Soviet policy towards
Afghanistan
in the post World War period followed the old Tsarist principles. Its leaders were initially interested in settling the border dispute with
Afghanistan
. Lenin wrote to King Amanullah Khan in November 1919 that they would grant “assistance on the widest scale to the Afghan nation, and to repair the injustice done by the former government of Russian Czars…by adjusting the Soviet-Afghan frontier so as to add to the
territory
of
Afghanistan
at the expense of
Russia
.” These territorial adjustments never took place as plebiscites there favored Soviet rule; but the Russians provided economic and military assistance to
Afghanistan
on a much wider scale. A treaty was signed in 1921 providing an annual subsidy of $500,000 to
Afghanistan
.
The main objective of
Soviet Union
was to maintain ethnic harmony in its
Central
Asian
Republics
since Uzbek, Tajik and
Kirghiz
communities lived on both sides of the border. The Central Asian Muslims were then using
Afghanistan
as their base to fight the
Soviet Union
.
Secondly, the Cold War in the 1950s witnessed
Pakistan
becoming a frontline state for the
US
, which made the Soviets to keep
Afghanistan
on their side, or at least as a buffer state. Traditionally
Afghanistan
had been a buffer state between
Russia
and
British India
.
Thirdly, the bilateral problems between
Afghanistan
and
Pakistan
, especially over the Durand Line and the presence of Pashtuns across the line resulted in
Afghanistan
looking for external military and economic support. With the
US
unwilling to assist
Afghanistan
, it had no other choice apart from seeking Soviet help. Besides, the rulers of
Afghanistan
needed Soviet military assistance to keep their subjects under control. The
Soviet Union
soon became the sole supplier of arms to
Afghanistan
which strengthened their mutual relations.
Fourthly, the
Soviet Union
was interested in the spread of Communism into neighboring countries and therefore supported the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Though its establishment in
Afghanistan
was not effected by the
Soviet Union
, it served Soviet interests.
Soviet interests in
Afghanistan
continued to be guided by these objectives, but the developments during 1978-79, led the
Soviet Union
to focus more on
Afghanistan
. First, the Saur Revolution resulted in the communists establishing power in
Afghanistan
. Though Soviet involvement in the coup was minimal, its interests increased after the formation of the PDPA government – it did not want the communist government in
Afghanistan
to fall.
Secondly, developments outside
Afghanistan
also made the
Soviet Union
increase its stakes in
Afghanistan
. In 1978, the revolution in
Iran
resulted in the overthrow of the Shah, who was very close to the
US
. This increased American anxieties. The
US
, led by its National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, believed that the
Soviet Union
had “territorial interest” in the region and started aiding the anti-establishment forces in
Afghanistan
. The CIA (American Central Intelligence Agency) and the ISI (Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence) became active in
Afghanistan
by the beginning of 1979; US-Pak support to Afghan rebels was an important element in the
Soviet Union
increasing its support to the PDPA regime.
Recently de-classified Politburo documents suggest that the
Soviet Union
was not planning to send its troops till October 1979, though this option was discussed since March 1979. Dmitri Ustinov had prepared a strategy in March 1979 to deploy Soviet forces in three days. But the Politburo did not take up that option, as the ground situation in
Afghanistan
was not clear. The differences between Taraki and Amin inside
Afghanistan
(Amin imprisoned Taraki in September 1978 and later killed him) and the differences within the Politburo (Kosygin, Andropov and Gromyko were against sending Soviet troops into
Afghanistan
) did create a dilemma to send troops. In March, the Politburo explained the Russian position to Taraki: “We (
Soviet Union
) will increase our assistance to you (
Afghanistan
), but we cannot deploy troops, since they would be fighting not against the army... There would be huge minuses for us. A whole contingent of countries would quickly come out against us. And there are no pluses for us at all.”
Only in December 1979 did the
Soviet Union
decide to intervene in
Afghanistan
and overthrow Amin with the help of Soviet officers present in
Afghanistan
. Amin had by then eliminated Taraki and was involved in anti-Soviet activities. He started negotiating with American agents, which was a threat to Soviet interests and gains accrued until then. This persuaded the
Soviet Union
to overthrow Amin. The decision was only taken in December 1979. The Politburo was reluctant until then to enter
Afghanistan
.
Facebook
Blink
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Google
Simpy
Spurl
Y! MyWeb
