The end of the Second World War led to the struggle for world power between the U.S and USSR. The Americans were opposed to the Marxism and communism by the Soviets and the issues were compounded by the struggle for nuclear dominance and space race. The Americans and the USSR armies never came into an open conflict in the cold war. However, during the operations cyclone marked the brink of war between the two superpowers as the line between actual war and the cold war was blurred. The conflict emerged when the USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979 in support of a pro-soviet government (D & Jr, 2010). The attempts by the Soviets were met by strong opposition from the Americans and its allies. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the Americans in Operation Cyclone in the development of organized groups like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
The Soviets were alarmed by the actions of the Americans in Afghanistan. The U.s had lost Iran and was planning to use Afghanistan as an anti-Soviet outpost. There were concerted efforts by countries that supported anti-soviet forces to ensure that the Afghans were adequately equipped to counter the advances of the Soviets. The U.S and the Soviets had serious concerns about the region which was becoming a new frontier for the cold war (Isby, Staff, Grau & Gress, 2002). The Soviets were ready to invade Afghanistan and showcase its power by controlling its influence.
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The Soviets were interested in propping up the communist government. The invasion together with the response was given by Jimmy Carter ended the detente between the U.S and the Soviet Union. In one of the statement made by the president in his state of the Union address made in 1980, Carter said that any attempt by an outsider to control the Persian Gulf amounted to an assault to the interest of the U.S. Such actions will be repelled using all the means at the disposal of the country including military action.
The president outlined the reaction of the country to the advances of the Soviet in Afghanistan. The president outlined the steps to be taken in reaction to the outbreak of the Soviet-Afghan war. The plan includes the strategy by the U.S to meet the commitment and also to protect or defend its interest in the region. The president outline indicated the means in which the actions could be accomplished where he directed that the U.S should build the capabilities, enforce economic and diplomatic action, develop military response and support neighbouring countries in the region to access facilities and take concerted, efforts to secure their economic and political interests (Center for Homeland Defense and Security, 2015).
According to the president, the US was to maintain a credible force in the region during the build-up phase. Military actions included force projection to counter the much advantaged Soviet in the conventional forces. The U.S was determined to institute economic and diplomatic sanctions against the Soviets to diminish their credibility and to weaken the Union making it hard to invade Afghanistan. The U.S was to assist other countries to diminish and deter threats posed by the Soviets as a way of enhancing their stability to repel future penetration by the Soviets.
The security directive was also to ensure that the historic importance of the U.S Afghan relations was maintained while keeping the countries stable in the region while maintaining the presence of the U.S in Afghanistan. Carter was more interested in taking a more developed approach in the region rather than selecting a few countries that would work as the allies of the U.S (Center for Homeland Defense and Security, 2015).
The U.S under President Reagan was in support of the groups that were against the invasion of the Soviets and the communist government. The objective was to ensure that the Soviets were engaged in a costly war that would lead to the crumble of their morale. Such a move would achieve the American policy of containment in addition to reducing the influence of the Soviets in the region. The CIA engaged the mujahedeen by supplying them with non-lethal support, for example, humanitarian aid and communication equipment.
Operation cyclone started in December 1979 and ended in February 1989. The objective was to support the mujahedeen and the Afghan resistance for the entire period as long as the Soviets are in the war. The U.S in support of the Pakistani established a joint force that would support the local fighter by empowering them through training and cheaper weapons that could enable them to counter the invasion of the Soviets (D & Jr, 2010). The CIA worked with the Pakistan Inter-Service Intelligence to support the fighters.
The assets of the Pakistani government provided the much-needed infrastructure that allowed indirect support of the fighters. The strong partnership between the two countries was enhanced when General Zia-ul-Haq assumed power. The military dictatorship took over power from a democratically elected government. The U.S was not in support of dictatorship but the General proved to be more resourceful. The Pakistanis had close ties with the Afghans since the Pashtuns lived in the two countries. The blood relationship enhanced the fight since most of the mujahedeen were Pashtuns (Isby, Staff, Grau & Gress, 2002).
The Soviets demonstrated resilience and continued to flatten cities and attack anti-government forces. The U.S. had to enhance its level of support to counter the enhanced onslaught by the Soviets. The CIA went to the extent of arming the mujahedeen with the FIM 92 Stringer. The anti-aircraft missile system was able to bring down the soviets fighter jets. The portable stringer was the game changer in the entire war as the Russians opted to bomb the cities at a higher altitude which decreased their accuracy. Similarly, the Soviets experienced an upsurge in the number of casualties caused by downed planes. The Stringer was highly effective in the battlefield (Jeffreys-Jones, 2007).
