Week 7: Military Action II: the Bad and Ugly

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Week 7: Military Action II: The Bad and Ugly Afghanistan Afghanistan was a feudal/pastoral monarchy before 1973 Mohammed Zahir Shah, last king of Afghanistan King Zahir overthrown by Daoud in 1973 Daoud overthrown and killed by communist PDPA in 1978 New President: Nur Muhammad Taraki of PDPA Khalq faction ...Taraki overthrown and killed by Hafizullah Amin in 1979. Radical reforms lead to insurgency Soviets invade, assassinate Amin, install Babrak Karmal (Parcham) Why did the Soviets invade? Why did the Soviets invade? ● Oil? ● Domino Theory? ● Bureaucratic Isolation ● Iron Curtain intervention? Insurgency intensifies, Soviets employ brutal tactics US funds and arms Afghan mujahedin Mujahedin were representative of Afghan society Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Ahmed Shah Massoud Peace Talks between Pakistan, Soviets and Afghans stall ● Soviets incur heavy casualties. ● Refugee crisis in Pakistan and Iran. ● Soviet leader turnover 1983-85. Gorbachev Takes Power in USSR ● Nationalist Muhammad Najibullah becomes Afghan President. ● Anti-insurgent operations shift to Afghan Army. Soviets withdrew in 1988 Why did the Soviets get involved in a quagmire? Why did the Soviets get involved in a quagmire? ● Continued Bureaucratic Isolation ● Factionalism in Soviet regime ● Misinformation from the ground ● Fear of rapid withdrawal Afghan Civil War continues after Soviets leave Najibullah overthrow in 1992; mujahedin fragment Taliban forms in 1994; captures most of the country Did US support for the mujahedin create the Taliban and bin Laden? Discussion Was the invasion strategically justified? What were the positive/negative effects? Alternative strategies? Next Week... Intervention and the End of the Cold War + Comprehensive Exam.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Afghanistan, 1989-1996: Between the Soviets and the Taliban
Afghanistan, 1989-1996: Between the Soviets and the Taliban A thesis submitted to the Miami University Honors Program in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for University Honors with Distinction by, Brandon Smith May 2005 Oxford, OH ABSTRACT AFGHANISTAN, 1989-1996: BETWEEN THE SOVIETS AND THE TALIBAN by, BRANDON SMITH This paper examines why the Afghan resistance fighters from the war against the Soviets, the mujahideen, were unable to establish a government in the time period between the withdrawal of the Soviet army from Afghanistan in 1989 and the consolidation of power by the Taliban in 1996. A number of conflicting explanations exist regarding Afghanistan’s instability during this time period. This paper argues that the developments in Afghanistan from 1989 to 1996 can be linked to the influence of actors outside Afghanistan, but not to the extent that the choices and actions of individual actors can be overlooked or ignored. Further, the choices and actions of individual actors need not be explained in terms of ancient animosities or historic tendencies, but rather were calculated moves to secure power. In support of this argument, international, national, and individual level factors are examined. ii Afghanistan, 1989-1996: Between the Soviets and the Taliban by, Brandon Smith Approved by: _________________________, Advisor Karen L. Dawisha _________________________, Reader John M. Rothgeb, Jr. _________________________, Reader Homayun Sidky Accepted by: ________________________, Director, University Honors Program iii Thanks to Karen Dawisha for her guidance and willingness to help on her year off, and to John Rothgeb and Homayun Sidky for taking the time to read the final draft and offer their feedback.
[Show full text]
RC Approves DKA Basic Principles
1 VOL. XVIH, NO. 22 TUESDAY, APRIL, 15, 1980 (IIAMAL, 26, 1359, A.II.) Price Afs. 6 RC Approves DKA Basic Principles HI: tell" 1 fllllfllffift -1 ; ,.- V V. .. M'4m& film 4' Babrak Karmal, General Secretary of PDPA CC, President of RC and Prime Minister addressing the RC meeting. KABUL, April 15, (Bak-htar- ). The great and hi- storic meeting of the Rev- olutionary Council of the Kurmul's message passed Karmal Afghan-Sovi- et Youth Friendship Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was held at RC headquarters yesterday to Kabul Hindus, Sikhs Greeted . by Park to be built in Kabul afternoon under the cha- irmanship of Babrak Ka- KABUL, April 15, (Bakhtar). Cong- KABUL, April 15, (Bakhtar). In order to further consolidate frien- Secretary Organisation for Afghan Youth and the rmal, General ratulations and sincere wishes of Babrak Kar- Cea usescu dship between the Democratic of PDPA CC, President Soviet Komsomol, a memorial friendship park is being built in Kabul to PDPA CC, Pre- of RC and Prime Minis- mal, General Secretary of the KABUL, April 15, (Ba- be called the Friendship Park of Afghan and Soviet Youth on a 138 acre ter of DBA. At this meet- sident' of RC and Prime Minister, leading khtar). According to plot along the Darulaman Avenue. ing the DBA Basic Princi- members of the DRA Party and government Information Department ples were unanimously ap- were conveyed yesterday by Information and of the Ministry of Foreign proved in an atmosphere, Culture Minister to Hindu and Sikh compat- Affairs, a message sent to of sincerity and solidar- Babrak Karmal, General a 1 ity.
