-
Soviet Forces Invade Afghanistan
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan begins. Soviet forces intervence in support ofthe the Afghan communist government and its conflict with anti-communist guerrillas known as mujahideen. The expectations of the Soviets was that they would invade Afghanistan, and in a matter of weeks, demolish all opposition forces and then make a hastely withdrawal. -
President Carters State of the Union Address
U.S. President Jimmy Carter, reassessing the strategic situation during his State of the Union address in January, 1980, identified Pakistan as a "front-line state" in the global struggle against communism and aimed to allign the US with Pakistan in fighting the Soviets across the border, in Afghanistan. Consequently, President Carter enunciated the "Carter Doctrine" which declared that the United States had vital interests in the Persian Gulf and would seek military action to protect it. -
Talks Begin
Pakistan and Afghanistan began "proximity" talks in June 1982 through UN official Diego Cordovez. Although these sessions continued for several years and at times made no progress in negotiations with Soviets, it eventually resulted in an agreement on Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. -
Babrack Karmal Resigns
Babrack Karmal, leader of the Afghan communist government, resigns and Mohammed Najibullah takes over as new leader. The new Najibullah aims to diminish the opposition forces against the pro-soviet government, however this was met with rejection from the Mujahideen fighters. -
Withdrawal becomes final
After years of bitter fighting that usually was met in stalemate, Soviet leaders finally decided that it was time to reconcile and propose the idea of withdrawal. Seeing that the United States support of the Mujahideen was only going to increase, Soviet leaders agreed to withdrawal plans in accordance to 1987 Geneva Accords. -
Period: to
Civil War erupts and long period of instability begins
After the 1987 Geneva accords, the soviets made a hasty and long waited withdrawal from Afghanistan. Although the soviets had left, the pro-communist government was still ruling with Najibullah. With financial support from Moscow, Najibullah was able to continue fighting the Mujahideen opposition in favor of communist overthrowal. However, after almost 10 years of opposition, Najibullahs government collapsed and the Mujahideen took power. -
Period: to
Taliban Rule
Proceeding the overthrow of Najibullah's comminust regime, the Mujahideen fighters were at a stalemate on who would take power. Many tribal disputes that comprised the Mujahideen finally led to the rise of the Taliban as the rulers of Afghanistan; a ruthless and tyranical regime. This would mark the begining of a long and tenuous fight that would involve many nations, and in particular, the United States. -
September 11 Attacks
Al-Qaeda terrorists carry out a heinous attack on American soil which kills many civilians in New York. The attackers were trained in the lawless area of southern Afghanistan and harbored by the Taliban regime in power.
