Effects of CIA Mission in Afghanistan, 1979-1992
The Consequences of War on Regional and Global Actors
May 8, 2009
In combination with the effects of glasnost and perestoika, the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan is a significant component to the USSR’s cascading ill-fortune, infighting, lack of funds, and eventual dissolution.
In May 1989 Hungary opened its border to Austria, causing a flood of migration. In June 1989 East Germans took to the streets in protest, culminating in the breach of the Berlin Wall. And in December 1989 Czechoslovakia witnessed its Velvet Revolution.
Effects on Afghanistan
For Afghanistan, a decade of war had ravaged Afghan tribal societies and the 'country' became a failed state. About six million people were displaced and another one million killed. Vital infrastructure such as roads, bridges, buildings, irrigation systems, and fields were damaged or destroyed, intensifying tribal and regional vulnerabilities.
Following the assassination of Najibullah in 1992, Afghanistan descended into civil war, anarchy, and direful poverty. The mujahideen, supported and nurtured by foreign intelligence agencies, became warlords in control of regional fiefs. They were fundamentalists from abroad or exiles whose radical religiosity and strong-arm tactics were often out of touch with the traditional tribal lifestyle of most Afghans.
The pre-war agricultural economy was not noteworthy for the standard of living it provided, but it did sustain Afghans at a minimum level of subsistence. The economy of post-war Afghanistan shrank 50-60% when compared to its pre-war level and Afghanistan lost a decade of economic development.
About 5% of pre-war Afghanistan’s land was arable, compared to 2-3% of post-war Afghanistan’s land. Moreover, with respect to arable land, warlords pressured farmers to plant poppies instead of comestible crops. Not only did Afghanistan become the supplier of about 95% of heroin entering Europe and America. But Afghanistan also went from being an overall food exporter to a food importer.
Exploiting Afghanistan’s various problems and hoping to end the anarchic state, in 1996 the Taliban rose to power in cooperation with certain mujahideen.
Post-War Pakistan
On balance, the consequences of the war for Pakistan are mixed. Pakistan has become a somewhat trusted first-rate military ally of the United States, and reaps the financial and military benefits of such an alliance. Pakistan was the third largest recipient of American foreign aid in the 1980s, and is still receiving around $1 billion a year.
But corruption and opportunism within Pakistan were such that much of the joint American-Saudi $5-6 billion that flowed into Pakistan via the CIA from 1980-1992 went to corrupted officials or the ISI and military, who used the money to fortify Pakistani domestic politics, fight India, or gain influence in Afghanistan.
The pre-war civil strife within Pakistan has been made even more tenuous due to the amount of radical foreign fighters, foreign money, and Afghan refugees that entered Pakistan.
Threats & Attacks on Americans
With respect to American foreign policy, radicalizing, training, and funding jihadists to thwart one threat - the Soviets in Afghanistan - has given rise to a new threat - the jihadists themselves!
Once the Cold War ended and Afghanistan was no longer of strategic importance to American national interests, al Qaeda was able to use Afghanistan as a training ground, safe haven, and area of recruitment.
Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenant and personal doctor, viewed Egypt as the heart of the Islamic world, where the battle of Islam was being fought. But to prevail in Egypt, a jihadist movement needed a safe-haven where it could grow and acquire practical experience in combat, politics, and organizational matters.
After the Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989 and the CIA mission in Afghanistan ended in 1992, al Qaeda began to view the US as the foreign power that most threatened its interests. Since 1992, al Qaeda has spearheaded attacks on a range of American targets, including the World Trade Center (26 February 1993), an American embassy in Nairobi (8 August 1998), the USS Cole (12 October 2000), and the attacks of 11 September 2001.
