The History of the Soviet Union and Afghanistan Research Paper by Peter Pen

This paper explores how the invasion of Afghanistan became the end of a long history of the Soviets doing everything in their power to secure their interests in Afghanistan. It explains that the installment of Karmal and the deaths of thousands of rebels resulted from the notion that they were invited in to protect the government of Amin. The loss of the war sent the nation into a frenzy, desperately trying to point fingers at who was to blame for what was the culmination of years of selfishness. The loss was so shocking because the USSR had managed to get what it wanted for almost a century and had finally realized that the self-determination of a country is stronger than the political favors it tried to curry from it. It examines how ,throughout their entire time together, the Soviet Union used Afghanistan to install leaders that would suit its needs and getting rid of ones that would not. When things got bad, they violated the laws of the highest political power in the world just so that they could make sure their interests were secured. In this specific example, it is easy to see the selfishness of a world superpower and the way that strong nations use weak, underdeveloped countries as if their existence on this earth is merely for the gain of others.