The FIM- 92 Stringers were effective at bringing down the helicopters for the Soviet army which dealt a significant blow as it led to a tactical win for the mujahedeen. The war became expensive for the Soviets to manage which led to the end of the Soviet invasion. The damage was however done as many people lost their lives in addition to the destruction of property. It also led to the displacement of a large population in search of refuge in neighboring countries. Similarly, the war led to the displacement of the locals from their original settlements to other locations where they were taken as refugees (Isby, Staff, Grau & Gress, 2002). Afghanistan was a poor country but the war impoverished it further as the sources of income and livelihoods of the people were destroyed.
Operation cyclone achieved the expected objective of the U.S. there was no denial that the CIA and the U.S at large played a significant role in the war even though they were not directly engaged in open confrontation. The mujahedeen received massive external support from the U.S and its allies which were interested in countering the influence of the then USSR in the region (Jeffreys-Jones, 2007). The Americans wanted to maintain their position as a powerful nation and the advances by the Soviets had to be countered by all means. Efforts to gain more territory in Afghan had to be countered indirectly by empowering the locals so that they could wage a war against the Soviets.
The U.S support of the mujahedeen cannot be understated given that the end of the former USSR can be traced back to the Soviet invasion of Afghan. The indirect help by the US paid significantly at the time following the defeat of the Soviets. The USSR army was depleted of its resources and the soldiers were demoralized to wage another war for fear of similar outcomes. The Americans achieved their goal. The end of the war led to the withdrawal of American support to the Pakistanis and the ISI. Similarly, there were no reconstruction efforts by the U.S which left the war-ravaged country reeling in poverty, malnutrition and poor health (Isby, Staff, Grau & Gress, 2002).
The U.S succeeded in destroying the Soviets in Afghanistan but laid the foundation for new enemies. The Soviets left a power vacuum that was seized by the spiritual leaders and the remnants of the mujahedeen resistance. The coalition between the two led to the development of the Taliban who gave the Al-Qaeda a safe haven when they were on the run from North Eastern Africa and Yemen. The alliance set a strong group that waged attacks against the American interest. One of the most notable attacks was the September 11. The US readiness to withdraw its support from the region set the stage for future attacks by the rebels.
The exit of the Soviets from Afghanistan created a power vacuum that was exploited by the warring groups to establish their influence in the country. There were no efforts to lead the Afghans to peaceful coexistence and ensuring that there was a stable government in place. Similarly, no efforts were put in place to disarm the mujahedeen who had significant military and guerrilla war training. The U.S left the entire work to the Pakistanis who found out that the Afghans were less cooperative that when they were fighting the Soviets.
The warlords exploited the power vacuum to create lawlessness and chaos while committing atrocities that damaged the fabrics of the country. As the country tried to seek peace, the Taliban was there to offer the much-needed direction. The group strictly followed the order and fought the warlords and set the foundation for an extremist view of their religious beliefs which was used to control the country. The country was facing a humanitarian disaster but the interpretations of the Taliban led to the exit of U.N and other humanitarian organizations. The Taliban accepted the request by Osama Bin Laden request to establish training camps in the country which led to the prosperity of the organization that managed to organize attacks in the U.S and its interests.
US decision to abandon Afghanistan after the exit of the Soviets and its indirect support during the war contributed to the rise of organized gro.ups like the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda. The U.S supported the mujahedeen during the war against the Soviets which strengthened their power and gave them the experience required to plan and wage war against a target. The existing power vacuum worsened the situation and lawlessness and extremism led to the development of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. From the above discussion, it is evident that the U.S had a significant role in the development of organized groups like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda during Operation Cyclone.
References
Center for Homeland Defense and Security. (2015). Presidential Directive 63: Persian Gulf Security Framework. Retrieved from https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=459079
D, R., & Jr, B. (2010). Operation Cyclone: How the United States Defeated the Soviet Union. Undergraduate Research Journal At UCCS , 3 (2).
Isby, D., Staff, R., Grau, L., & Gress, M. (2002). The Soviet-Afghan War: How a Superpower Fought and Lost. The Journal Of Military History , 66 (3), 923. doi: 10.2307/3093440
Jeffreys-Jones, R. (2007). Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA. Journal Of American History , 94 (1), 337-338. doi: 10.2307/25094918
