The Afghan - Soviet War Started In December 1979

THE SOVIET – AFGHANISTAN WAR
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Introduction
The Afghan- Soviet war started in December 1979 and lasted until February 1989 when the last troops of the Russian 40th army were pulled from Afghanistan. The war led to the death of over 14000 Russian combat deaths and injured over 35000 others CITATION Rob01 \l 1033 (Grogin, 2001). The war also led to over 1.5 million Afghan civilian deaths with over 5 million refugees in the neighboring countries CITATION Jam03 \l 1033 (Millar, 2003). Hundreds of thousands of Afghans were internally displaced while over 4 million sought refuge in Pakistan and Iran CITATION Mūs02 \l 1033 (Jalālzaʾī, 2002). The war is said to be a result of the cold war that ensued after the second world war. The war ended when the Soviet Union began disintegrating, and public outcry on the effects of the war increased. It was an expensive war for the Russians that they lost and made no significant progress. The war left an indelible mark in history and long lasting effects that have changed the course of history forever. It had become a big expense for the Soviet Union which was trying to impose communism on Afghanistan. In this essay, a detailed account of the origin, unfolding activities, outcome and an in-depth evaluation of alternative means that could have been adopted to prevent the war are critically discussed.
Origins of the war
The origin of the Afghanistan-Russian war can be traced back to the of world war ii. After the world war ii, the Soviet Union and the United States locked horns in a cold war that lasted up to the fall of the Soviet Union. The United States and its allies in the cold war advocated for capitalism while the Soviet Union advocated for communism. Afghanistan, being a neighboring country to the Soviet Union was a Russian target, and they strategized on how to win the country to adopt communism. The Soviet Union funded the Afghanistan government and helped it complete various infrastructural facilities for its people before the war. The Russians wanted Afghanistan to become a friendly ally and a communist state before the invasion CITATION Ale14 \l 1033 (Salaiz, 2014).
In 1978, the people democratic party of Afghanistan took power through a coup in the Saur revolution and installed Muhammad Taraki as the president. The party focused on modernizing Afghanistan, and it initiated various changes that caused friction with its people especially in the rural areas where the citizens were deeply rooted in Islamic and traditional dogma. Rebellions started springing all over the country, and the government reacted by arresting and executing those who opposed their policies. The rebellions grew, and eventually, the government became very unstable, and it was ousted by the Hafiz Ullah Amin in 1979. The rebellions however continued under the new regime and on December 24, 1979, Russia leader Leonida Brezhnev deployed the 40th army to Afghanistan. The army marched to Kabul and captured Amin and killed him. The coup staged by Russians also installed loyalist Babrak Karmal to be the president. The Russian army captured Kabul, major highways, and towns and brought them under their control. Afghanistan took their arms to fight for their country against attack by the Russians, and the war broke. However, the Russians had the cities and major infrastructural facilities, but the country was not necessarily under Russian authority when they had the city since many rebels came from the countryside CITATION Kev17 \l 1033 (McLean, 2017).
Unfolding of the war
The Russian invasion of Afghanistan was declared unconstitutional by the UN and ordered the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Russians in Afghanistan. UN voted 104-18 for Russian withdrawal. Many nations were against the Russian attack of a friendly sovereign country. However, the Russians vetoed their invasion in Afghanistan despite lashing by the UN. Russians invaded a sovereign state without due procedure as provided by the UN laws. Russians ignored since they thought they had the capacity and resources to intimidate Afghanistan citizens to surrender to them. Russians wanted to have more proxy communist governments especially from diplomatic and trade relations, and they desperately supported the Babrak Karmal to establish control and authority in Afghanistan. The war kicked broke since the rebels in Afghanistan albeit being poorly equipped and trained, had a common enemy, the Russians. They wanted to drive Russians away from its soil and left to establish their government. More Mujahedeen (soldiers of God) rebels sprouted all over the country to resist and drive Russians away from Afghanistan.
Mujahideen was primarily aiming at resisting communism in Afghanistan as they perceived it to be a threat to their culture and religion. The communist dogma threatened their religious and cultural beliefs especially on social issues like women empowerment. Thus, they perceived the war as jihad CITATION Mik16 \l 1033 (Bowker, 2016). Mujahideen received help from Pakistan especially guns and war equipment to equip the Mujahedeen. The United States also chipped in to help train and fund their operations to resist the Soviets. Mujahedeen opted to use guerilla tactics to fight against the mighty Soviet army which was more advanced in weaponry and skills than them. ‘death by thousand cuts’ was the slogan and tactic that gave the Mujahedeen an edge over the Soviet army CITATION Dee11 \l 1033 (Tripathi, 2011).
The mountainous countryside of Afghanistan gave the Mujahedeen an advantage to stage and execute the guerilla tactics. The tactics fared well, and the Russians opted to use helicopter bombers. The new strategy almost contained the Mujahedeen, but the US supplied Mujahedeen with stingers that neutralized the aircraft. Russians now only relied on land infantry which disadvantaged them since they never understood the countryside like the Mujahedeen. In the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union began to disintegrate, and the public outcry about the war inten...