The 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 Mujaheddin
•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 U.S. 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 Mujaheddin
•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 U.S. in Vietnam
In Christmas 1979, Russian paratroopers landed in Kabal, the capital of Afghanistan. The country was already in the grip of a civil war. The prime minister, Hazifullah Amin, tried to sweep aside Muslim tradition within the nation and he wanted a more western slant to Afghanistan. This outraged the majority of those in Afghanistan as a strong tradition of Muslim belief was common in the country.