War Waging and Reassessment: Afghanistan

Abstract

The Soviet Union entered into its war in Afghanistan in December 1979 following months of debate about the advisability of such a course of action. After committing troops, however, Soviet leaders did not publicly acknowledge the active engagement of its forces in combat, insisting that Soviet specialists were simply aiding the Afghan people in the development of their country. And when Soviet leaders finally acknowledged a presence in Afghanistan, they framed it within the larger Cold War context. News stories and television broadcasts about Afghanistan, for example, reflected the leaders’ characterization of Soviet specialists in Afghanistan as “internationalists” fighting for a socialist victory against Western aggression perpetuated by the United States and Pakistan. The leadership strategy was clearly to portray outside forces as the cause of conflict in Afghanistan.