The USSR’s Ill Fated Military Intervention in Afghanistan
In the Fall of1994 the Bulletin of the The Cold War International History Project mentions in an article, ”Despite the declassification of numerous high-level Soviet documents the precise reasons behind the USSR’s massive, ill fated military intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979 remain murky”. Reading these documents it becomes obvious that intervention was the result of a long and sometimes bitter struggle within the politburo mostly in Chernenko’s handwriting. Six days earlier, the Politburo had approved sending a 500 man “Spetnaz”(military intelligence special unit) force to Afghanistan and now the Politburo subgroup of Andropov, Ustinov, and Gromyko, (Ponomarev was absent) together with Chernenko, obtained Breshshenev’s sighed consent to implement the agreed-upon measures leading to the deployment of 50-75,000 Soviet troops in Afghanistan later that month, and using the (Spetnaz) force mentioned above to the killing of Amin and his replacement by Karmel as Afghan leader and head of PDPA,”
The Soviet Documents do contain a number of complaints while failing to say, “this is the last straw, let’s invade.” One of the first of these is the Poliburo’s nervousness at the increasing conservative Islamic activity in the country coupled with activity in Iran whom they suspected of sending missionaries to Afghanistan dressed as natives. They also find the PDPA guilty of ‘draconian’ measures and miscalculations and mistakes.’ One of the first signs of major trouble on the horizon was a revolt in Herat in which many of the government troops joined with the rebels. Afghanistan (Taraki) asked for help to squash the situation but this help was denied. Seven months late...
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...inister, and president of the Revolutionary Council, and secretary general of the PDPA. Opposition to Karmal and the Soviets, as you can see from Afghani history too much Afghani blood had been shed for its citizens to even consider a ruler from outside. By early 1980 the mujahideen had united inside Afghanistan and were resisting Soviet invaders or Soviet backed Afghani forces. In January 1987 a six month cease fire was declared by the Soviets. It was largely ignored by the Afghani. By 1986 the Afghani fighters had begun receiving shoulder fired ground-to-air missiles. These were capable of easily bringing down helicopter gunships and jet bombers. This is what brought the Soviets to the table. Peace accords largely in Afghani favor were signed in 1988. The last Soviet soldier left on Feb 15, 1989. The war, however, continued, now between the Afghani and themselves.
The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 changed America in enormous ways. Probably the most prominent being that it directly changed America's and the world's perception of America and our capabilities. Not only was it the first in America, but the Chicago World's Fair propelled America...
In December of 1979 Soviet forces began to invade Afghanistan and make their first attempt at grabbing new land since World War II. Jimmy Carter, who was the president of the United States at the time did not support the Soviet’s invasion of Afghanistan and decided to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics hosted by the Soviets in Moscow. He revoked the passports of all American athletes, did not allow any U.S. Olympic athlete to attend the summer games and encouraged other countries to do the same. However, Jimmy Carter’s choice to boycott the 1980 Olympics held in Moscow was ultimately a failure because it failed to gather a large amount of support, it was ineffective in having any influence or impact on the Soviet Union’s involvement in Afghanistan,
On December 24th 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. On that day began a war which wreaked incredible havoc and destruction on Afghanistan for 10 long years. The Soviets stormed in with thousands of troops at the request of the troubled Afghan Communist regime. The Russians believed this be a neat surgical military operation. They were wrong.(Boggs) The only resistance to the Soviet invasion were men known as the "mujahideen" known to many as freedom fighters. They are multinational; some even from America, doing everything in their power to repeal the Soviet horde. The Soviet invasion frightened neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, so they unofficially allied with the United States. The U.S. provided the weaponry, training, etc., Saudi Arabia recruited the fighters (mujahideen) which were sometimes based in Pakistan. They all agreed on the need for armed resistance against the Soviets. The U.S. decided to tap the religious vein of the rebels, creating a zealous religiously driven guerrilla organization; well armed and trained by CIA officers with the goal of returning Afghanistan to Islamic purity.
The 1980 summer Olympics, or more formally known as Games of the XXII Olympiad, was held in Moscow in the Soviet Union. Moscow proved to serve as a sufficient location for the Summer Games, proving itself with its size and budget, it was also an opportunity to elicit new jobs into the community and to increase in tourism rates. However, in Christmas 1979, Soviet Union paratroopers landed in Kabal, capital to Afghanistan. The country was already at the grip of war and its monarchy was decreasing in power. The Prime Minister of Afghanistan, Hazifullah Amin, wanted to add a more Western culture into the country and relieve the country of its Muslim tradition. A majority of the country was angered by this because Muslim belief was common. Soon enough, Afghan residents would react by joining the Mujahdeen, a guerrilla force composed of Muslims. The Mujahdeen declared a jihad, a holy war, on the Amin government of which included Russia. The Soviet Union took action on December 27th, 1979 by murdering Amin and appointed Kamal Barbak to lead Afghanistan. Many countries were disapproving of Russia's actions and in their perspective, felt that it was both inappropriate and unnecessary in Russia's involvement.
The Middle Eastern country of Afghanistan has been the center of a long history of heartless violence and political strife for quite sometime now. Russia’s interest in taking over the country and converting it into another member of it’s Communist entity was one very trying obstacle that Afghanistan has had...
