Afghanistan: the Soviet-Afghan War 1979-1989

statistics of the soviet-afghan war

• 5-10 million people fled the country

• 2 million civilian deaths

• 2 million Afghans internally displaced

• cost the USSR 8 billion roubles per year

reasons for Soviet intervention

• the USSR believed that if the communist regime was to survive in Afghanistan, President Hafizullah Amin (Khalq faction) needed to be removed

Prime Minister Taraki

presidential term: april 1978-1979

• khalq faction

• PDPA staged the Saur Revolution under his leadership

• became president of the newly established Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

• his relationship to the Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin deteriorated, leading to his ouster and assassination, september 1979

Prime Minister Amin

presidential term: september- december 1979

• Khalq faction

• tensions between Taraki and Amin grew due to differing leadership styles and political strategies

• he attempted to appeal to the US and the USSR amid intensifying repression against political opponents

• his erratic behaviour and aggressive policies alarmed the USSR, leading them to intervene militarily during the Soviet Invasion in December 1979

Causes of the Soviet Invation

December 1979

• Brezhnev wanted to support a communist nation

• he did not want Islamic fundamentalism to spread to the 30 million Muslims living in the USSR

• Mujahideen had been seeking assistance from the US and he did not want a pro-US neighbor

• he believed that Amin would seek support from the US if the USSR did not offer any

Prime Minister Babrak Karmal

presidential term: 1979-1986

• parcham faction

• stable communist leader supported by the Soviets

• exiled and killed by the Taliban in 1996

Soviet Invasion

24 December 1979

• 30,000 Soviet troops occupied Afghanistan

• the Mujahedeen (Islamic rebels) led the opposition

• within a year, the invasion became bogged down and would remain that way for the next decade. the Soviets did not have the support of the Afghani people and the Muslim people were united against them.

soviet military operations

• 50,000 Soviet troops were flow into Kabul between the 24 and 27 decemver 1979

• Soviet forces were able to occupy all the major cities

• they faced up to 200,000 Mujahedeen guerillas

• by 1985 it was clear that the war could not be won by the Soviets as they faced seven different Mujahedeen factions who had headquarters in the mountains

Assassination of Hafizullah Amin

27 december 1979

• soviet soldiers attacked the Tajbeg Palace

• KGB and special forces executed Amin and replaced him with Babrak Karmal

Jimmy Carter’s response to the Soviet Invasion (?)

• increased the US military budget

• registration of draft-aged men

• created a rapid deployment force for the Middle East

• ordered a boycott of the Moscow Games 1980

• authorised CIA to assist the Islamic rebels

• introduced a grain embargo

US Support for the Mujahedeen

under Carter:

• Carter administration began providing aid in 1978

• Operation Cyclone: code name for CIA operation to arm and finance the supply of weapons to the Afghan mujahedeen

• initial funding was between $500,000 to $3 million

under Raegan:

• estimated $250 million in funding in 1985

• he decided to send the Mujahedeen lightweight ground-to-air missiles which diminished Soviet air superiority

Moscow 1980 Olympics and LA 1984 Olympics

announced on 21 March 1980

• United States formally announced that it would not participate in the Moscow Olympics

• USSR announced it would not participate in the LA Olympics on May 8 1984

problems for the Soviets

• demoralised army

• the Soviet Army was unprepared and had no anti-guerilla training

• vulnerable due to their traditional weaponry and military equipment

• confusion as the initial mission to guard cities soon expanded to combat

• leadership was not willing to admit they were fighting the Afghan civil war for the PDPA

• terrain meant that it was difficult to fight on for the Soviet Army who had no training

President Najibullah

presidential term: 1986-1992

• the soviets replaced Karmal with him

Gorbrachev and Afghanistan

• Mikhail Gorbrachev took over as the USSR leader in 1985

• he realised that Soviet policy had failed in Afghanistan

• he decided in November 1986 that the Soviet troops would have to be removed

• agreements were signed in Geneva in April 1988: the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan would begin on 15 May and end by 15 February 1989

• the war cost 15,000 Soviet lives