move that would lead to the start of the downfall of communism. That move was the execution of Hafizullah Amin and implanting Babrak Karmal as the president. The reason for this execution as stated in SMSH was because of Amin’s execution of Taraki who was friends of Brezhnev and he felt betrayed by Taraki execution. Yet the blatant interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs was not seen as a justified action by the international community.
Things only got worse for the Soviets as the Mujahideen moved into the mountains and began a fierce ten year guerrilla war that ultimately ended with the Soviets withdrawing. The USSR sent thousands of soldiers to Afghanistan and many returned in caskets. As the war dragged on its toll on the economy back in Russia worsened until their was no economy. This coupled with civilian opposition to the war started the Soviets toward their own destruction. On top of all that the Mujahideen got the help of the US by weapons and ammo which greatly increased their effectiveness against the Soviets.
Overall the decision to help out in Afghanistan was not a bad idea, it was the personal decision by Brezhnev to execute Amin and place Karmal at the head of an already very unstable government. As a result of this more men joined the ranks of the Mujahideen and bloody ten year guerrilla war took place resulting in terrible conditions back home in Russia that would ultimatelylead the USSR down the road of collapse.
Sources:
Picture: http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&show=images&SubjectID=1980afghanistan&Year=1980&navi=byYear
Text: http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1980afghanistan&Year=1980&navi=byYear
http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=article&ArticleID=1980appeal1&SubjectID=1980afghanistan&Year=1980
December 3, 2013 @ 2:14 am
This is a great general overview of why they went in and what actions caused the quagmire they would eventually be forced to embarrassingly in a way withdraw from years later. Great post!
December 3, 2013 @ 2:33 am
I liked the detail in which you go into about the politics leading up/ during Soviet involvement in Afghanistan. This is a good post!
December 3, 2013 @ 5:53 am
I really liked the simple explanation of the Soviet Invasion. I have learned about it in at least three of my other classes, but no one has been able to explain it that clearly.
December 3, 2013 @ 4:25 pm
This was a really great post! I think you provided a good summary of the events that occurred when the USSR answered Afghanistan’s call for help on December 25, 1979. I also thought it was great how you explained that it was a “personal decision by Brezhnev to execute Amin and place Karmal at the head of an already very unstable government.” I think you did a great job of tying in the image above with your blog post.
December 4, 2013 @ 8:32 pm
Some good detail here. For more context on the start of the Afghan war, check out Kyle’s post here: http://blogs.lt.vt.edu/kylsmith991/2013/12/03/the-quagmire-of-afghanistan/
December 5, 2013 @ 2:40 am
Good post, interesting to see there was a negative attitude to the war by the Russians as there was in the Vietnam war by the Americans.
December 6, 2013 @ 10:50 pm
This just goes to show that the Soviet’s continuous manipulation of other nations and obsession with furthering its “buffer zone”, this time to the south, was, as you said, another nail in the coffin of the Soviet Union. This failure in Afghanistan, which the Soviets perceived would be a quick and easy invasion, made it clear to the world that the SU was spreading itself to thin and wasting resources, money, and lives ended up puncturing the domestic economy, and leading citizens to question the state that Soviet Union was in.