History of Afghanistan:
1978-1989
The Soviet Occupation Era
1978:
President Mohammed Daoud,
ruling since 1973, is assassinated
by the People’s Democratic Party
of Afghanistan, a communist
coup. Taraki is named the new
president, and issues occur
immediately as increased
tortures, arrest, and other abuse
against citizens occur. Taraki
signs peace treaties with the
USSR, asking the Soviets for
economic aid.
1979: The Soviet Union
gives massive economic
and military aid to the
Democratic Republic of
Afghanistan. The US
stands still on the matter,
after the murder of their
own ambassador. Later,
Taraki is assassinated,
and the Soviet Union
orders troops into
Afghanistan in order to
secure the communist
regime there, beginning
the Afghan occupation.
1980: The map on the left
shows the 40th Army of the
USSR move into
Afghanistan for a swift
invasion. The map to the
right shows the areas of
Soviet influence and control
within Afghanistan
throughout occupation.
Within a year, 80 000
Soviet troops occupy
Afghanistan, leading the US
to boycott the Soviet
Olympic game. The US also
supply arms to the
mujahideen, the rebel force
in Afghanistan.
1981-1982: The war becomes a
massive guerilla war with the
mujahideen. Almost four-fifths of
the Afghan countryside is not in
Soviet control, guaranteeing the
war to last for a prolonged period of
time. The United Nations pushes
the Soviets to withdraw from
Afghanistan. Because of the war,
people in Afghanistan became
refugees to nearby Pakistan and
Iran, causing an international
discussion.
1983-1984: While the Soviets
attempted to raid mujahideen
areas only, they would return
as soon as the Soviets cleared
the area. This caused much
disruption to nearby civilians,
and as such over three million
refugees fled to Pakistan by
1983. Estimates of mujahideen
bases were placed at over
3000, making it nearly
impossible for the Soviets to
win this war in Afghanistan.
1985: Five million
refugees from Afghanistan
have fled to either
Pakistan or Iran.
Furthermore, the new
Soviet leader Gorbachev
mentions to end the war
as soon as possible, which
begins to turn the morale
of Soviet soldiers.
Because of the
desperation of some
troops, this year is the
bloodiest year in the
Afghanistan occupation.
1986: The Soviets began talks
and plans to withdraw; however,
the United States starts
supplying Stinger missiles to the
mujahideen groups to shoot
down Soviet aircraft and
helicopters. The population of
Kabul doubles as Pakistan
restrict movement and refugees
have no where to go, while the
international community push
the USSR to withdraw. The
Soviets pull out 6% of their
120,000 troops in Afghanistan at
the end of 1986.
1987: Talks between the
Soviets, Afghans, and the rest of
the world continue, but there is
no agreement on when and how
to withdraw the remaining
115,000 Soviet troops from
Afghanistan. The Soviet-allied
army, however, has shown
desertion, showing that the war
will come to an end with a loss
for the USSR.
1988: The peace accords are
signed between the U.S.,
Soviet Union, Afghanistan, and
Pakistan, and the 115,000
remaining Soviet troops start
their leave. However, as they
leave, a new problem begins.
The Afghan communists and
Islamists begin to fight among
themselves for control of
Afghanistan in the power gap of
the Soviets. This ensured that
civil war in Afghanistan would
continue despite the Soviet
departure.
1989: The last of Soviet troops
leave Afghanistan, marking the end
of a nine year and 50 day war.
Over 20,000 Soviet troops and 1
million combined Afghan troops,
rebels and civilians are killed as a
result of the war. Unfortunately, this
allowed the next phase of war in
Afghanistan, where communists
began fighting the extreme
Islamists, setting the stage for
Taliban rule of the nation in the
next decade.
Works Cited
“Afghanistan History Timeline.” Country Reports. Print. <http://www.countryreports.org/country/Afghanistan/timeline.htm>
“The Afghan War.” Cold War Museum. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <http://www.coldwar.org/articles/70s/afghan_war.asp>.
Mohammed Daoud Khan. Photograph. <http://billetaufildumonde.com/personnages/mohammed_daoud_khan.jpg>
Soviets in Afghanistan. Photograph. <http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Columnist/Columnists/2011/3/8/1299585723745/soviets007.jpg>
Taraki. Photograph. Assoc. Press. <http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45470000/jpg/_45470009_taraki.jpg>
Taraki 1978. Photograph. <https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7017/6782596725_bd5eddfdd1_z.jpg>
“Timeline: Soviet War in Afghanistan.” BBC News., 17 Feb. 2009. Web. 12 Nov. 2014. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7883532.stm>.
Wafa, Abdul Waheed. Afghanistan. 17 Mar. 2009. Photograph. Reuters.
<http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/03/18/world/18afghan_600.JPG>