Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan Research Articles

The portrayal of Pakistan as whited sepulture against the Taliban: a case study of American media

The changing narratives and portrayal of Taliban in the US media has been a subject of much deliberation among the media connoisseurs ranging from their heroic portrayal during the Afghan-Soviet war to desperados in the post 9/11 world landscape. For this particular reason, the present study is an effort to locate how the proxy actor (Pakistan) has been linked to the Taliban by the US media in the post 9/11 world. This research takes Time magazine as a case study and articles related to Pakistan are selected encompassing the decade following 9/11. The corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis has been applied using Graph Coll and Wordsmith. The analysis has been done on three levels: (i) the time-specific pattern of the node linked with the Pakistani context, (ii) the most significant and strong collocates of the node, and (iii) the semantic categorization of the collocates. The analysis reveals that Pakistan has been linked with Taliban groups throughout the decade in some years more frequently than others. The second level of analysis reveals that the Taliban groups are statistically significantly and strongly connected with Pakistan. The third level of analysis reveals many aspects such as ambiguity pertaining to Taliban and associated groups, their ties with Pakistan, and Pakistan playing a dodging game with Taliban groups as well as the US government. Such media portrayal of Pakistan as being a white sepulture reveals a political world where binaries (Us vs. Them) in the case of Pakistan do not exist.

Deficit of Trust in Pakistan-Afghanistan Bilateral Relations: An Evaluation from a Security and Economic Perspective from 2001 to 2021

At the crossroads of Central and Southern Asia lie two Muslim neighbors i.e., Pakistan and Afghanistan. Similarities in religion, culture, ethnicity, race, and history were predicted to cement the harmonious bilateral connection between the two countries. There have been a lot of obstacles to the development of positive relations between the two republics ever since they were established. Afghanistan's alone neighbor and a key commercial partner, Pakistan and the two countries have a difficult history despite Afghanistan's reliance on Pakistan's seaports and international trade. Tense relations began with the conflicts over the Durand line and Pakhtunistan stunt supported by Afghan government and were exacerbated by subsequent events like the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the American involvement in the country after September 11, 2001. A large number of refugees fled to Pakistan as a result of these invasions, shaking up the country's politics and economy. India's involvement in Afghan politics has had a major effect on Pakistan's interests in the country and the surrounding region, especially after September 11th, when the United States attempted to offset Chinese influence in the area. India's engagement in Afghanistan and Pakistan's support in the US invasion of Afghanistan are at the root of the current state of bilateral ties. Normalizing bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan may require the involvement of a third party or agreement on confidence-building measures to enhance the welfare of persons living on the other side of the Durand line and encourage amicable interactions between the two countries. Using a qualitative approach, this article investigates the causes and consequences of the current mistrust in bilateral ties, with a particular emphasis on economic and security problems in the wake of 9/11.

Breaking the Strategic Glass: The Carter Administration and Oman, 1977–1980

Abstract When Jimmy Carter became the U.S. president in January 1977, the United States and Oman did not have any formal security arrangements, apart from occasional landings of U.S. military aircraft on Oman's Masirah Island. Although Oman's leader, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, hoped to establish closer security ties with the United States, the Carter administration chose to continue President Richard Nixon's policy of relying on the “twin pillars” of Iran and Saudi Arabia to reinforce Western security in the Persian/Arabian Gulf region. Oman remained mostly a strategic afterthought until a series of crises unfolded in the greater Middle East: a Communist coup in Afghanistan in April 1978, the fall of the Shah of Iran in January 1979, and a war between Marxist South Yemen and North Yemen shortly thereafter. In November 1979, Iranian terrorists backed by the Islamic regime stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and seized dozens of hostages. This was followed a month later by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. With the fall of the Shah and the collapse of the “twin pillars” policy, the Carter administration began a sustained effort to create a Rapid Deployment Force for the Middle East and to gain access to Oman's strategic military facilities. After several months of arduous negotiations, Carter and his team were able to conclude a Facilities Access Agreement with Oman in June 1980, a transformative process that gave Washington the ability to insert U.S. military personnel into the Gulf and Indian Ocean on a contingency basis. The Carter administration's effort stands as a significant achievement, converting Oman into the most reliable U.S. ally in the Gulf region in the 1980s.

National Security and Economy Decoding the Friendship

National Security and Economy have been two important variables when countries have considered their development agendas. Since world war 2 these two concepts were considered different. In the last 50 years or so that has changed as there is consensus among international relations experts, economists and officials belonging to the national security apparatus of many countries that these two concepts are interlinked. Ever since the Soviet Union fell in august 1991 due to various reasons like dwindling economy, excessive state control and the soviet afghan war. Countries have started noticing this friendship between national security and the economy. Countries like India, japan, south Korea, and western European nations have realized that if they want to keep their citizens safe becoming economically self-sustainable is the only practical and permanent solution.

