The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and the American Response
In 1973, Mohammad Daoud launched a successful coup against the government of Afghanistan. While his beliefs were those of nationalists, he was militarily supported by the Soviets, and he enjoyed the political support of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. However, previously, in 1967, the party split into two factions, one headed by Daoud and the other by Noor Taraki. Daoud tried to govern the tribes of Afghanistan and tried to reconcile the split in the party. During this time, he was moving away from the Soviet influence and tried to establish relations with the US. However, this ended in failure when the pro-Soviet Taraki led a coup against Daoud, which ended in the execution of Daoud and his family. The US, under President Carter, had to decide whether to ignore and refuse to acknowledge the new pro-Soviet government of Afghanistan or to try and build relations with them to reduce Soviet influence. Carter opted for the latter, even though his Assistant for National Security Affairs advised Carter to do the former. Carter attempted to form good relations with Afghanistan until the Afghan-US ambassador Adolph Dubs was kidnapped and killed by insurgents.
At this time, the government under Taraki and his deputy minister, Hafizullah Amin, were attempting to spread communism to the Islamic tribes, which, in response, began an armed revolution. The Soviets, seeing that Taraki and Amin could not contain the Islamic rebels, began working on finding replacements. Amin, suspecting that the Soviets were going to strengthen Taraki at is own expense, decided to execute Taraki. This infuriated the Soviets, who amassed troops along the border. The US under Jimmy Carter decided to believe that the Soviets would not go through with the expensive invasion and occupation of Afghanistan until the moment that the Soviet invasion began. When Reagan took presidency, he began supplying the Islamic rebel groups with weapons and training, hoping that they would be able to fight off the Soviets. While Reagan's policy was successful, it allowed the Taliban to gain presence in Afghanistan. |
Soviet Invasion Routes in Afghanistan
Soviet tanks, newspaper in America, and painting of Islamic insurgents shooting down Russian helicopters.
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TL:DR
Party A takes power and moves away from Soviets, and the Soviet backed Party B takes control. Party C, which used to support party B, then kills Party B, which causes the Soviets to throw a hissy fit and invade Afghanistan. Carter, prior to the Soviet invasion, chose to believe the Soviets would not move troops into Afghanistan due to the large amount of resources required, while Reagan supplied the rebels groups once he took office. One of the rebel groups, the Taliban, eventually gained influence in the country.
Party A takes power and moves away from Soviets, and the Soviet backed Party B takes control. Party C, which used to support party B, then kills Party B, which causes the Soviets to throw a hissy fit and invade Afghanistan. Carter, prior to the Soviet invasion, chose to believe the Soviets would not move troops into Afghanistan due to the large amount of resources required, while Reagan supplied the rebels groups once he took office. One of the rebel groups, the Taliban, eventually gained influence in the country.