Background
Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor under President Carter from 1977 to 1981, played a central role in American foreign policy towards Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion. CIA covertly supported Islamic fighters, or Mujahideen, who were opposing the Soviet invasion. Here is a brief overview of the key events:
* 1979: Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan - The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to prop up a pro-Soviet government facing a rebellion. This sparked a nine-year conflict.
* Operation Cyclone - This was the code name for the CIA program to arm and finance the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. The operation lasted from 1979 to 1989.
* Zbigniew Brzezinski’s Role - As National Security Advisor, Brzezinski was a leading architect of the strategy to support the Mujahideen. He saw the conflict as an opportunity to sap the resources of the Soviet Union and possibly induce a Soviet version of Vietnam, thus weakening the USSR significantly.
* Impact and Unintended Consequences - The plan was successful in the sense that the Soviet Union was bogged down in Afghanistan for a decade and suffered a major blow to its global prestige. However, the unintended consequence was that the Mujahideen, with their new-found power, would later morph into various factions, including Taliban and al-Qaeda.
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Unintended consequence
Following the September 11th attacks (Read: Letter to the American People by Osama bin Laden), the U.S. demanded the extradition of then al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden from the the Taliban government in Afghanistan, but the Taliban refused to comply without America accepting their offer.
The U.S. launched Operation Enduring Freedom, leading to the expulsion of the Taliban from major cities with the assistance of the Northern Alliance. However, the Taliban regrouped and initiated an insurgency against the Afghan government and coalition forces.
The conflict involved guerrilla warfare, suicide attacks, and reprisals. Efforts to eliminate the Taliban militarily proved challenging, and the coalition turned to diplomacy. The U.S.-Taliban deal in 2020 outlined the withdrawal of U.S. troops, which coincided with the Taliban's broad offensive in 2021.
The Taliban successfully regained control, culminating in the fall of Kabul and the departure of the last American troops in shameful manner similar to Vietnam withdrawal. The war resulted in a significant loss of life and displacement of Afghan civilians. There were 2,402 United States military deaths and 20,713 American servicemembers were wounded in action during the war. This war became the longest in U.S. military history, surpassing the duration of the Vietnam War.
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