The role of the CIA in the Soviet- Afghan War (1979- 1989)
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Date
2018-06
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Abstract
Abstract:
The present paper explores one particular strain of the Cold War: the Soviet- Afghan War and the role that the United States strategy played, through the CIA, in affecting the outcome of the war. The Americans first sought to increase costs for the Soviet Union by supplying funds and Soviet- style arms to the Afghan Mujahadeen. Following the Soviet’s invasion, the US administration, together with many world countries, worked to remove out the Soviets from Afghanistan.
It is worth to mention that US administration, during the Carter’s and Regan’s presidency, relied heavily on the CIA to implement its foreign policy which prepared the thousand of Mujahedeen in Pakistani preparatory camps, piped billions of dollars, and supplied arms against Soviets in Afghanistan.
We reach three conclusions: First, Presidents Carter and Reagan, as part of a "bleeder" strategy, supplied funds and Soviet- style arms to the mujahadeen. Second, the escalation by the United States in 1985-1986 sought to push the Soviets out of Afghanistan. Third, the covert campaign against the Soviets in Afghanistan was part and parcel of larger strategy, the "Reagan Doctrine", which sought to roll-back Soviet gains in the Third World. Ultimately, this helped to end the Cold War.
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Key words: USSR, Afghanistan, US, CIA, Mujahideen, Red Army, covert operations.