The Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan In 1979 And The Consequences Flashcards
Why did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan in 1979?
Afghanistan is located south of the Soviet Union. It was an important neighbour. It was important as the Soviet Union wanted to use Afghanistan as a ‘barrier’ to protect it from Muslim Fundamentalism. Iran, another neighbour of the Soviet Union had already been taken over by a Muslim Fundamentalist government. The Soviet Union were worried that the same could happen in Afghanistan. If this happened, they feared that Muslim Fundamentalism would spread across the border into the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union aimed to put a pro-Soviet government into Afghanistan in order to stop the spread of Islam.
What was the short term cause of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979?
In April 1979, the Soviet Union put a pro-Soviet government in control of Afghanistan. The Soviet Government then gave Afghanistan economic help to keep it there. However, this only lasted until September when a pro-Muslim leader called Amin took over. Brezhnev was willing to work with Amin until he heard that the USA might offer Amin even more support to keep out the Soviet Union.
The key events of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979
24th December 1979, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan. They ‘claimed’ that Amin had wanted them to invade to protect his government from Islamic terrorists. However, Amin was assassinated 27th December (almost certainly by Soviet troops). The Soviets replaced Amin with a Pro-Soviet leader called Kamal. The Soviet Union remained in Afghanistan for 10 years. They kept their pro-Soviet leader, Kamal in charge & fought off any opposition. The Soviet Union argued that they were trying to protect their border from foreign invasion and stop the influence of Muslim Fundamentalism..
The American reaction to the soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
• The Americans saw the Soviet invasion differently. They believed it was an example of Soviet aggression and another attempt to spread communism elsewhere in the world. This would go against the agreements made at Helsinki in 1975.
• President Carter even claimed that the Soviet invasion was the biggest threat to world peace since the end of the Second World War .
• Carter refused to sign the SALT II treaty.
• He increased the American spending on weapons.
• Carter then said in public in January 1980, that America
would use force in the Middle East if any American
interests were threatened.
• Carter imposed economic sanctions on the Soviet Union.
• Carter send weapons and money to help the Islamic
Fundamentalist fighters known as the Mujahedeen fight against the Soviet Union. One individual to gain from this was Osama Bin Laden
The impact of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on USA-USSR relations
• Détente was certainly now finished.
• Some historians believe the
American government deliberately over-reacted to the invasion as an excuse to become more aggressive against the USSR.
• In the 1980 Presidential Election, a new candidate Ronald Reagan argued that President Carter was too weak against the Soviet Union in the era of Détente and believed America should become stronger. Reagan won a landslide victory as the American public too, wanted America to become more powerful and reduce the spread of communism
The US Olympics boycott
• The USA led a boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games which was being held in Moscow.
Over 60 countries supported the USA and refused to send their athletes to compete in
this major world event.
• The boycott proved how influential the USA were over other countries against the Soviet
Union.
• American athletes were even told that if they travelled to Moscow to compete that their
passports would be taken away from them and they would not be able to return.
• The Soviet Union were hoping that the Olympic games would promote communism and
show the world its successful nation. The Soviet Union was not able to showcase its
country to the world as many of the best known athletes did not turn up.
• This simply made the Soviet Union even more angry with America. 4 years later, when it
was the USA’s turn to host the games, the Soviet Union refused to send its athletes and athletes from the other 15 communist countries.