Terrorism and Insurgency in the Tribal Areas: Investigating the Historical Roots and Dynamics of Terrorism and Insurgency in Pakistan's Tribal Regions

This research delves deeply into the origins and evolving dynamics of various regions in Pakistan, presenting a nuanced and intricate image shaped by diverse elements and social intricacies. The interplay between global developments and inherent complexities has given rise to a milieu fraught with persistent challenges. These regions, steeped in historical tribal traditions, have experienced pronounced instability, exacerbated by pivotal events such as the Soviet-Afghan War. The study systematically investigates the transformative journey of terrorism and insurgency, scrutinizing the contributing variables. The primary objective of this paper is to furnish readers with a comprehensive understanding of the factors underpinning terrorism and insurgency in Pakistan's tribal areas. It accomplishes this by delving into historical events, cultural components, and geopolitical influences that have intricately woven the tumultuous past of the region.

Socio-Economic Analysis of Afghan Refugees Repatriation from Pakistan: A 2023 Case Study

This research paper delves into the complex journey of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, tracing their experiences from the Soviet-Afghan War to their forced repatriation in 2023. The paper analyzes crucial factors such as this paradigm shift’s socio-economic impact, security concerns, and regional implications. Additionally, it investigates Afghan refugees’ economic contributions, social integration challenges, and potential adjustments following repatriation. The study concludes with policy recommendations highlighting the importance of diplomatic collaboration, human rights, and international aid towards achieving peaceful repatriation. By examining the intricate interplay of geopolitics, humanitarian considerations, and regional stability, this research provides a comprehensive guide for policymakers to navigate the critical juncture of forced repatriation. Policymakers must consider the complexities and nuances of the situation to ensure a safe, dignified, and humane repatriation process. This research underscores the significance of international cooperation, equitable distribution of resources, and protection of human rights in bringing about a peaceful resolution to this humanitarian crisis.

Soviet-Afghan War Veterans as Violent Specialists amidst State Disintegration and Civil War in Tajikistan, 1990–1992

ABSTRACT The Soviet collapse in the early 1990s left a security vacuum in Tajikistan, where the regime retained few instruments of coercion after Moscow’s rule melted away. One potential source of informal coercive power was Soviet-Afghan War veterans, or afgantsy, who were militarily trained and in many cases combat-experienced and represented what Charles Tilly has termed ‘violent specialists’. This article argues that organized afgantsy initially offered security functions to the Tajik regime but that, as state authority crumbled, their relationship to state bodies became increasingly tenuous. Eventually, many veterans aligned with non-state violent actors during the civil war, performing several coercive functions on their behalf, including establishing, training, and commanding armed formations. The trajectory of the veterans, hence, paralleled that of the state collapse and the informalization of coercive power in Tajikistan. The changing relationship between veterans and political authority offers a point on which to explore wider shifts in the control and deployment of coercive power in the context of the Soviet collapse in Tajikistan.

Shifting Alliances: Iran-Pakistan Relations in the Aftermath of the Islamic Revolution and Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

This study investigates the multifaceted relationships that have emerged between Iran and Pakistan in the years following the Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1980. This article offers light on the profound geopolitical transformations that have occurred in the region, highlighting how the United States' loss of Iran and the Soviet Union's conquest of Afghanistan significantly affected the balance of power in the region. The study is centered on the developing relationship between Iran and Pakistan, and it takes a journey through historical events such as Iran's backing for the Afghan Mujahideen, the effects of the Iran-Iraq conflict, and the difficulties that arise from different perspectives on Afghanistan. Furthermore, it investigates the socio-cultural components that form the connection between the two countries, particularly in the region of Balochistan. The economic components are subjected to a careful evaluation in this article, which also investigates trade trends and the blocked gas pipeline between Iran and Pakistan. The research comes to a conclusion with strategic recommendations for both countries to improve their bilateral relations in a world that is fast changing. These proposals are discussed in light of the current geopolitical circumstances.

The Bleeding Wound: The Soviet War in Afghanistan and the Collapse of the Soviet System. By Yaacov Ro’i. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2022. 424p. $75.00 cloth.

The Bleeding Wound: The Soviet War in Afghanistan and the Collapse of the Soviet System. By Yaacov Ro’i. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2022. 424p. $75.00 cloth.

