soviet invasion of AFGHANISTAN 1979
-Soviets wanted to influence region and fit their Southern expansion policy
-Sept. 1979 Soviets invaded and installed Babrak Karmal as a puppet president
-The west, China, and India were alarmed and many boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics because of it
-The invasion and Reagan being elected are seen as the ends of Détente
-Soviets opposed by rebels called the Mujahidin
-By 1985 Soviets had 100,000 troops here
-1987 Karmal replaced by Mohammed Najibullah who was even more of a puppet
-Soviets accused of practicing inhumane types of warfare (ie: chemical)
-Soviets eventually withdrew
-Many parallels to the US in Vietnam
-Sept. 1979 Soviets invaded and installed Babrak Karmal as a puppet president
-The west, China, and India were alarmed and many boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics because of it
-The invasion and Reagan being elected are seen as the ends of Détente
-Soviets opposed by rebels called the Mujahidin
-By 1985 Soviets had 100,000 troops here
-1987 Karmal replaced by Mohammed Najibullah who was even more of a puppet
-Soviets accused of practicing inhumane types of warfare (ie: chemical)
-Soviets eventually withdrew
-Many parallels to the US in Vietnam
summary
Afghanistan hit the world's headlines in 1979. Afghanistan seemed to perfectly summarise the Cold War. From the west's point of view, Berlin, Korea, Hungary and Cuba had shown the way communism wanted to proceed. Afghanistan was a continuation of this.