Overview Understand the involvement and the political/military impact of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 Define how the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan influenced the development and employment of military aviation Note: Additional Source:

In 1979 Afghanistan was on the eve of a civil war. The prime minister, Hazifullah Amin, wanted to “modernize” Afghanistan. This outraged the majority of those in Afghanistan as a strong traditional Muslim belief was common in the country. Fearing Amin was growing too brutal, Afghan President Nur Mohammad Taraki flies to Moscow to convince them to pull support from Amin….however Thousands of Muslim leaders were arrested while many fled the capital to the mountains to escape Amin's police. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan TarakiAmin

Thousands of Afghanistan Muslims joined the Mujahdeen - a guerilla force on a holy mission for Allah. The Mujahdeen declared a jihad - a holy war - on the supporters of Amin. In December of 1979, the Soviet Union, claiming they had been invited by the Amin government to help stabilize the nation, invaded Afghanistan. The Soviets claimed that their task was to support the legitimate Amin government and that the Mujahdeen were no more than terrorists. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

On December 27th, 1979, Amin was shot by the Russians and he was replaced by Babrak Kamal. His position as head of the Afghan government depended entirely on the fact that he needed Russian military support to keep him in power. Many Afghan soldiers deserted to the Mujahdeen and the Kamal government needed 85,000 Russian soldiers to keep him in power. The Mujahdeen shifted their jihad to both the Kamal government and their Soviet backers Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

Soon after their entry into Afghanistan, the Soviets imposed military and social reforms that fractured the indigenous population. The Soviets implemented economic measures that worsened conditions for the poor, and tried to curb ethnic uprisings by mass arrests, torture, executions of dissidents and aerial bombardments. According to Amnesty International, some 1 million Afghans died during this period, with more than 8,000 people were executed after being put on trial between 1980 and 1988 Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Note:

Fearing the spread of Soviet Marxist ideology in Afghanistan and a southward Soviet movement toward the oil-rich Persian Gulf, the United States decided to aid the Mujahedeen. US Congressman Charlie Wilson lead the push for US military aid. He used his position in Congress to bully a reluctant CIA to accept and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to fuel the anti-Soviet jihad. The Saudi government was matching what he raised from Congress almost dollar for dollar Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

Soviet’s now faced significant problems in Afghanistan: High-tech equipment covertly supplied from the U.S. Difficult Terrain that favored the Mujahadeen Mujahadeen leaders were former Afghanistan Army officers trained by the Soviets The result was that the Soviet’s could not mass their military power against the guerillas, hence they withdrew to garrison outposts, relying upon airpower to conduct operations in the field 114 aircraft and 338 helicopters are lost by the Soviets during their occupation Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

Mikhail Gorbachev took Russia out of the Afghanistan fiasco when he realized what many Russian leaders had been too scared to admit in public - that Russia could not win the war and the cost of maintaining such a vast force in Afghanistan was crippling Russia's already weak economy. In May 1988 the Soviets begin withdrawing from Afghanistan. By February 15, 1989, the last Soviet troops departed on schedule from Afghanistan Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

Soviet Lesson Learned Support of local population in any military occupation is absolutely critical to success, even when it is in your backyard and a section of your population share a similar culture Terrain, terrain, terrain Need to know your enemy and train accordingly Impact to the development and evolution of military aviation With the introduction of portable surface to air missiles, in this case the Stinger Missile, any individual with very little training can shoot-down an aircraft Another entry in the debate if aircraft can hold territory without the introduction of land forces Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Sound Familiar?