Terrorism and Global Security: A Comparative Analysis of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS)

The transformation of terrorism from Al-Qaeda to the Islamic State (IS) has created new security challenges. This article examines the threats posed by these two groups by discussing their ideologies, structures and capabilities. Unlike local terrorist groups like the Afghan Taliban, the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda pose a global threat. The work looked at the origin of Al- Qaeda which cannot be separated from the soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and the objective of Al- Qaeda which main purpose is unifying and leading the jihad movement and providing its purpose and direction. The organization of Al- Qaeda was also discuss in this work, which is divided into four levels, which include, core Al- Qaeda, affiliated groups, allied groups and motivated persons and network. This work also assessed the impact of Al- Qaeda in global security, where some scholars argued that the group is not viable enough to pose global threat while others argued against it. On the other hand this work examined the origin of IS which started as a result of U.S military intervention in Iraq in 2003. It also examines resource base of IS and its objectives which is the destruction of the asymmetry status- quo existing for a long between Muslim countries and the Western allies. The impact and threat assessment of Al- Qaeda and IS on global security which we found out is that IS initially was fighting the near enemy in Iraqi and Syrian regimes, but latter changed its strategy by equally focusing on the “far enemy” as well, and manifested in its high profile attacks in Europe and other places beyond the Middle East. Lastly the researcher look at the differences between Al- Qaeda and IS in terms of their structure, brutality, popularity, conceptual difference etc. At the end, this paper recommends that a comprehensive global strategy is required to eradicate this growing menace of organized terrorism.

Beyond the Arc of Crisis: Jimmy Carter and the Arab ‘Radicals,’ 1978–79

ABSTRACT After signing the Camp David Accords, the Carter administration pushed to increase American security cooperation and military presence in the Middle East. Though often seen as a response to the regional instability caused by the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the hardening of US policy toward the region was also due to the Arab rejectionist threat to the Egyptian-Israeli peace process that Washington saw as a prerequisite to regional stability. This essay highlights the connections between the peace process, the collapse of Soviet-American détente, and the reorientation of US policy in the region toward the Persian Gulf.

Comorbid Conditions in Persons Exposed to Ionizing Radiation and Veterans of the Soviet-Afghan War: A Cohort Study in Kazakhstan.

This study investigated the prevalence and characteristics of comorbid conditions in patients exposed to ionizing radiation and those who were involved in the Soviet-Afghan war. This study analyzed the frequency and spectrum of morbidity and comorbidity in patients over a long-term period (30-35 years) following exposure to ionizing radiation at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site or the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, and among participants of the Soviet-Afghan war. A cohort study, both prospective and retrospective, was conducted on 675 patients who underwent comprehensive examinations. Numerical data were analyzed using the Statistica 6 program. The results are presented as the mean±standard deviation, median, and interquartile range (25-75th percentiles). The statistical significance of between-group differences was assessed using the Student t-test and Pearson chi-square test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. We found a high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension (55.0%) and cardiac ischemia (32.9%); these rates exceeded the average for this age group in the general population. The cumulative impact of causal occupational, environmental, and ultra-high stress factors in the combat zone in participants of the Soviet-Afghan war, along with common conventional factors, contributed to the formation of a specific comorbidity structure. This necessitates a rational approach to identifying early predictors of cardiovascular events and central nervous system disorders, as well as pathognomonic clinical symptoms in this patient cohort. It also underscores the importance of selecting suitable methods and strategies for implementing treatment and prevention measures.

STRESS HORMONE LEVELS AMONG CHILDREN BEREAVED BY TERROR ATTACK

Background: Terrorism is characterized by the use of violence against civilians, with the expressed desire of causing terror or panic in the population. Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly NWFP) province of Pakistan has suffered the most from unrest and terrorist activities. Terror related bereavement is more stressful and difficult to recover compared from that of bereavement from natural death. Methods: This retrospective study was carried out in the Department of Physiology, IBMS, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan. Salivary Cortisol Levels were estimated in Non-Bereaved and Bereaved Groups of children. Results: Children in the Bereaved Group showed a statistically significant (p=0.005) higher levels of salivary cortisol in the morning sample (Log Cortisol M=14.43) as compared with the children in the Non-Bereaved Group (Log Cortisol M=6.44). Children in the Bereaved Group showed a statistically non-significant (p=0.164) decrease in the levels of salivary cortisol in the post-dexamethasone sample (Log Cortisol M=8.85) as compared with the children in the Non-Bereaved Group (Log Cortisol M=4.25). Conclusion: Terror bereavement causes long-term activation of the Hypothalmo-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis, elevating the cortisol levels even 3–4 years after the traumatic bereavement. Chronic elevation of cortisol results in the manifestations of depression related signs and symptoms in bereaved children. Pak J Physiol 2023;19(3):11–4

