Brezhnev and Afghanistan

BREZHNEV AND AFGHANISTAN

BIG PICTURE=

The USSR began to intervene in Africa, largely as a result of the Brezhnev Doctrine. The US were concerned that the USSR were becoming increasingly expansionist and aggressive. The USSR felt that Carter was weak. Both powers began to focus on the oil-rich but unstable Middle East.

The Little Details…

Policy Ideas

Brezhnev had failed to inject new ideas to prevent economic stagnation.
He had been put in power in 1964 by hardliners, partly because they wanted more stability after the unpredictable Khrushchev.
After the Prague Spring, Brezhnev introduced the Brezhnev Doctrine, which was the Soviet response to the policy of containment.
Eventually, this would commit the Soviet Union to wars in different parts of the world and therefore increased defense spending.

Why Détente was good for the USSR

SALT I and the Helsinki Peace Accords marked the high points of détente.
SALT II discussions had begun in 1973.
Agreeing to limits on strategic weapons meant that there was a decrease in defense spending.
This should have, in theory at least, eased their economic burden at a time of economic stagnation.

Soviet Expansionism

In 1974, the Portuguese Empire collapsed. Independence struggles followed former colonies in Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau as a result.
In 1975, the US were defeated in Vietnam and the Pathet Lao and Khmer Rouge took power in Laos and Cambodia. All of the former French colony of Indochina was now communist (although the rest of SE Asia remained non-communist).
These two events meant that the Cold War focus shifted away from Asia and onto Africa (where it had been only briefly during the Congo Civil War of 1960-64).
Communist parties backed by the USSR took control in Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau but a civil war broke out between communists and non-communists in Angola (funded by USSR/Cuba and the USA).
Communist Guerilla leader Colonel Mengistu seized control of Ethiopia in 1977 and became involved in a regional conflict with Somalia.
The Soviet Union, who had good relations with both countries, sided with Ethiopia. However, when Somalia successfully invaded the Ogaden territory of Ethiopia, Carter refused to fund them until they withdrew. The Somalis were forced out of Ethiopia after Mengistu received Soviet aid and assistance from 10,000 Cuban troops.

SALT II talks stall

SALT I was relatively straight forward and easy to deal with as it dealt with obsolete technology and weapons system.
SALT II was more complicated as it dealt with more valued and more advanced weapon systems such as MIRV.
In 1977, the USSR placed MIRV rockets in Eastern Europe.
The US responded by placing Pershing and Cruise missiles in Western Europe.
US Congress refused to ratify SALT II in 1979.

Carter and the US Response to Detente

The end of the Vietnam War was a watershed moment in US Cold War policy. The era of containment was over and the US did not embark on any more great Cold War military actions.
Carter was the first post-Vietnam president and did attempt to take US foreign policy in a different direction.
One of the central tenets of his foreign policy was to support Human Rights issues, which had also been in the third “basket” of the Helsinki Peace Accords.
Sometimes this approach left him open to criticism, both inside and outside of his administration, that he was weak. Carter’s time as president was overshadowed by significant foreign policy crises and there was a perception that Carter’s failure to show strength invited these problems.
For example he refused to offer support to the Somalis in their war with Ethiopia until they withdrew from the Ogadon territory.
Hardline National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski argued that “détente is buried in the sands of Ogaden” and wanted a stronger response from the US.
Many inside the US felt that the USSR was benefitting more from détente that the USA and that they were taking advantage of the “cooling-off” period of Cold War tensions to make strategic gains. This was especially true in Africa, which many believed should not be in the Soviet sphere of influence.

The Soviet Response to Carter

The USSR did perceive Carter as weak- certainly much weaker than Nixon.
They were irritated by Carter’s concern over human rights in the USSR but his willingness to overlook similar issues in South Korea and China.
They argued their intervention in Africa was part of their right to support “national liberation struggles”.

Islamism in the Middle East

The Islamic Revolution in Iran fundamentally changed politics in the oil-rich Middle East.
It also changed both US and Soviet policies in the region.
The region had become far more significant to both powers following the 1973 OPEC oil embargo.
Iran was now an Islamic republic opposed to both US and Soviet influence.
Moreover, it had unleashed Islamist forces and influence across the Muslim world. This would become a key factor in the Soviet-Afghan conflict.

Why did the Soviets invade Afghanistan?

Internal divisions within the ruling Communist government of Afghanistan had led to civil war and the Soviet Union sent troops in to restore order and to protect Communist rule- there was resistance to policies such as collectivization of land that were perceived to be "un- Islamic "
The new leader of Afghanistan, Hafizullah Amin, appeared to be moving closer politically to the USA, Pakistan and China. The USSR did not want to lose Afghanistan from its sphere of influence.
They feared civil war in Afghanistan could lead to the establishment of an Islamic republic similar to the one in Iran. This, in turn, could influence the Muslim majorities in Soviet border republics such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan to do the same.
Brezhnev Doctrine- they needed to support an openly communist regime.
Confidence that the USA would not intervene.

Consequences of the Soviet Invasion

The US were concerned that the USSR were attempting to expand to the USSR. As détente was clearly over, the USSR was less concerned with the disapproval of the USA and vetoed any condemning resolutions at the UN Security Council.
As part of the Carter Doctrine, The USA boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, applied sanctions and began to arm guerilla rebels with Chinese made arms (so that they could not be traced back to the US).
These rebels were mostly comprised of Mujahideen freedom fighters (soldiers of God). They were recruited by CIA in Pakistani refugee camps and given US Special Forces training. Some of these later became members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
From 1985 onwards, the US supplied them with Stinger shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missiles that played a key role shooting down Soviet helicopters (an important part of Soviet strategy).
The USSR became increasingly bogged down in Afghanistan and the conflict became known as the Soviet Union’s “Vietnam” as it shared many of the same characteristics of the US’ conflict in SE Asia. However, the war in Afghanistan was an even bigger drain on Soviet resources that the war in Vietnam had been for the USA.
Gorbachev ended Soviet involvement in Afghanistan by 1989, although the civil war continued after the USSR collapsed in 1991.
The communist government was overthrown in 1992 and replaced with an Islamic state that was hostile to Pakistan. This government in turn was replaced by the Taliban in 1996, an Islamic organization from Southern Afghanistan with support from Pakistan. They were removed from power by US-led NATO forces in 2001, although they still to this day continue to launch insurgent attacks against foreign troops and the government of Hamid Karzai.