Beginning Middle End
The USSR perceived Afghanistan as In December 1979 Brezhnev deployed Soviet withdrawal in 1989 after
vital to its buffer zone strategy, fearing a over 100,000 troops, assassinated 15,000 deaths represented a
domino effect of anti-communist President Amin and installed the humiliating defeat that shattered the
sentiment spreading to Soviet republics compliant Babrak Karmal, exposing the myth of Soviet military invincibility
USSR's willingness to violate
The PDPA government was deeply sovereignty The war cost an estimated $50
fractured, with internal coups billion, vastly accelerating the
destabilising the regime and fuelling a CIA Operation Cyclone channelled economic stagnation that
widespread Mujahideen insurgency billions in funding and Stinger missiles to Gorbachev's reforms failed to
rooted in Islamic nationalism Mujahideen fighters, transforming a civil reverse
conflict into a fully-fledged Cold War
The Kremlin interpreted US interference proxy war Global condemnation, US-led
via the CIA as a deliberate attempt to boycott of the 1980 Moscow
encircle and weaken Soviet geopolitical Soviet forces were ill-equipped for Olympics and the collapse of
dominance guerrilla warfare in mountainous terrain, détente demonstrated the severe
suffering catastrophic losses and failing diplomatic isolation the USSR had
Link: Soviet leadership concluded that to establish control beyond urban brought upon itself
direct military intervention was the only centres
way to prevent a strategically critical The conflict is widely regarded as a
state from collapsing into Western Link: The USSR was haemorrhaging decisive factor in the USSR's
influence resources, manpower and international eventual dissolution in 1991
credibility with no viable exit strategy
The USSR perceived Afghanistan as In December 1979 Brezhnev deployed Soviet withdrawal in 1989 after
vital to its buffer zone strategy, fearing a over 100,000 troops, assassinated 15,000 deaths represented a
domino effect of anti-communist President Amin and installed the humiliating defeat that shattered the
sentiment spreading to Soviet republics compliant Babrak Karmal, exposing the myth of Soviet military invincibility
USSR's willingness to violate
The PDPA government was deeply sovereignty The war cost an estimated $50
fractured, with internal coups billion, vastly accelerating the
destabilising the regime and fuelling a CIA Operation Cyclone channelled economic stagnation that
widespread Mujahideen insurgency billions in funding and Stinger missiles to Gorbachev's reforms failed to
rooted in Islamic nationalism Mujahideen fighters, transforming a civil reverse
conflict into a fully-fledged Cold War
The Kremlin interpreted US interference proxy war Global condemnation, US-led
via the CIA as a deliberate attempt to boycott of the 1980 Moscow
encircle and weaken Soviet geopolitical Soviet forces were ill-equipped for Olympics and the collapse of
dominance guerrilla warfare in mountainous terrain, détente demonstrated the severe
suffering catastrophic losses and failing diplomatic isolation the USSR had
Link: Soviet leadership concluded that to establish control beyond urban brought upon itself
direct military intervention was the only centres
way to prevent a strategically critical The conflict is widely regarded as a
state from collapsing into Western Link: The USSR was haemorrhaging decisive factor in the USSR's
influence resources, manpower and international eventual dissolution in 1991
credibility with no viable exit strategy
