A Study On American Countermeasures During The Soviet War Of Aggression Against Afghanistan(1978-1981)

After World War II,the Soviet Union was regarded by the United States as the primary threat to its global hegemony in terms of comprehensive national strength,geopolitics,offensive power,and values and ideology.After the 1970s,the Soviet Union"held high the banner of East-West detente" and relied on its rapidly expanding military power to aggressively expand into the Third World at a time when the United States was engaged in global strategic contraction.Afghanistan is one of the most convenient land transportation arteries in South and Central Asia,West and East Asia,and has a unique geographical location.Afghanistan,on the border with the Soviet Union,was regarded as a necessary route to the Indian Ocean,the West to the Middle East and other important points.In the middle and late 20th century,the Soviet Union took advantage of its long-term influence and close neighbor to constantly seek "communist proxies" in Afghanistan.After the Second World War,the Afghan issue was the result of the extension of the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union in other regions,which was closely related to the great power hegemony strategy of the United States and the Soviet Union.The main content of the Cold War was the struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union to maintain their own fundamental interests and obtain the global dominant position.After the outbreak of the Soviet invasion war,the Carter administration’s policies and means to manage the crisis in Afghanistan were subordinate to its overall strategy of anti-Soviet and anti-Communist during the Cold War.In July 1973,Daoud’s coup took place in Afghanistan and the Republic of Afghanistan was established.However,the internal party struggle,so that Afghanistan has experienced the Taraki,Amin military coup.After Amin came to power,his tendency of hedging bets was an important reason why the Soviet Union finally chose to send troops to Afghanistan,but also expressed his expectation to the United States to realize the normalization of US-Afghanistan relations,all of which were unbearable to the Soviet Union.In addition,Amin’s radical domestic reforms also aroused strong resistance from the domestic public and Islamic fundamentalist factions.The Soviet regime decided that Amin had lost the ability to stabilize the Afghan communist forces,so it was determined to kill Amin.In December 1979,the Soviet Union stormed into Afghanistan to topple Amin and install the pro-Soviet puppet Karmal regime.Thus,the Soviet Union put an end to the "East-West detente" and started the“Second Cold War".The Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan caused an uproar all over the world.The actions of the Soviet Union were strongly condemned by the West and non-aligned countries,among which the United States had the strongest reaction to the Soviet Union’s"southward policy".On January 23,1980,Carter declared that the Persian Gulf region involved the major strategic interests of the United States and would use all necessary means,including force,to prevent external forces from controlling the region,which was also known as the "Carter Doctrine".It announced the end of the "US-Soviet detente"and the United States took the lead in returning to the traditional "containment strategy".In fact,before the war broke out,the United States had intelligence that the Soviet Union was deploying combat troops along the Afghan border.At that time,the Carter administration missed the opportunity to avoid the crisis in Afghanistan because it was caught up in the Iranian hostage crisis and failed to put forward a plan to prevent a major crisis.After the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan,the U.S.government held a meeting to evaluate the Afghan crisis and the Soviet Union’s motive,gave full play to its original intelligence collection and analysis ability,combined with the international condemnation of the Soviet Union’s military intervention,and formulated a set of anti-Soviet strategy combining diplomatic offensive and covert action.In the Cold War,the "Alliance Strategy" was an important part of the containment strategy of the United States against the Soviet Union.This guiding principle has been fully reflected in the U.S.response to the Afghan crisis,which is to promote cooperation with Western Europe and the Third World in managing the Afghan crisis.On the basis of common security interests and cultural values,Western European countries universally condemned the injustice of the Soviet Union’s actions.But the extent to which it supported American action depended on its own special interests and the circumstances of it’s relationship with the Soviet Union.In the 1970s,the Soviet Union’s power politics led to the breakdown of Sino-Soviet relations.After the outbreak of the Afghan crisis,China had to make corresponding strategic adjustments in order to safeguard its own security and strategic interests,which opened a new situation in Sino-US diplomacy.Pakistan is adjacent to Afghanistan,America’s strategic oil interests in the Persian Gulf and the outbreak of the Afghan crisis have made the United States and Pakistan have multiple interests involved.The Carter administration used Pakistan as its main conduit of aid to the Afghan resistance,but Pakistan,fearful of Soviet deterrence,was reluctant to publicly expose its activities.That complicates U.S.plans to help the Afghan resistance.In addition,Carter strongly encouraged other Third World countries to launch protests against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,in an effort to reduce the influence of the Soviet Union in the Third World.In summary,Carter administration officials traveled among countries,coordinated and encouraged NATO and the Third World countries,and gradually formed a set of anti-Soviet aid plan for Afghanistan.In addition,the Carter administration’s diplomatic response to the crisis was to create a "neutral Afghanistan".Western European countries,in contrast to the United States,condemned the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,but most advocated a peaceful solution to the Soviet withdrawal.For this reason,the Carter administration advocated a"neutral Afghanistan" in exchange for Soviet withdrawal.That is,the establishment of a truly independent,neutral and non-aligned Afghan state in which the Soviet Union could participate under the supervision of international organizations during the transition period of Soviet withdrawal.But the Soviets said they would leave Afghanistan only if they ended the intrusions of Afghan "outside forces",mainly the clandestine American and Pakistani aid to the Afghan resistance.So the "neutral Afghanistan" has been a failure from the start,with both sides trying to maximize their own interests,double standards,conflicting views on Afghanistan,and no willingness to compromise.To sum up,the Carter administration’s strategy in managing the Afghan crisis mainly consists of two strategies:one is the combination of open diplomatic offensive and secret aid to Afghan resistance forces;the other is the construction of "neutral Afghanistan".This paper tries to analyze the background of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the means and influence of the American government to manage the crisis,and summarizes some characteristics worth thinking about in the crisis management of the United States.It should be said that the experience and lessons accumulated by the United States in dealing with many details of the crisis provide valuable reference for us to understand the characteristics of the crisis management of the United States and learn from its gains and losses.