The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 was the turning point between old Victorian, provential, and backwater ways in the US, and the modern outlook and culture we enjoy today. It was built on a scale that had never been seen before. It provided technological wonders, new cultures, and a look into a brighter future. It helped to take the US from being a backwater, second rate power to a world super power. It was progressive in the labor and safety movements. In short, it was a major turning point in American history.
Oedipus is a hero, as defined by Johnston. According to Johnston, ‘a hero is someone who confronts fate in a very personal manner and whose reaction to that encounter serves to illuminate for us our own particular condition’ (Johnston, Part 2). Oedipus definitely confronts fate in a personal manner. Among other things, he challenges the mysterious qualities of fate by pursuing the Shepherd despite warnings from Jocasta (Sophocles, 71). Oedipus follows through on confronting fate with his individual approach of uncompromising persistence and integrity (Johnston, Part 3). Even at the end of his downfall, Oedipus maintains that Kreon should banish him and that he must obey the curses he himself ordered for the murderer of King Laios (Sophocles, 89-90). Despite being so broken and publicly shamed, Oedipus still persists with his former way of interacting with fate : noble defiance (Johnston, Part 3). Although this quality itself is admirable, Oedipus takes uncompromising to the extreme, losing insight on everything else. Oedipus becomes ignorant to his surroundings, leading to his downfall (Johnston, Part 3). Oedipus’ story also challenges the fundamental belief that life should be rational and just. (Johnston, Part 3) His story illuminates that fate is arbitrarily cruel and will sometimes pick the gre...
In Sophocles’ work, Oedipus the King, Oedipus definitely fits Aristotle’s meaning of a tragic hero which is a man of honorable importance. He is not a usual man, but a man with outstanding superiority and immensity about himself. A man of his own ruins goes for a greater cause or principle. Oedipus conveys many mistakes. In the play Oedipus the King, things really had taken a turn from good to bad. Using Aristotle’s meaning defines will be proven that Oedipus is a 1main example of a tragic hero Nobleness, Tragic flaw, and Hardship are all characteristics that Aristotle described as to what a tragic hero really define as. These are also four features Oedipus proves his well- being of a catastrophic hero.
The war began on December 27, 1979 when Soviet paratroopers invaded Kabul, Afghanistan. The Soviet troops made assaults on key positions like military and communication centers. The main objective was to kill Hafizullah Amin, who was the leader of Afghanistan after ordering the assassination of Nur Muhammad Taraki, who was the leader of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan. The Soviets succeeded in killing Amin after assaulting his presidential palace and set up a “puppet government”. The “puppet government” would be led by Banner party leader Babrak Karmal. Karmal had no significant power in Afghanistan, only the Soviet army to keep him in power and control Afghanistan. Within weeks after the invasion, the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan would be ousted from the region and replaced by Soviet forces. Soviet forces would next encounter an enemy that hid in the mountains and fought with guerilla tactics. This Muslim rebellion group would be known as the Mujahideen.
In conclusion, Oedipus’s pride, or hubris was the tragic flaw throughout the play that ultimately led him to the state he finds himself in at the end of the play. As John Weigel puts it “The play is not a tragedy of fate. Not only does the protagonist act freely, but his own character is essential to events. The oracles set in motion a group of free mortals whose encounters are governed partly by their own choices, partly by apparent chance. As so often, causes seem to be both divine and human. “ (Weigel, p. 731) However, Oedipus is still a tragic hero because he eventually becomes aware of his faults (after great loss) and accepts responsibility for his actions.
This essay seeks to explore the life of the flawed mythological person, Oedipus, as protagonist of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex.
Afghanistan is like a time capsule. Many people farm for subsistence, and few are able to read or write. Afghans have been compared to Spartans in that they are a martial people who have been at war for thousands of years. The rough terrain in which they live lends itself to long periods of resistance. Time and time again they have been able to push away would be conquerors. The current war in Afghanistan stands in contrast to previous wars because its purpose is not one of conquest for land or for the exploitation of resources. The purpose of the current war in Afghanistan is to win over the Afghan people and to help them grow ideologically to assimilate into an ever more technologically advanced global environment.
In the past ten years the Afghan Government has been dealing with a number of issues that have caused problems for the country, problems such as illegal drug trade, terrorism and violence. But nowadays they are fighting a problem that has long existed between people, and quite recently has taken a whole new aspect to it. Ethnic conflict is the destructive factor that has caused problems between people for generations, often leading to fights, outbreak of violence and grudge between different ethnicities.
When it comes to the history of drama Sophocles’ Oedipus is the king of all tragic heroes. From killing his own father and marring his own mother Oedipus’s tragic downfall leaves the reader emotionally scarred for life. Yet he still holds on to his morality and prevails past it all. Famous Greek philosopher Aristotle defines what a tragic hero is and Oedipus fits it perfectly. Oedipus is a true embodiment of Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero through his ability to preserve his virtue and wisdom, despite his flaws and predicament.
“Oedipus the King” by Sophocles is a tragedy of a man who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother. Aristotles’ ideas of tragedy are tragic hero, hamartia, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and catharsis these ideas well demonstrated throughout Sophocles tragic drama of “Oedipus the King”.