Afghanistan, Soviet invasion, Mujahideen, CIA support from "summary" of The World Was Going Our Way by Christopher Andrew
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 was a pivotal event in the Cold War. The Soviet Union sought to prop up a Communist government in Kabul, but instead found itself embroiled in a costly and ultimately futile conflict with Afghan insurgents known as the Mujahideen. The United States, eager to give the Soviet Union a taste of its own medicine, saw an opportunity to bleed Moscow dry by supporting the Mujahideen with weapons, training, and funding. The CIA was at the forefront of this effort, coordinating arms shipments and other forms of assistance to the Afghan rebels through intermediaries in Pakistan. The goal was not only to undermine the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, but also to tie down Soviet resources and distract Moscow from other global priorities. The Mujahideen, for their part, were a diverse and often fractious group of fighters united primarily by their opposition to the Soviet-backed regime in Kabul. The CIA's support for the Mujahideen was part of a broader strategy of arming anti-Communist forces around the world, from Angola to Nicaragua. This policy, known as the Reagan Doctrine, aimed to roll back Soviet influence and support freedom fighters in countries under Communist control. In Afghanistan, the Mujahideen became a powerful symbol of resistance to Soviet aggression, attracting volunteers and funding from across the Muslim world. The Soviet Union, for its part, found itself bogged down in a quagmire that would ultimately contribute to the collapse of the Soviet empire. The war in Afghanistan drained Soviet resources and morale, fueling dissent and resistance within the Soviet Union itself. The decision to invade Afghanistan would come to be seen as a costly mistake that hastened the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet Union. In the end, the conflict in Afghanistan was a microcosm of the larger struggle between East and West during the Cold War. It was a war of ideologies, of superpowers, and of ordinary people caught in the crossfire. The CIA's support for the Mujahideen was a calculated move in this global chess game, one that would have far-reaching consequences for the future of Afghanistan, the Soviet Union, and the world at large.
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