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N0KFQ > TODAY 24.12.12 17:22l 65 Lines 2627 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 33446_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Dec 24
Path: IZ3LSV<IK2XDE<ON4HU<CX2SA<ZL2BAU<GB7YKS<XE1FH<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 121224/1509Z 33446@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.53
...
Dec 24, 1979:
Soviet tanks roll into Afghanistan
On December 24, 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, under
the pretext of upholding the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of
1978.
As midnight approached, the Soviets organized a massive military
airlift into Kabul, involving an estimated 280 transport aircraft
and three divisions of almost 8,500 men each. Within a few days,
the Soviets had secured Kabul, deploying a special assault unit
against Tajberg Palace. Elements of the Afghan army loyal to
Hafizullah Amin put up a fierce, but brief resistance.
On December 27, Babrak Karmal, exiled leader of the Parcham
faction of the Marxist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
(PDPA), was installed as Afghanistan's new head of government.
And Soviet ground forces entered Afghanistan from the north.
The Soviets, however, were met with fierce resistance when they
ventured out of their strongholds into the countryside.
Resistance fighters, called mujahidin, saw the Christian or
atheist Soviets controlling Afghanistan as a defilement of Islam
as well as of their traditional culture. Proclaiming a
"jihad"(holy war), they gained the support of the Islamic world.
The mujahidin employed guerrilla tactics against the Soviets.
They would attack or raid quickly, then disappear into the
mountains, causing great destruction without pitched battles. The
fighters used whatever weapons they could grab from the Soviets
or were given by the United States.
The tide of the war turned with the 1987 introduction of U.S.
shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles. The Stingers allowed
the mujahidin to shoot down Soviet planes and helicopters on a
regular basis.
New Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev decided it was time to get
out. Demoralized and with no victory in sight, Soviet forces
started withdrawing in 1988. The last Soviet soldier crossed back
across the border on February 15, 1989.
It was the first Soviet military expedition beyond the Eastern
bloc since World War II and marked the end of a period of
improving relations (known as détente) in the Cold War.
Subsequently, the SALT II arms treaty was shelved and the U.S.
began to re-arm.
Fifteen thousand Soviet soldiers were killed.
The long-term impact of the invasion and subsequent war was
profound. First, the Soviets never recovered from the public
relations and financial losses, which significantly contributed
to the fall of the Soviet empire in 1991. Secondly, the war
created a breeding ground for terrorism and the rise of Osama bin
Laden.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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