All members in good standing are free to post here. Sovietafghanistan war overview history of war in the. The soviet war in afghanistan in pictures, 19791989. This evoked the soviet afghan war in the 1980s against mujahideen rebels.
The question is controversial, and raises a good deal of passion. Pashtuns, tajiks, and hazaras are the largest groups. As of 20, afghanistan was the largest refugeeproducing country in the world, a title held for 32 years. The west has to take a critical look at itself and examine the apparent double standards at work that allow it to attack iraq for possessing weapons of mass destruction but not north korea, whose leader shared saddam husseins megalomaniacal qualities. Cassidy, author of the new, critically acclaimed book, war, will, and warlords. The intense images of afghanistans long and distant war photojournalist robert nickelsberg has been documenting afghanistan since 1988. Oct 28, 2015 the intense images of afghanistans long and distant war photojournalist robert nickelsberg has been documenting afghanistan since 1988. A retrospective in kabul from his book, a distant war. The taliban were forcibly removed by the nato led coalition. Soviet war in afghanistan simple english wikipedia, the.
Boozing through the sovietafghan war was more horrifying. A mujahideen, a captain in the afghan army before deserting, poses with a group of rebels near herat, afghanistan, on february 28, 1980. The rebel raiding party, travelling by motorcycle and horseback, crossed from iran into afghanistans doab valley in. The afghan soviet war started in december 1979, research. Lyakhovsky and other authors report that at the same time, the top soviet military and political leadership held secret deliberations on the possibility. Jul 27, 2019 soviets begin withdrawal from afghanistan. The war in afghanistan 2001present is the continuous incumbent war in afghanistan, where the main conflict consists of afghan army troops, backed by additional united states troops, fighting against insurgents of the taliban, and later also isis. Hundreds of men from every imaginable background have walked away from the traditional american dream to volunteer for battle in the name of islam.
A lowflying afghan helicopter gunship in snowcapped valley along salang highway provides cover for a soviet convoy sending food and fuel to kabul, afghanistan, on january 30, 1989. Jihad the secret war in afghanistan by tom carew goodreads. For months after the invasion, hardly a political or military expert in the world doubted that afghanistan was now forever incorporated as a part of the soviet empire and that nothing short of a. Popular afghanistan war books goodreads share book. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. The soviet invasion of afghanistan was a repeat of their invasion of czechoslovakia. By 1996 most of afghanistan was captured by the islamic fundamentalist group the taliban, who ruled most of the country as a totalitarian regime for over five years. The afghanistan war and the breakdown of the soviet union.
We argue that the war in afghanistan was a key factor, though not the only cause. The same as the iraq test, the afghanistan test, the libya test, the syria test. Near herat, afghanistan afghan rebels snipe at sovietheld positions near herat january 11. The soviet war in afghanistan was a grueling debacle that has striking lessons for the twentyfirst century. The afghan soviet war started in december 1979 and lasted until february 1989 when the last troops of the russian 40th army were pulled from afghanistan. Oct 10, 2006 the first official deployment of the soviet army into the kingdom of afghanistan began dec. Kabul is the largest city in afghanistan and is the capital. Im primarily interested in military matters, but obviously understanding the politics comes in handy too. Afghanistan was a ussr friendly nation and then when the iranians kicked the cia out of iran they started moving into afghanistan because they wanted spy bases in countries next to the soviet union.
India more important than afghanistan newsweeks fareed zakaria warns that obama shouldnt alienate india, which he says is a key longterm ally, just for the sake of shortterm gain in. In 1988, the soviet army left afghanistan after a concerted campaign by the. I really, really loved this book, as an active duty infantry nco i have deployed afghanistan 3 times and believe it or not the ghosts of the once mighty soviet military still haunt and paint a sober image of what happened there from the old rusting tank, bmp and hind hulks littering the country sides and landscape, the minefields that still claim civilian and military lives, and the marked. This is the unique story of gennadynikmamat, a former soviet soldier who was captured by the mujahideen during the soviet war in afghanistan. In his new book, jonathan steele sorts the fact from the fiction. Dec 12, 20 the hitler test is the same as the 911 test. Afghanistan s healthcare has improved since the turn of the century, causing falls in infant mortality and increases in life expectancy. The term afghan arabs also known as arabafghans refers mostly to arab and other muslim islamist mujahideen who came to afghanistan during and following the soviet afghan war to help fellow muslims fight soviets and prosoviet afghans. The soviet war in afghanistan was a war initially fought between the forces of the afghanistan government and afghan assistance fighters, supporter from abroad. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by the miniatures page. The afghan soviet war started in december 1979 research. If anything, this was even more the case in soviet times when the very difficulties of getting hold of booze acted as a spur to the ingenuity for which russians are also rightly known.
The entry of the soviet union into the country caused an. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned dave shunk 26 december 2008 col dave shunk, usaf, ret. Without proper equipment and training, the afghanistan government was unable to resist the opposition,called the mujahedeen, eventually seeking the aid of the soviet union. The soviet union intervened in support of the afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist muslim guerrillas during the afghan war 197892 and remained in afghanistan until midfebruary 1989. The russians in afghanistan, 197989 main by braithwaite, sir rodric isbn. The mughal empires various campaigns against the persians for control of afghanistan. Boozing through the sovietafghan war was more horrifying than you can imagine. Lyakhovsky and other authors report that at the same time, the top soviet military and political leadership held secret deliberations on the possibility of early withdrawal of soviet forces from afghanistan. In 1979 the soviet union moved from military help to active intervention in afghanistan.
