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
Summary
Soviet plan to spread communism, went in with helicopters and attacked villages with machine guns. Took over the government and put in a puppet leader, Babrak Karmal, none of the people in Afghanistan did not want them there. People of the countries were treated very badly during this time.