[Show full text]
Revolutionary Afghanistan Is No Exception
CONTENTS PREFACE 1. In Search of Hafizullah Amin 6 2. Three Revolutionaries 12 3. A House Divided: the PDPA, 1965-1973 25 4. The Making of a Revolution: the PDPA, 1973-1978 39 5. The Inheritance: Afghanistan, 1978 53 6. Strategy for Reform 88 7. The Eid Conspiracy 106 8. A Treaty and a Murder: Closing the American Option 120 9. The Question of Leadership 133 10. The Summer of Discontent 147 11. The End Game 166 12. ‘. And the People Remain’ 186 Select Bibliography 190 PREFACE PREFACE The idea for this book arose from a visit to Kabul in March 1979 when it became immediately obvious that what was happening in Afghanistan bore little relation to reports appearing in the Western media. Further research subsequently reinforced that impression. Much of the material on which the book is based was collected in the course of my 1979 field trip which took me to India, Pakistan and the United Kingdom as well as Afghanistan and during a follow-up trip to India and Pakistan from December 1980 to January 1981. Unfortunately by then times had changed and on this second occasion the Afghan government refused me a visa. Texts of speeches and statements by Afghan leaders and other Afghan government documents have for the most part been taken from the Kabul Times, since these are in effect the official version. I have however taken the liberty where necessary of adjusting the syntax of the Afghan translator. The problem of transliteration is inescapable, and at the risk of offending the purists I have chosen what appears to be the simplest spelling of Afghan names and have tried to be consistent.
[Show full text]
October 29, 1980 Soviet Briefing on the Talks Between Brezhnev and B. Karmal in Moscow
Digital Archive digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org International History Declassified October 29, 1980 Soviet briefing on the talks between Brezhnev and B. Karmal in Moscow Citation: “Soviet briefing on the talks between Brezhnev and B. Karmal in Moscow,” October 29, 1980, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, National Archives of Hungary (MOL), M-KS 288 f. 11/4391.o.e. Translated for CWIHP by Attila Kolontari and Zsofia Zelnik. http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/112500 Summary: This document reveals Babrak Karmal's positive views of Soviet involvement in Afghanistan. Karmal thanks Soviet leadership for substantial economic and political support, discussing the integration of Soviet economic reforms into the Afghan economy. Karmal states that the turmoil within Afghan political parties is almost solved, and is progressing towards unity. Original Language: Hungarian Contents: English Translation HUNGARIAN SOCIALIST WORKERS' PARTY TOP SECRET! CENTRAL COMMITTEE FOREIGN DEPARTMENT BULLETIN On 28 October 1980, Comrade János Kádár received Comrade V. Pavlov - at his request -, who informed him in the name of the CPSU Central Committee about the talks carried on with Babrak Karmal, the secretary-general of the Afghan People's Democratic Party CC, the president of the Revolutionary Council of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, prime minister. "The main political achievements of the talks are reflected in the document signed by L. I. Brezhnev and B. Karmal, "The Declaration of the Soviet Union and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan", which was published in the Soviet press on 20 October, and which our friends are already probably familiar with. We would like to give our friends the following complementary confidential information: B.
