Conflict In Afghanistan

By,
Steven Lu, Patrick Situ, Chris
Slack, And Stephanie Reif
 Reasons For The Conflict of 1979

• Afghanistan's people were being poorly treated.

• It was the end of the Cold War and Afghanistan needed
help more than before.
• The United States stopped funding and support to
Afghanistan after the Cold War.
• Afghanistan felt betrayed since the United States was
not helping them anymore.
• Afghanistan signed a treaty with the Soviet Union,
which gave Afghanistan funding and support.
• The alliance with Afghanistan and the Soviet Union was
not going smoothly.
• The Soviet Union was unhappy and began an invasion.
 What Actually Happened During the
1979 Conflict
• The Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan was a 10-year war
fought between the Soviet Red
Army, Afghan, and foreign
fighters in Afghanistan. The
'shooting' war is generally held
to have started December 24,
1979. Soviet troops ultimately
withdrew from the area
between May 15, 1988 and
February 2, 1989. The Soviet
Union officially announced that
all of its troops had left
Afghanistan on February 15.
• April 27, 1978 - Hafizullah Amin stages coup against,
resulting in the death of the former head of state,
Mohammed Daoud Khan. The communist People's
Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) takes control. Nur
Mohammed Taraki is named President, Prime Minister, and
General Secretary of the PDPA. Amin and Babrak Karmal
are named deputy prime ministers. The country is
renamed the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA).
 
• February 15, 1979 - The U.S. Ambassador Adolph Dubs is
abducted by insurgents and killed during a rescue attempt
ordered by Amin. The U.S. accuses the Soviet Union of
initiating the gunfight leading to his death. No replacement
Ambassador is appointed.

• May 1979 - Soviet advisors begin taking over operations at

Bagram air base from Afghan government technicians.
Diplomatic dispatches and articles in Pravda begin
referring to Afghanistan as a "member of the socialist
community". Many take these public statements to mean
that the Soviet Union now regards Afghanistan as falling
under the Brezhnev Doctrine.
• September 14, 1979 - An assassination attempt on Amin in the
Presidential palace, held to be directed by Taraki.

• September 18, 1979 - Some elements of the previous government and

military officers resist, and are killed by those loyal to Amin. Speculation
abounds that Taraki has been killed in the fighting.

• December 27, 1979 - 700 KGB spetsnaz special forces troops, Alpha
Group, in Afghan uniforms storm the Presidential Place in Kabul, taking
heavy casualties, killing President Hafizullah Amin.
 
 Reasons For The Current Conflict of
• 2001
The United States for a period of time was
anti-communist.
• The United States also the Afghan harbors
and ports were supporting terrorists.
• The United States did not support the
Soviet Union's acts.
• World Trade Center was bombed September
2001; the United States thought terrorists
in Afghanistan were involved.
• The United States, as an act of defense,
invades Afghanistan (currently the war
against terrorism).
What’s Happening Today
In the year 2001, George
W. Bush declares war
against terrorism. The
United States is currently
involved in fighting
terrorism in the Middle
East such as Afghanistan.
We are still fighting this
war having no relief in
knowing the end point of
this war.
 Summarization
• When: There were two major events of the Conflict in
Afghanistan. One in 1979 where the Soviet Union
invades Afghanistan and the current war against
terrorism of 2001 by the United States invading
Afghanistan.
 
• Where: All events happened in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan becoming a terrorist homeland and
communist served the role in making the United
States invade them.
 
• Who: There were no real important leaders in this
event. The three major groups were Afghanistan, the
United States, and the Soviet Union. Terrorists are
also a major group if they were not a part of
Afghanistan.
• Why: The alliance between Afghanistan and
the Soviet Union was not going well which
led to the conflict of 1979. The communism
and the act of terrorism caused the United
States to create a conflict in 2001.

• What: During the conflict of 1979, the

Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan with ease
and controlled their government. The war
on terrorism in 2001 was an invasion by the
United States to fight against terrorism and
communism.
 
• How: The 1979 conflict caused the United
States to wake up and try to solve the
conflict which lead to the 2001 conflict.
 Sources
• Clements, Frank A. Conflict in Afghanistan. Santa Barbra: ABC-
CLIO, Inc. p, 2003.
•
• Grau, Lester W., and Michael A. Gress. The Soviet-Afghan War.
Kansas: U of Kansas, p, 2002.
•
• "Afghanistan Invaded by Soviets, December 24, 1979December 27,
1979." DISCovering World History. Online Edition. Gale, 2003.
Student Resource Center. Thomson Gale. 09 March 2006 < http://
galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SRC>

• "Third World and the Cold War: 1980s." DISCovering U.S. History.
Online Edition. Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center. Thomson
Gale. 09 March 2006 < http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/SRC>