I recently had the opportunity to research and report on a topic of choice within the curriculum of Central Asian History. As a Middle Grades Education major with a concentration in Social Studies, I feel it’s important to keep abreast of timely subjects that will interest my students and at the same time connect to curricular studies. North Carolina Standard Course of Study requirements for 7th grade Social Studies include exploring the continent of Asia; its people, geography, environment, and history.
For my recent research and presentation I chose the Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989) and particularly the impact of Mujahideen fighters who battled Soviet forces throughout the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. This subject is very timely given the current United States War on Terror, and our own military involvement in the country.
Below is information which I think will be helpful to both educators and students in understanding a critical aspect of Afghanistan’s history. An exploration of the history, tribal societies, and culture of Central Asia will enable students to better connect with both 7th grade Social Studies curriculum, and current events in the region.
Soviet-Afghanistan War Timeline
1933-1973: King Mohammed Zahir Shah rules monarchial Afghan government, with his cousin, Mohammad Daoud Khan serving as the country’s Prime Minister. Shah’s rule is allegedly rampant with corruption and poor economic conditions.
1956: Soviet-Afghan military cooperation officially begins with signing of military agreement between both countries. The Soviet Minister of Defense is responsible for training all Afghan military officers.
1967: The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan rises to prominence and splits into two factions: the Khalq (headed by Nur Muhammad Taraki) and the Parcham.
1972: Up to 100 Soviet military consultants and technical specialists are sent to Afghanistan to train Afghan armed forces.
July 17, 1973: Former Prime Minister Mohammad Daoud Khan leads a near-bloodless coup and seizes power as Afghanistan’s supreme ruler. Khan begins repressing PDPA leaders in an attempt to exercise complete control of the country.
April 27, 1978: The Afghan Army (sympathetic to the PDPA) overthrows and executes Mohammad Daoud Khan along with members of his family. Nur Muhammad Taraki, Secretary General of the (Marxist) People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, becomes President of the Revolutionary Council and Prime Minister of newly formed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
July 3, 1978: President Jimmy Carter authorizes the US Central Intelligence Agency to conduct “covert propaganda operations” against the Taraki regime.
December, 1978: Soviet Union and Afghanistan sign a bilateral “treaty of friendship and cooperation” which permits Soviet deployment of forces in the event of an Afghan “request.”
March, 1979: Afghan soldiers (led by Ismail Khan) mutiny and massacre approximately 100 Soviet military advisors. Soviets (with PDPA backing) retaliate with bombing campaign that kills 24,000 inhabitants of Herat city.
July, 1979: President Carter authorizes funding for anti-communist guerillas (Mujahideen) in Afghanistan. Under the CIA’s “Operation Cyclone” arming of Afghan rebels begins.
July, 1979: Afghan government requests motorized rifle divisions (in addition to earlier requests of helicopters, tanks, and forces to guard the Kabul regime. The Soviets comply.
September, 1979: Deputy Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin seizes power after a gun battle in the country’s palace which results in the death of Nur Muhammad Taraki.
December, 1979: After more than two months of instability in Amin’s government (which included the purging Afghan resistance and Soviet sympathizers, as well as rumors of his seeking Chinese support) Amin requests Soviet ground forces to move into northern region of Afghanistan in hopes of averting a full civil war.
December 27, 1979: 700 Soviet troops (dressed in Afghan uniforms), KGB agents, and Special Forces units take control of governmental, military and media buildings in capital city Kabul. Forces assault Tajbeg Palace and assassinate President Amin. Elements of the Soviet 40th Army enter Afghanistan from the north, along with airborne units which arrive at Bagram airport. Approximately 1800 tanks and 80,000 soldiers are deployed.
January, 1980: Foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Conference condemn Soviet aggression in Afghanistan and demands immediate withdrawal. The United Nations General Assembly votes for a resolution deploring the “armed intervention” by Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
Summer, 1980: President Carter calls for boycott of Summer Olympic Games in Moscow, in protest to Soviet deployment of forces in Afghanistan.
March 1980-April 1985: Soviet forces occupy cities and communication infrastructure, while Mujahideen wage a guerilla war across the countryside.
March, 1985: After five years of fighting, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev expresses his dissatisfaction with progress in Afghanistan; demands that a solution be found there, setting a one-year deadline. Soviet forces are increased to 108,000.
1986: Democratic Republic of Afghanistan forces number 302,000 and are divided (along Soviet models) into three branches to avoid possible coup attempts (Ministries of Interior, Defense, and State Security). Each group is plagued by desertions estimated at 32,000 per year. Soviet forces begin implementing strategy of defensive operations while shifting offensives to Afghan army.
January, 1987-February, 1989: Soviet withdrawal process is implemented in two phases. DRA forces continue fighting Mujahideen; war is stalemated.
