The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan Flashcards
What did the USSR do on December 24 1979?
Sent 50,000 Soviet troops to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The Soviet invasion spelled the end of détente
How was the SU acting defensively?
By protecting the Communist regime in Afghanistan, which was under threat from Islamic fundamentalists
As far as Brezhnev was concerned, what was the invasion designed to do?
Retain the USSR’s only foothold in the Middle East rather than as the first step to expanding its influence in that region
Why did the invasion shift the balance of power in Carter’s government?
The American government interpreted the Soviet invasion very differently
Prior to the invasion what was the Carter administration divided over?
The merits of detente
What was Cyrus Vance, Carter’s Secretary of State in favour of?
Maintaining detente in the interest of world peace
What was Zbigniew Brzezinski, Carter’s National Security Advisor, in favour of?
A more assertive American policy designed to expose and exploit the weaknesses of the USSR
What did the invasion shift the balance of power away from?
The supporters of detente and towards the supporters of confrontation
What did the Soviet invasion go beyond?
The Brezhnev Doctrine, indicating to Brzezinski that the USSR was pursing an aggressive policy of expansion in the oil-rich Middle East
When was the Brezhnev Doctrine outlined?
Following the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968
What did Brezhnev argue in the Brezhnev Doctrine?
That the USSR had the right to interfere in the politics of another nation in the Eastern Bloc because a threat to communism in one country was a threat to communism across the whole of the East