Yaacov Ro’i, The Bleeding Wound: The Soviet War in Afghanistan and the Collapse of the Soviet System

Yaacov Ro’i, The Bleeding Wound: The Soviet War in Afghanistan and the Collapse of the Soviet System

Exploring factors and implications of violence against civilians: a case study of the Soviet-Afghan war

ABSTRACT The Soviet-Afghan War serves as a significant case study to understand why states resort to violent acts against civilians during war. This study takes a multidimensional approach, examining strategic, operational, and individual factors and applying theories of violence and mass killing. By analyzing the conditions that led the Soviets to target civilians, this investigation identifies a nexus of interconnected factors. At the strategic level, Soviet leaders pursued a swift victory to establish a Communist client regime while minimizing casualties and controlling information flow. Operationally, the ill-preparedness of the Red Army for counterinsurgency warfare, coupled with an entrenched organizational culture, led to the adoption of counterproductive enemy-centric tactics against Afghan noncombatants. Additionally, inadequate training, prolonged deployments, and a lack of disciplinary measures at the individual level contributed to the perpetration of violent acts. Understanding the underlying causes of violence against civilians, particularly in the context of Russian forces, holds practical importance. This knowledge can assist policymakers in devising strategies that mitigate wartime violence and enhance the protection of citizens. Drawing parallels to contemporary conflicts involving Russia, the study concludes by recommending future research directions and emphasizing the relevance of comprehending the targeting of noncombatants in ongoing conflicts, notably the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

A Cold War Crusader: Andrew Eiva’s Ethnic Anti-Communist Dream

Abstract Andrew Eiva, an ardently anti-Soviet, right-wing lobbyist in Washington DC during the Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s and the final stages of Soviet Lithuania in the early 1990s, was a true believer, a pro-US Cold War crusader. A clear example of an ethnic anti-communist, Eiva’s goal was to free Lithuania from Russian-imposed communist control, and he saw the Soviet-Afghan War as a means to that end. Andrew Eiva represents a strand of thinking (and acting) within US foreign policy circles at odds with (to the right of) official policy, presaging the tensions between the political right in the US and the CIA (especially) and other governmental organizations in recent years. Based on material Eiva wrote as a lobbyist, Western media accounts, and clandestine reports about him in the files of the Lithuanian KGB, this article shows that his ideologically driven lobbying efforts affected foreign policymaking in the US in the last decade of the Cold War as well as how his actions were reported and perceived in the USSR (within the KGB machinery).

Social Histories of Iran: Modernism and Marginality in the Middle East

Social Histories of Iran: Modernism and Marginality in the Middle East

레이건 대통령의 상황적 리더십

This paper analyzes the leadership of President Reagan, who is credited with winning the Cold War and restoring American pride, by focusing on his strategy for the collapse of the Soviet Union. Reagan pursued ‘peace through strength’ and implemented strategies to fulfill this vision, arguing that the existing policies of containment and détente were ineffective and deceptive. First, he cut off the flow of funds to the Soviet Union by blocking the flow of technology to the Soviet Union, sabotage operations through the supply of fake technology, and a strategy to depress international oil prices. Second, the Soviet-Afghan war and the development of the SDI were used as a “poison pill” to make the Soviets pour money into the country like water. Third, he supported democratization in Poland and Eastern Europe, and used human rights as a weapon in the public opinion war to pressure the Soviet Union into regime change. Finally, his leadership was marked by his ability to persuade the public as a great communicator. To be effective, a political leader must have a guiding ideology that is responsive to the times and historical calling. He was a leader who was able to adapt his approach to the changing political environment and demonstrated situational leadership, using both transactional and transformational leadership to achieve his goals. In other words, he had a sense of the times and was able to articulate a vision to the people. In this respect, President Reagan is a prime example of the importance of situational leadership.