[Show full text]
The Road to Afghanistan
Introduction Hundreds of books—memoirs, histories, fiction, poetry, chronicles of military units, and journalistic essays—have been written about the Soviet war in Afghanistan. If the topic has not yet been entirely exhausted, it certainly has been very well documented. But what led up to the invasion? How was the decision to bring troops into Afghanistan made? What was the basis for the decision? Who opposed the intervention and who had the final word? And what kind of mystical country is this that lures, with an almost maniacal insistence, the most powerful world states into its snares? In the nineteenth and early twentieth century it was the British, in the 1980s it was the Soviet Union, and now America and its allies continue the legacy. Impoverished and incredibly backward Afghanistan, strange as it may seem, is not just a normal country. Due to its strategically important location in the center of Asia, the mountainous country has long been in the sights of more than its immediate neighbors. But woe to anyone who arrives there with weapon in hand, hoping for an easy gain—the barefoot and illiterate Afghans consistently bury the hopes of the strange foreign soldiers who arrive along with battalions of tanks and strategic bombers. To understand Afghanistan is to see into your own future. To comprehend what happened there, what happens there continually, is to avoid great tragedy. One of the critical moments in the modern history of Afghanistan is the period from April 27, 1978, when the “April Revolution” took place in Kabul and the leftist People’s Democratic Party seized control of the country, until December 27, 1979, when Soviet special forces, obeying their “international duty,” eliminated the ruling leader and installed 1 another leader of the same party in his place.
[Show full text]
Ethnicity, Space, and Politics in Afghanistan
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Urban Studies Senior Seminar Papers Urban Studies Program 11-2009 Ethnicity, Space, and Politics in Afghanistan Benjamin Dubow University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/senior_seminar Dubow, Benjamin, "Ethnicity, Space, and Politics in Afghanistan" (2009). Urban Studies Senior Seminar Papers. 13. https://repository.upenn.edu/senior_seminar/13 Suggested Citation: Benjamin Dubow. "Ethnicity, Space, and Politics in Afghanistan." University of Pennsylvania, Urban Studies Program. 2009. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/senior_seminar/13 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ethnicity, Space, and Politics in Afghanistan Abstract The 2004 election was a disaster. For all the unity that could have come from 2001, the election results shattered any hope that the country had overcome its fractures. The winner needed to find a way to unite a country that could not be more divided. In Afghanistan’s Panjshir Province, runner-up Yunis Qanooni received 95.0% of the vote. In Paktia Province, incumbent Hamid Karzai received 95.9%. Those were only two of the seven provinces where more than 90% or more of the vote went to a single candidate. Two minor candidates who received less than a tenth of the total won 83% and 78% of the vote in their home provinces. For comparison, the most lopsided state in the 2004 United States was Wyoming, with 69% of the vote going to Bush. This means Wyoming voters were 1.8 times as likely to vote for Bush as were Massachusetts voters. Paktia voters were 120 times as likely to vote for Karzai as were Panjshir voters.
[Show full text]
NEW EVIDENCE on the WAR in AFGHANISTAN Introduction
COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL HISTORY PROJECT BULLETIN, ISSUE 14/15 NEW EVIDENCE ON THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN Introduction By Christian Friedrich Ostermann hat was behind the Soviet decision in December a substitute foothold in Afghanistan and worried about main- 1979 to invade Afghanistan? And when and why taining its credibility with communist world allies. Soviet lead- Wdid Mikhail Gorbachev decide to pull out Soviet ers were genuinely concerned that Afghan strongman troops nearly ten years later? What was the role of the US Hafizullah Amin was either a US agent or prepared to sell out covert assistance program, in particular the Stinger missiles? to the United States. At the CWIHP conference, former US What role did CIA intelligence play? How did the Afghan Charge d’Affaires J. Bruce Amstutz as well as other partici- War’s history, a key step in the rise of militant Islam, intersect pants forcefully refuted allegations of Agency links to Amin. with the history of the final decade of the Cold War? These In his five conversations with Amin in the fall of 1979, Amstutz were among the questions addressed at a major international remembered, the Afghan leader did not in any way suggest conference, “Towards an International History of the War in that he was interested in allying himself with the United States. Afghanistan,” organized in April 2002 by the Cold War Inter- US relations with successive communist regimes in Af- national History Project (CWIHP) in cooperation with the ghanistan had been volatile since the April 1978 communist Woodrow Wilson
[Show full text]
Diplomarbeit Untersucht Das Ausmaß Und Die Ursachen Für Veränderun- Gen in Tribalen Paschtunischen Organisationsstukturen in Afghanistan Seit 1978
CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by OTHES Changes in Pashtun tribal structures since 1978: the influence of war, foreign militaries and militant political Islam. May 21, 2012 1 Contents 1Preface&Introduction 4 1.1 Preface ................................ 4 1.2 Introduction.............................. 6 IDefinitions&TheoreticalFramework 9 2EthnicBoundariesandtheDefinitionofEthnicGroups 9 2.1 Tribe & Traditional Tribal Structures . 18 2.1.1 Islam in Pashtun tribal society . 28 2.2 Pashtun Identities, Ideals and the Pashtunwali . ... 32 2.2.1 Pashtun Identities . 32 2.2.2 The Pashtunwali as an idealized code of conduct among Pashtuns ........................... 35 II Foreign Interventions, The Soviet Occupation, Tribal Warfare,Migration&Exile 47 3ABriefLookintoAfghanistan’sHistory 48 3.1 The Beginnings of the Afghan State . 50 3.2 The Durand Line . 57 3.3 Preliminary Events to the Soviet Intervention . ... 60 4TheSovietIntervention,1978-1989 64 4.1 Traditional tribal warfare and its adaption under the influence of theSovietoccupation ........................ 75 4.2 Migration, exile and changes in Pashtun tribal society . ..... 84 4.3 Cold War strategies, foreign money, and the growing influence of Islamanditspoliticalrepercussions . 89 III Militant Political Islam, Tribal Structures & The Taliban - A Generational & Structural Divide? 94 5CivilWar,theOriginsandtheRiseoftheTaliban 95 5.1 The rise of the Taliban . 98 5.2 The Islamic extremist ideology of the
[Show full text]
National Reconciliation in Afghanistan. Conflict History and the Search for an Afghan Approach
Internationales Asienforum, Vol. 37 (2006), No. 1–2, pp. 5–35 National Reconciliation in Afghanistan. Conflict History and the Search for an Afghan Approach 1 CITHA D. MAASS Introduction Three years after the war in Afghanistan unofficially ended in late 2001, first attempts have already been made by Afghan and international organi- zations to document past human rights abuses, consult the Afghan people on how to make the perpetrators accountable, and build capacities in peace- building. This is an encouraging sign. However, the people in general are still too reluctant to speak about their suffering during the war. Instead, their current priority is to struggle for economic survival in the highly competitive post-war reconstruction “business” with its emerging social injustice. This pragmatic attitude causes a basic problem. If the past is not addressed, efforts to build a lasting peace are endangered. As lessons from other post-war countries have shown, national reconciliation contributes to overcoming the past and reuniting a war-divided society. To give an impetus to these initiatives, this paper reviews some issues crucial for discussing and designing a strategy of national reconciliation. The following topics are analysed: (i) In view of the search for an indigenous Afghan concept, basic terms of a reconciliation process are explained. The linkage between the in- dividual and national dimension of reconciliation is highlighted. “Lessons _______________ * The author worked as the Head of the Electoral Unit, GTZ Rule of Law Project, in Kabul (GTZ = German Technical Cooperation) from 2003-2005 facilitated by a three-year leave from the “Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik” (SWP, Berlin), the German Institute for Inter- national Affairs and Security.
[Show full text]
Entry of Soviet Troops
Keesing's Record of World Events (formerly Keesing's Contemporary Archives), Volume 26, May, 1980 Afghanistan, Page 30229 © 1931-2006 Keesing's Worldwide, LLC - All Rights Reserved. Entry of Soviet Troops - Overthrow of President Amin - Installation of Karmal Regime - Deployment of Soviet Troops throughout Country - The Internal and Military Situation - International Reactions - Imposition of Sanctions by United States and Other Countries - Moves to boycott Moscow Olympics A new Soviet-backed regime was installed in Afghanistan at the end of December 1979 under Mr Babrak Karmal, a former Deputy Prime Minister, who was flown into Kabul on a Soviet aircraft from virtual exile in Eastern Europe to replace President Hafizullah Amin, who had himself taken power only in September 1979. The change of regime-details of the course of which remained somewhat obscure-was accompanied by the entry into Afghanistan of several thousand Soviet combat troops, whose numbers had risen by the end of January 1980 to an estimated 85,000 and who were deployed throughout the country with hundreds of tanks, giving rise to fears for the security of Pakistan and Iran (respectively Afghanistan's eastern and western neighbours). Internationally, the Soviet move was strongly deplored as an invasion of a sovereign country, but the Soviet Union maintained that the Afghan Government had invited it to send troops under a 1978 treaty of friendship in the face of provocation from Afghanistan's external enemies. One of the immediate reasons for the introduction of troops appeared to be to provide military support to the Afghan armed forces currently engaged against diverse Moslem insurgent groups which were opposed to the communist orientation of recent Afghan governments and which subsequently called for a holy war (jihad) to expel the Soviet troops from the country.
