Why Did the Soviet Union Lose the War in Afghanistan?
Why Did the Soviet Union Lose the War in Afghanistan?
Roxanne C. Jones
Politics 300, Section 003016
Why Did the Soviet Union Lose the War in Afghanistan?
‘Do you think you are going to win?’
‘Yes, yes of course.’
‘What makes you think so? What makes you think you are going to win?’
‘I believe we are going to win. It’s evident!’
(Panjshairi commander Ahmad Shah Massoud in an interview from the French prize-winning documentary film ‘Valley against an Empire’ by Jerome Bony and Christophe de Ponfilly, summer, 1981).
The Soviet Union could have won the war with Afghanistan if only they had done their homework. They would have known that the will of the Afghan people was resistant and unyielding. Perhaps their initial military planning would have accounted for the guerrilla war-fighting strategies and tactics for which the Afghan tribes were infamous. Still yet, Kremlin leadership might not have been so hasty to exclude a heightened international reaction to their offensive. For centuries, the Afghan people had battled numerous invaders of their territory, but were conquered by none. Statistically speaking, Soviet leaders entered into a war with some terrible odds for winning and it seems as though the USSR lost the war before it even began.
Henry Kissinger once stated, “The guerilla wins if he does not lose. The conventional army loses if it does not win.” (Ewans, 2005). The strength of the Mujahideen’ emanated from their Islamic ideals. “They had a fervent belief in their cause and the inevitability of its triumph” (Ewans, 2005). During the Soviet-Afghan conflict, the Mujahideen accepted death as an honorable contractual feature of their Muslim obligations which stipulated unwavering loyalty and devotion to the execution of jihad. Unfortunately, “the Soviets underestimated the resilience of a resistance force intent on gaining its independence.” (Girardet, 1985).
Not only was the Red Army unsuspecting of Mujahideen will; they were ill-prepared for
Roxanne C. Jones
Politics 300, Section 003016
Why Did the Soviet Union Lose the War in Afghanistan?
‘Do you think you are going to win?’
‘Yes, yes of course.’
‘What makes you think so? What makes you think you are going to win?’
‘I believe we are going to win. It’s evident!’
(Panjshairi commander Ahmad Shah Massoud in an interview from the French prize-winning documentary film ‘Valley against an Empire’ by Jerome Bony and Christophe de Ponfilly, summer, 1981).
The Soviet Union could have won the war with Afghanistan if only they had done their homework. They would have known that the will of the Afghan people was resistant and unyielding. Perhaps their initial military planning would have accounted for the guerrilla war-fighting strategies and tactics for which the Afghan tribes were infamous. Still yet, Kremlin leadership might not have been so hasty to exclude a heightened international reaction to their offensive. For centuries, the Afghan people had battled numerous invaders of their territory, but were conquered by none. Statistically speaking, Soviet leaders entered into a war with some terrible odds for winning and it seems as though the USSR lost the war before it even began.
Henry Kissinger once stated, “The guerilla wins if he does not lose. The conventional army loses if it does not win.” (Ewans, 2005). The strength of the Mujahideen’ emanated from their Islamic ideals. “They had a fervent belief in their cause and the inevitability of its triumph” (Ewans, 2005). During the Soviet-Afghan conflict, the Mujahideen accepted death as an honorable contractual feature of their Muslim obligations which stipulated unwavering loyalty and devotion to the execution of jihad. Unfortunately, “the Soviets underestimated the resilience of a resistance force intent on gaining its independence.” (Girardet, 1985).
Not only was the Red Army unsuspecting of Mujahideen will; they were ill-prepared for
References: Arnold, A. (1985). Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion in Perspective. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press. Ewans, M. (2005). Conflict in Afghanistan: Studies in Asymmetric Warfare. London and New York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. Girardet, Edward R. (1985). Afghanistan: The Soviet War. New York, NY: St. Martin 's Press. Grau, L. W., & Gress, M. A., (Eds.). (2002). The Soviet-Afghan War: How a Superpower Fought and Lost. Lawrence, KA: University Press of Kansas. Kakar, M. H. (1995). Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979-1982. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. Newell, Richard S. (1972). The Politics of Afghanistan. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. O’Balance, E. (1993). Afghan Wars 1839-1992: What Britain Gave Up and the Soviet Union Lost. London and New York: Brassey’s.