Afghanistan 1979 Flashcards
Why was the soviet union interested in invading afghanistan
Brezhnev doctrine- the soviet union wanted to use mulitaryforce to uphold the brezhnev doctrine. Which stated that once a country became socialist it would remain so
Strategic Location- Gave access to Indian ocean
Natural Reasources- Rich in Copper,Iron Ore abd gold
Cold War - Wanted to counter US is influncebin the region
Buffer zone- Could Act as a buffer zone between USSR and Iran they were afriad of the Islamic fundementalism
Economic and Plotical dependancy- Communist govermant were depandant on Moscow
What happened on april 1978 in afghanistan and then what happened in september 1979
December 1979
April 1978 -Communist goverment takes control of Afghanistan
Afghans reject the communist goverment
Mujahideen( Anti communist resitantce movement arose after soviets killed many muslim relgious leaders) emerges
September 1979
Afghan politican Amin arranges for murder of Taraki
Amin seizes control
Amin enter discussion with US but isnt trusted by USA
December 1979
USSR invades Afghanistan
Amin is assassinated by Soviet troops
USDR makes Baraj Kamal as leader
What was the final straw so that the Soviets invade afghanistan
After supporting Amin at first he started to decrease in :
His popularity
rumors that he was talking to the USA about possible american support so decided to act
Soviets didnt want American influnce on their Southern boarder
When did the soviets invade Afghanistan
24th December 1979
When was Amin assasinated
He was assasinated on the 27th december 1979 and was replaced by a pro soviet leader.
What was the reactions of the USA to the invasion of Afghanistan
The US saw the situation in Afghanistan as an extension of the Cold War so they supported Mujahideen against the USSR
USA refused to sign SALT 2 (is to limit the total number of nuclear forces to 2,250)
The USA extended its policy of containment to the Middle East (Carter Doctrine) which stated the USA was prepared to use force to stop any
country from gaining control if the oil rich states of the middle East.
Cartier formed an alliance with China and Isreal to support the Mujahideen rebels against USSR and the CIA secretly provided them with weapons snd funds.
In 1980 the USA boycotted the moscow olympics.
Who were the muslim Guerilla fighters against the Soviets
They were the Mujahideen,They were supplied lots of weapons and help by the US
What was the impact of the Afghanistan Invasion on Superpower relations (USA and USSR)
End of Detenté - the invasion marked the end of the period of reduced tension between the two countries known as Detente
The invasion led to more confrontational (fighting) between the two countries
The US imposed economic sanctions on the ussr and pulled out of SALT 2 agreement.
Boycot of miscow ilympics 1980
US provided weapons and funds to the Mujidahin rebels through Pakistan.
The US placed military missiles in Britain and European
The election of Reagan who believed in being hard on the soviets and called them an ‘evil empire’ this led to the second cold war
What were the consequences of the soviet invasion of afghanistan
End of Detente
Olympic boycotts (Moscow)
SALT 2 abandoned
Second cold war begins
reagan eventually elected
