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
Summary: In attempt to influence the region and expand their southern empire the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Puppet leaders were put into place by the Soviets. The first was Karmal followed by Najibullah. They were opposed by the Mujaheddin and the Soviets withdrew due to close bankruptcy. During this time they were accused of practicing inhuman types of warfare- an example being using mustard gas.