Renewed Hostilities

• The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) was a communist group, financed by the USSR.
• Islamic fundamentalism had begun to be spread throughout the Middle East and into the central Asian republics within the USSR.
• The USSR feared this as they were reliant on Afghanistan as a buffer state that protected the USSR.
• The PDPA was factionalised and the USSR was concerned that they could not rely on its leadership to remain loyal.

• A seemingly pro-Western faction influenced by Hafizullah Amin, usurped the main faction of the group in mid-1979.
• Amin was seen as an unreliable ally whom would find it difficult to stop the spread of Islamic opposition to the PDPA.
• Fearing this, and the possible US support for Amin’s faction, the Soviet government under Brezhnev ordered the invasion of Afghanistan.

• Brezhnev invoked the Brezhnev Doctrine and Basic Principles, arguing that the preservation of socialist regimes would prevent Afghanistan from becoming vulnerable to foreign influence.
• He expected the USA to not become involved in the conflict and for it to be brief and easily won.
• In reality, it proved a long war which weakened the USSR and gave the USA a fantastic opportunity to exploit them through propaganda.

• In response, the USA announced the Carter Doctrine which was a US commitment to preventing Soviet advance into the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia.
• The USA also unsuccessfully tried to convince its allies to suspend NATO participation in détente in Europe.
• America condemned the invasion as a breach of international protocol.
• The United Nations requested that the USSR leave Afghanistan and the USA placed economic sanctions on them.
• Many Middle Eastern countries were critical of the invasion.
• There was unrest in the satellite states that had large Muslim populations.

• When Gorbachev became the leader of the USSR in 1985, he withdrew troops from Afghanistan.
• The Soviets then signed a peace treaty in 1988.
• Soviet forces were completely withdrawn from the country by 1989.

• In a speech made to the Central Committee in June 1980, Brezhnev stated: ‘Not a day goes by when Washington has not tried to revive the spirit of the Cold War, to heat up militarist passions…The ruling circles in the USA and China stop at nothing, including armed aggression, in trying to keep the Afghans from building a new life in accord with the ideals of the revolution of liberation of April 1978. And when we helped our neighbour Afghanistan, at the request of its government to give a rebuff to aggression…Washington and Beijing raised an unprecedented uproar.’

• President Carter went on US television in January 1980 to deliver a ‘State of the Union’ address. He stated: ‘The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan could pose the most serious threat to peace since the Second World War. The vast majority of nations have condemned this latest Soviet attempt to extend its colonial domination of others and have demanded the immediate withdrawal of Soviet troops. Verbal condemnation is not enough. The Soviet Union must pay a concrete price for this aggression’.

Journalist Stephen Kinzer (2006) argues that ‘most American sponsored regime-change operations, have in the end, weakened rather than strengthened American security.'

• Reagan was elected US President in 1980, partly due to his criticism of the Soviet Union, his staunch anti-communist stance and his patriotic policies that aimed at restoring American pride.
• Reagan was determined to increase pressure on the Soviets and intimidate them into making concessions in the Cold War.
• He rejected détente and opposed summit talks.
• In 1983, Reagan made a speech where he called the USSR an ‘evil empire’.

• Reagan convinced Congress to increase military expenditure by 13% to $1.4 trillion dollars and deployed 700 nuclear weapons.
• He also authorised the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI or ‘Star Wars’).
• The USA then continued to develop the neutron bomb, which could wipe out large numbers of people without destroying buildings and infrastructure.

• Reagan worked closely with Margaret Thatcher who became Prime Minister of Britain in 1979.
• She too was critical of the Soviet Union and had a staunch anti-communist policy.
• She didn’t believe in détente, believing more in deterrence and thought that the Cold War had gone on for too long.
• Both leaders agreed US nuclear weapons could be based in the UK. Thatcher was keen to remain close to the USA.
• Thatcher increased economic and military support for NATO.
• Thatcher continued the British Nuclear Submarine Programme (Trident) although condemned Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ policy.

• John Paul II was concerned about the Human Rights of people in Poland.
• The USSR was very critical of religion and the Pope wanted countries to have religious freedom.
• John Paul II wanted open borders, reconciliation between nations and saw a real need to reunite Europe.

• John Lewis Gaddis in The Cold War (2005) argues that Reagan was elected US President in 1980, partly due to his criticism of the Soviet Union, his staunch anti-communist stance and his patriotic policies that aimed at restoring American pride. Yet, despite this Gaddis states that ‘Regan…was the only nuclear abolitionist ever to have been president of the United States… Regan was deeply committed to SDI.’

• A trade union called Solidarity was established by Lech Walesa who was a dockyard electrician who wanted to assist the working class.
• Solidarity wanted to end Soviet control of the country.
• Solidarity encouraged continued protest against the government although had been officially suppressed in 1981 and its leaders were arrested.

• The USA and the Pope worked covertly to undermine communist control of Poland, providing finances to support Solidarity.
• Pope John Paul II, helped to secure the release of the Solidarity members that had been arrested.
• The CIA also provided Solidarity with communication technology to keep the movement alive.
• Solidarity quickly gained 10 million members by 1981.
• Walesa was seen as a hero following support for his movement and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983.

• In 1983, the United States accused the USSR of shooting down Korean Air Lines flight 007 which went missing off Russia's eastern coast.
• All 269 people on board the flight were killed. The USSR admitted to shooting down the aircraft as it was an "unidentified aircraft" in the Soviet airspace.
• The USSR claimed that they believed it was a US plane that had been spying on the USSR.
• Reagan responded to the incident calling it ‘a crime against humanity’.
• The USSR never apologised for the incident and continued to blame the CIA for spying.

• In November 1983, a NATO ‘war game’, named ‘Able Archer’ was launched.
• It was an exercise to test US and European readiness to deal with a nuclear strike. This could have easily erupted into war for a number of reasons:
  • There were increasing tensions due to the shooting down of Korean Air Lines flight 007
  • Reagan announced he would use SDI’s
  • Reagan raised the state of emergency to ‘high’ as part of the ‘war game’.
  • Pershing II missiles were deployed.

• As a result, the USSR and members of the Warsaw Pact were worried that war was imminent.
• The event caused great protest against nuclear weapons from those in the West.