Yemen, alqaeda, and the battle for arabia by johnsen, gregory d isbn. In the great gamble, gregory feifer examines the conflict from the perspective of the soldiers on the ground. More than eight years after they intervened in afghanistan to support the procommunist government, soviet troops begin their withdrawal. Praise for americas war for the greater middle east bacevich is thoughtprovoking, profane and. No wonder that russian soldiers can be amongst the hardestcore boozers around. Some of the best books out there about the wars in iraq and afghanistan score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. The soviet war in afghanistan, 1979 1989 the atlantic. The soviet union intervened in support of the afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist muslim guerrillas during the afghan war 197892 and remained in. Soviet pows in afghanistan january 1, 1986 edition open. Sovietafghanistan war overview history of war in the 20th. Indeed, to even raise it is considered a form of denial in certain quarters. Soviet pows in afghanistan january 1, 1986 edition.
It has connected the mountain passes with trade routes of india. Tausend strahlende sonnen by khaled hosseini nook book. Americas war for the greater middle east is a bracing afteraction report from the front lines of history. The book makes extensive use of soviet archival sources and 1st person interviews. Stobern sie in bestsellern als handliche pocket bookausgabe. They also contributed to as much as 20 percent of the cases addressed by the militarymedical service in afghanistan. The date of massouds death, september 9, is observed as a national holiday known as massoud day. The impact of the afghanistan war on the breakup of the soviet union anil cicek summary the collapse of the soviet union in 1991 came as a surprise not only for the politicians of the era, but for scholars of international relations as well.
In this second part of a twopart interview by government book talk blog editor michele bartram, col. Some have taken part in foreign wars that aligned with u. More than eight years after they intervened in afghanistan to support the procommunist government, soviet. The same as the domestic terrorist test, the anybody can be president test, the your vote counts test, the government is on your side test. In his enlightening and refreshing book, largely based on russian sources, rodric braithwaite, the british. The politburo sessions of january 17 and 28, 1980 carried extensive discussions of the situation in afghanistan. If i was only buying a single book on the soviet war in afghanistan, which one should i get.
Counterinsurgency in afghanistan and pakistan, 20012011, describes the lessons learned after ten years of war in afghanistan. The soviet war in afghanistan was a nineyear period involving the soviet forces and the mujahideen insurgents that were fighting to overthrow afghanistans marxist peoples democratic party of afghanistan pdpa government. Should be read in the light of the suspicious death of carew, in antwerp, and if he was. It will fundamentally change the way we view americas engagement in the worlds most volatile region. Sometimes referred to as the soviets version of the vietnam war, the soviet war in afghanistan ended up being a losing battle for the soviet union, and in many ways, accelerated the dissolution of communism in the east. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned. Conquest of afghanistan by alexander the great 330 bc 327 bc islamic conquest of afghanistan 637709 conquest of afghanistan by the mongol empire th century, see mongol invasion of central asia. The first official deployment of the soviet army into the kingdom of afghanistan began dec. Soviet invasion of afghanistan, military action carried out in late december 1979 by soviet troops.
Bacevich this is the book that was suggested to my friend and the one of bacevichs that i should have read first. The war led to the death of over 14000 russian combat deaths and injured over 35000 others citation rob01 \l 1033 grogin, 2001. Dec 12, 2014 however, the afghan resistance, the mujahideen, was heavily supported by a wide variety of international actors, including the us, pakistan, saudi arabia, iran, china, and egypt. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. In the end, the mujahideen prevailed and the soviet army was forced to withdraw from afghanistan in february 1989, having lost tens of thousands killed and wounded. Primer on russian afghan war, 19791989, lessons learned 16. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
Soviet pows in afghanistan by ludmilla thorne, january 1, 1986, university press of america edition, paperback in english. Eine sowjettreue regierung wird in kabul installiert, erst unter. Fourfifths of the afghan national army deserted in the first year of the war, which, compounded with the spread and intensification of the rebellion led by the formidable guerrilla fighters of the mujahideen, forced the soviets to intensify their involvement. However, the afghan resistance, the mujahideen, was heavily supported by a wide variety of international actors, including the us, pakistan, saudi arabia, iran, china, and egypt. The author of this book was the british ambassador to the ussr and then the russian federation but i highly appreciate his objective approach throughout the book which is about the causes of soviet involvement in afghanistan right up till the withdrawal of the troops and its aftermath from the russian point of view. Eastern afghanistan is the most densely populated region of the nation. The intense images of afghanistans long and distant war. Ahmad shah massoud was an afghan politician and military commander. Massoud is the subject of ken folletts 1986 novel lie down with lions, about the sovietafghan war. At the time, it was reported that the afghan capital of kabul returned to normal for the first time since bloody antisoviet rioting erupted there, killing more than 300 civilians and an unknown number of soviet and afghan soldiers.
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