The Bleeding Wound: The Soviet War in Afghanistan and the Collapse of the Soviet System by Yaacov Ro’i

This author’s prolific scholarship combines nuanced argumentation with an encylopedic knowledge of late-socialist Soviet society, notably in the realms of foreign relations, nationalities policy, and religion. In this exhaustively researched book, Ro’i turns his attention to the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989), a conflict that Eduard Shevardnadze, the USSR’s last foreign minister, termed “a sin” in a 1990 speech to the Supreme Soviet (115). Although a number of excellent monographs on the subject have been published in recent years, Ro’i offers something new. In 1992/3, when a conflict that killed at least 15,000 Soviet soldiers and more than a million Afghans was recent news, he and a small team of interviewers conducted surveys and interviews with hundreds of former Soviet citizens, most of them war veterans, across eleven Soviet republics and among emigrés in Israel. Incorporating elements of qualitative and quantitative data and analysis, the result is a source base rich and unique in its combination of detail and raw emotion.The Bleeding Wound is a magisterial survey of the war’s intersection with important trends in the Soviet 1980s. The assessment of Russian political scientist Dmitrii Ol’shanskii whom Ro’i quotes at the outset summarizes the book’s argument: “The truth about Afghanistan emerges only in a polyphony of varying points of view grounded in authentic knowledge” (5). Ro’i seeks to study “the ways that the war encompassed various aspects of late Soviet government and society” through the lens of “a number of topics that were of paramount importance in the 1980s” (306)—official (civilian and military) attitudes toward the various stages of the war, the behavior and treatment of Soviet soldiers, ethnic relations in the Red Army, Soviet popular culture, veterans (afgantsy), and glasnost’. The book is organized according to ten thematic chapters, two providing a detailed chronology, three focusing on the military, and two engaging with media and public opinion. The final three chapters analyze the challenges confronting returning afgantsy, the position of Central Asian Muslims in the Red Army, and the political activity of afgantsy during and after the Soviet collapse.One area in which the book breaks new ground concerns its focus on Central Asian Muslims. Historically speaking, the Central Asian republics and Afghanistan hold much in common. The long-standing conventional wisdom is that the Soviet leadership sought to capitalize on these affinities by deploying Central Asian soldiers in the initial part of the war, only to pull them back because they were too sympathetic to locals, too Muslim, or insufficiently “internationalist.” Ro’i’s interviews and survey data allow him to paint a more complex picture. For example, his Central Asian respondents rated the need to intervene in Afghanistan much higher than did Russians, other Slavs, and Muslims from Russia and the Caucasus. In the early part of the war, 56 percent of Central Asian subjects affirmed the USSR’s “need” to intervene, compared to 31 percent of Russians (169). By contrast, in the same period, Central Asians scored lowest on the “moral right” to intervene compared to the same groups (173). Results like this one lead Ro’i to highlight the limitations of such surveys, and to rely instead on interviews with forty-four veterans and fifty civilians from the region. He identifies racism and Islamophobia as reasons behind doubt (in the USSR and Washington) about the Central Asians’ patriotism (260): “Careful scrutiny of the evidence demands that we refrain from drawing conclusions about widespread Central Asian disloyalty to the Soviet Union (261).” Rather than making sweeping generalizations, Ro’i brings his Central Asian informants to life by skillfully deploying colorful vignettes, such as one about a Tajik soldier who met Afghans who had known his parents. These and other accounts help to lighten the mood of a work that can make for harrowing reading (260).Jam-packed as it is with data and dense analysis, The Bleeding Wound may intimidate non-specialist readers. But Ro’i’s gift for weaving a galaxy of sources, and many different methodologies, into one elegant narrative, makes this book unique. It is both an excellent introduction for the more intrepid general reader and, more obviously, a key reference work about the Afghan War and the Soviet 1980s.

Museum “Rifle and Guitar” in the service of school education

Below is an article by Mikhail Mikhailov, the ideological inspirer, author and head of the school military-historical and literary-musical museum “Rifle and Guitar”, solemnly opened on November 25, 2022, at school No 1515 in Moscow. We have taken the liberty of writing this short preliminary text to warn the reader that the published material does not fully meet the formal requirements for academic work, but at the same time it is a valuable source demonstrating new directions in the development of school museums — the largest group of museums in Russia. The fact is that the Museum “Rifle and Guitar” is significantly different from many other military-historical or literary institutions of this kind: the author naturallyn positions the museum of military bard song as an organic representative of both of these profiles. In addition, a specific function lies in the fact that the creative cultural heritage born in the Soviet-Afghan war (1979–1989), which is little talked about in society, is being transformed into a museum filed. However, the author perfectly illustrates the phenomenon that served as an incentive for the creation of the museum: the bard song of “Afghan” deservedly became one of the main instruments of “people’s memory” about the “last war of the great power”, and its authors, performers, publishers and curators are among the creators and frequent museum guests. Thus, we can talk about a special, ecological mission that the museum carries: the intangible objects of the historical and cultural environment are preserved and actualized with the help of its direct bearers, not only issues related to school education and upbringing are resolved, but also the urgent social problems of the society’s reconciliation with an “unpopular” war.