[Show full text]
Historische Ereignisse, Erzählungen Und Erinnerungen
Habibo Brechna Y^Z\ZhX]^X]iZ V[\]Vc^hiVch Historische Ereignisse, Erzählungen und Erinnerungen 2. Auflage Die Geschichte Afghanistans Y^Z\ZhX]^X]iZ V[\]Vc^hiVch Historische Ereignisse, Erzählungen und Erinnerungen 2. Auflage Habibo Brechna vdf Hochschulverlag AG an der ETH Zürich Für die tapferen Frauen von Kabul Umschlagbild: Emir Dost Mohammad Khan und seine jüngste Tochter Agha Begum Fatima (Grossmutter des Autors) im kleinen Audienzsaal des Bala-Hissar Umschlaggestaltung und Layout: Fred Gächter, Oberegg Bearbeitung der Originale Brechnas: Roger Bahcic, Zürich Bibliografische Information Der Deutschen Bibliothek Die Deutsche Bibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. Das Werk einschliesslich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich ge schützt. Jede Verwertung ausserhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlages unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt besonders für Vervielfälti- gungen, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspei- cherung und Verarbeitung in elektronischen Systemen. ISBN 978-3-7281-3391-5 (Print) ISBN 978-3-7281-3471-4 (E-Book) DOI-Nr. 10.3218/3471-4 © 2., korrigierte und überarbeitete Auflage 2012, vdf Hochschulverlag AG an der ETH Zürich www.vdf.ethz.ch, [email protected] Deutsche Übersetzung: Sag’, wer ist es, der ohne Sünde lebt in dieser Welt Und jener, der ohne Unrecht sein Dasein führt Ich verrichte Schlechtes, und Du vergiltst mit Gleichem Sag’, was ist der Unterschied zwischen Dir und mir. Omar Khayyam Der Roba’i (Vierzeiler) nach Omar Khayyam ist von Haschmat Hossaini, Berlin, in Nastaliq geschrieben. Übersetzung ins Deutsche: H. Brechna Inhaltsverzeichnis Vorwort zur 2.
[Show full text]
P General Aasembly Securlty Councll GENERAL @J A/40/950
AS - .. .. .... .. .. .. .. - . , . .-.. .. - - . - DlRtr. p General Aasembly Securlty Councll GENERAL @J A/40/950 -. &l/l7660 29 Novemher 19P5 OR I GI NAIl I PING L 1 S ~~ ~ ~~~ - ~- CF:NERA 1, ASS EM ALY SECIJRTTY COIlNCf fi Fortieth eeseion Fort-ieth year AqendA itema 12, 72, 73, 101, 102, 103, 104, 107, 131, 132, 137 and 144 REPORT OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COIlWIL RRVIPM OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECLARATION ON THE STRRNGTHENING OF I NTRRNAT IONAIi SECIl HITY IMPLEMENTATION OF TH F: COLLECT1 VE SRCll RI TY PROVISIONS OF THE CHARTER OF THE IJNITRD NATIONS FOR THE MAINTISNANCPI OF 1"I'ERNATIONAt PEACE AND SECURITY ELIMINATION OF AfiL FORMS OF REIiIGIO(1S INTOLERANCE HUMAN RIGHTS AND SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOC, I CAL DEVELOPMENTS ("ESTION OF A CONWNTTON ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD 1"l'EWNATIONAt COVENANTS ON HIJMAN RIGttTS ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES AND WAlS AND MEANS WITHIN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM FOR IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVE F:NJOYMENT OF HIIMAN RIGHTS AND FIMDAMENTAL FREEDOMS DEVEIBPMENT AND STRENGTIiENINC; OF GOOD- NEI GHBOURLINESS BETWEEN STATES PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT OF DISPIITES BETWEEN STATES REPORT OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON THE DRAFTING OF AN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AGAINST THE RECRUITMENT, USE, FINANC.ING AND TRAINING OF MERCElOARIm TORTURE AND OFHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PIJNISHC(ENT Letter dated 29 November 1485 from the Permanent Representative of Afqhanistan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General I have the honour to tranfirnit to you the text of the Declaration of the Revolutionary Council of the Democratic Republic of Afqhanistan dated 19 November 198.5, 85-35164 4787e (E) /.
[Show full text]