The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Flashcards
What happened in Afghanistan in 1978?
- The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), a communist party, overthrew the government in Afghanistan
- Nur Mohamed Taraki became Prime Minister of the new Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
- During its first 18 months in power the PDPA started a communist-style reform, which included killing, torturing or imprisoning thousands of the traditional Muslim elite
What happened to Taraki?
- In September 1979 Hafizullah Amin, the Deputy Prime Minister, seized power from him
Why did Amin have a hard time governing?
- There was continued unrest due to the anti-Muslim policies
- Thousands of Afghan Muslims joined the mujahideen, a guerrilla movement
- They declared a jihad (holy war) against Amin’s supporters, and they wanted to overthrow his government
When did the Soviet Union start helping the PDPA, how and what were 5 reasons why?
- In 1978 they sent them military assistance (equipment and advisers)
- They had signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighbourliness
- The USSR did not want a neighbouring social state to collapse
- Brezhnev was worried about the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, as it was a threat to Soviet system
- He wanted to show the 30 million Muslims in the USSR that the way the country was run would not be changed
- Brezhnev didn’t want the USA to have influence on its borders
How did Soviet assistance change under Amin, and how did he feel about this?
- It increased, and Amin’s regime became dependent on it
- Amin, however, didn’t want to be so reliant on the USSR and wanted to improve links with the USA
When did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan, and what was Brezhnev’s reason?
- Starting on 25th December 1979, the USSR sent 50,000 troops to restore order and protect the PDPA from the mujahideen
- Brezhnev claimed that he did this to comply with the treaty he had signed with Taraki
What happened to Afghanistan’s leadership in 1979?
- Amin was assassinated and replaced by Babrak Kamal
- He had been in exile in Moscow
- His position was completely dependent on Soviet military support, and 85,000 troops were needed to keep him in power
What in particular worried the USA about the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan?
- If the USSR occupied Afghanistan, it would threaten India and Pakistan
- They supplied the West with oil
What was Carter’s attitude towards the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan known as, and 8 ways it was shown?
The Carter Doctrine:
- It said that the USA would use military force if necessary to defend its interests in the Persian Gulf
- Help was to be given to the mujahideen
- It also promised US military aid to all countries bordering Afghanistan
- He proposed the setting up of a Rapid Deployment Force
- He called for a draft of 18 to 20-year-old men, and for Congress to allow the CIA to gather more information
- Carter asked Congress to delay the passing of SALT II
- All shipments of grain to the USSR were cancelled
- US comapanies could no longer sell the USSR ‘high technology’
What influenced Carter’s attitude towards the invasion of Afghanistan?
- In November 1979 US embassy staff in Iran were held hostage by Islamic militant students
- They wanted their leader, the Shah, to be returned from exile in the USA to stand trial for his crimes
- Carter had failed to deal with this by the end of the year, so he was accused of being a weak leader, and wanted to take a firm approach with Afghanistan
What happened in relation to the 1980 Moscow Olympics?
- Carter pressured the United States Olympic Committee into boycotting the games
- He threatened to withhold funding and remove tax benefits, and so they did
- 61 other countries also boycotted the games as a result
- Some of those countries held an alternate event called the ‘Liberty Bell Classic”
- The American press ridiculed the games and called Misha Bear (the icon) Gulag Bear
