⚔️ In the 1970s, the situation in Afghanistan was tense. At the time, the country's per capita income was a mere $70. The United States had little to no strategic interest in Afghanistan and no plans to get involved.
In 1978, a pro-Soviet communist rebel group seized power. The new regime initiated a ruthless crackdown on its opposition, sparking anti-government uprisings and a fierce civil war. The pro-Soviet Afghan leadership strongly pleaded with the Soviet Union for support to suppress the armed rebellion. However, the Soviets hesitated, even while believing that the U.S. was secretly backing the anti-government forces.
The Soviet leadership and military advisors initially opposed intervention. They feared destroying the hard-won atmosphere of détente, jeopardizing arms treaties, ruining upcoming meetings with U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and fracturing relations with Western European nations, particularly West Germany. Despite all these objections, Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev dismissed the concerns, believing that even if a war broke out, it would be over in three or four months.
On Christmas Eve, 1979, 5,000 Soviet paratroopers dropped into Kabul Airport. Two divisions crossed the border. The troop presence swelled to 50,000 the following year, and then to 120,000. The world's second-largest economic superpower had invaded a nation with a per capita income of $70.
In response, Islamic factions rose up in an even more massive rebellion. In the capital city of Kabul, U.S. Ambassador Adolph Dubs was kidnapped by armed militants and killed during a shootout. The United States fully intervened in the Afghan issue. The U.S. provided training and over $3 billion in external funding to the Mujahideen—meaning "holy Islamic warriors." Armed with American weapons, the rebels utilized the rugged, mountainous terrain to wage a relentless guerrilla war, bleeding the Soviets dry. The Soviet Union was sinking into the Afghan quagmire.
The toll on the Soviets was devastating: 15,000 soldiers killed, 50,000 wounded, and over 400,000 incapacitated by disease. Astronomical war costs (estimated between 5 to 8 billion rubles) were exhausted, and coupled with a plunge in global oil prices, the Soviet national treasury teetered on the brink of collapse.
The horrific suffering of Afghan civilians was unspeakable. Over 1 million civilians died, and 3 million people—a full third of the population—were displaced as refugees.
Throughout the conflict, the United States worked tirelessly to keep the Soviet Union trapped in Afghanistan for as long as possible. The U.S. collaborated with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and actively sabotaged UN attempts to mediate negotiations between the Soviets and the Afghan rebels. Simultaneously, massive sums of money and advanced weaponry were funneled to the rebels. Tragically, many of these very weapons would later be used against the United States itself.
On this day, February 15, 1989, the Soviet army finally withdrew, leaving behind nothing but the catastrophic damage of a horrific 9-year, 2-month war. They walked across the Bridge of Friendship. They did not look back. As for the devastating aftermath inflicted upon the Afghan people, fundamentally, neither the Soviet Union nor the United States cared anymore.
Exactly 32 years, 6 months, and 15 days later, the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan. They fled under the cover of night. They did not look back either.
Sources: > * The Untold History of the United States by Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick
Atlas des relations internationales by Pascal Boniface
Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner
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