February 15, 1989: Last elements of Soviet 40th Army leave Afghanistan across over-land route.
Statistics of the Soviet-Afghanistan War
Soviets:
620,000 Soviet troops served in Afghanistan (1979-1989)
14, 453 Soviet casualties recorded
417 Soviet servicemen listed as MIA (119 were freed from captivity)
469,685 Soviet troops listed as sick or wounded of this number…
415, 932 reported as sick (local climate and sanitation conditions contributed to acute infections among troops)
115, 308 suffered from infectious hepatitis
31, 080 suffered from typhoid fever
140, 665 suffered from other diseases
11, 654 were discharged from service after being wounded
92% were left disabled
Afghans:
Over 1 million Afghans were killed during the war
5 million fled to neighboring countries (Pakistan, Iran)
2 million were displaced within Afghan borders
In 1980 alone one out of every two refugees in the world was Afghan
1.2 million Afghans (Mujahideen and government soldiers) were disabled
3 million maimed or wounded non-combatants
25,000 Afghans were killed by land mines
15 million land mines were left scattered throughout the countryside after the Soviet withdrawal
3-4% of entire Afghan population was left disabled by landmines (many of them children)
Afghanistan’s second largest city (Kandahar) was reduced from a population of 200,000 to 25,000
A vast majority of Afghanistan’s infrastructure and resources were completely destroyed during the war. During 1985, well over half of remaining farms had fields bombed, irrigation systems destroyed, and livestock shot.
Mujahideen
Word Origin: The root of mujahidin is J-H-D, which can mean “effort or sacrifice.” Jihad can mean “struggle” and Mujahideen can mean “struggler.” The verb stem J-H-D (found in both jihad and mujahid) means “to exert effort against”, or “to struggle.”
In English, Mujahideen has been recorded since 1958. In Pakistani context (from Persian and Arabic) Mujahideen is the plural of mujahid (“one who fights a jihad).
During the late 20th century Mujahideen became synonymous with various armed guerilla fighters who subscribed to extremist Islamic ideologies.
Afghanistan Mujahideen: Arguably the best known Mujahideen group(s); fought against pro-Soviet Marxist regime during the mid-late 1970s; would later engage the Soviet 40th Army during Soviet-Afghanistan War (1979-1989). Mujahideen elements continued fighting in the Afghan Civil War following Soviet withdrawal.
During war with the Soviets, Afghanistan Mujahideen were financed (and armed) by US Central Intelligence Agency and governments in Saudi Arabia, The People’s Republic of China, Iran, Pakistan, and several European states. Funds (and weaponry) were funneled through Pakistan with Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence serving as go-between.
Afghan Mujahideen Organization: During the Soviet-Afghan War, forces were organized into seven expatriate parties which were headquartered in Pakistan. The Pakistani town of Badaber served as a base of operations for training and arming Mujahideen fighters. Journalist Oliver Roy estimates that by the mid-1980s there were some 4,000 Mujahideen bases operating in Afghanistan and across the border in Pakistan. Mujahideen commanders typically led units of 300+ men, extending over several “bases” within a province. Ahmed Shah Massoud led 10,000 troops near the end of Soviet occupation, and controlled northern regions of the country. Massoud would later be assassinated by Al-Qaeda operatives on September 9, 2001 (two days before the 9-11 attacks in New York City). Massoud’s death paved the way for Osama bin Laden’s protection and alliance with the Taliban regime following the 9-11 attacks.
Areas of Operation Today: The term Mujahideen has become synonymous with various Muslim extremist groups around the world…
Afghan Arabs: Originally organized to participate in the Afghan-Soviet War, calls for Muslim Arabs from around the world to travel to Afghanistan and aid in repelling the Soviets did not go unheeded. Maktab Al-Khidamat (Afghan Services Bureau) is believed to have been founded in 1984 by Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden to raise money for the Afghan rebels. The organization (MAK) provided recruiting and monetary resources for Afghan Mujahideen fighters. Azzam was killed by car bomb in 1989 after which bin Laden evolved the group into its present-day incarnation: Al-Qaeda.
Mujahideen fighters have been active in the following regions/countries (since the Afghan War):
Thailand, Chechnya (term is often used to refer to all separatist fighters in both countries),
Bosnia-Herzegovina (foreign volunteers seeking to avenge mass killings of Bosnian Muslims by Serb forces), Kosovo-Macedonia (Kosovo War 1997-99),
Iran (People’s Mujahedin of Iran),
Iraq (Mujahideen Shura Council, al-Qaeda in Iraq),
Kashmir (Pashtun Muslim fighters opposing Indian rule),
Philippines (Abu Sayyaf Group),
Myanmar (active in remote areas of Arakan),
Somalia (Islamic Courts Union).
