The United States and the War in Afghanistan
Abstract
In late December 1987 the war in Afghanistan, which has already lasted twice as long as the Great Patriotic War, as the Soviets refer to World War II, entered its ninth year. With well over a million Afghans killed and about a third of the Afghan prewar population forced to flee their homeland, the Soviet-Afghan war easily qualifies as one of the most brutal guerrilla wars of our less than benign century. Although prospects for an imminent termination are still uncertain, for the first time since the beginning of this war, there are definite signs that we are entering its endgame. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan also marked a watershed in Soviet relations with the West and especially the United States. It was seen by many, including the Carter administration, as an example of the kind of unacceptable Soviet international behavior that made friendly relations with Moscow all but impossible and signaled the end of the period of detente and arms control characterizing much of the 1970s. Theses. (JES)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA216845
Entities
People
- Alexander Alexiev
Organizations
- RAND Corporation