why is the soviet afghan war called the cold war

Why is the Soviet-Afghan War Called the 'Graveyard of Empires'?

The Soviet-Afghan War, which lasted from 1979 to 1989, was a brutal and devastating conflict that left deep scars on both Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. The war has been referred to as the 'Graveyard of Empires' due to the fact that it marked the first time a superpower had suffered a significant military defeat in the modern era.

The roots of the war lay in the decades prior to the Soviet invasion, when the United States was actively supporting anti-Soviet mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan. The CIA and other American intelligence agencies were providing training, funding, and weapons to these groups, with the goal of weakening the Soviet-backed government in Kabul.

However, this support for the mujahideen has been misinterpreted by some as evidence that the United States was complicit in the rise of Usama bin Ladin's al-Qa'ida group and the Taliban government. Some academics and journalists have argued that these groups were actually creations of American policy gone awry.

But this narrative is a pervasive myth, according to Robert Fisk, a widely-respected Middle East correspondent for The Independent. Fisk has written extensively on the topic, pointing out that there is no evidence to support the claim that the United States was directly involved in creating or supporting al-Qa'ida or the Taliban.

In fact, many experts argue that the Taliban's rise to power was a natural consequence of the Afghan civil war, which began long before the Soviet invasion. The country's complex ethnic and political landscape made it fertile ground for various factions and groups to vie for control.

Jeffrey Sommers, a professor at Georgia State University, has repeatedly claimed that the Taliban had turned on their previous benefactors, namely the United States and Pakistan. Similarly, David Gibbs, a political science professor at the University of Arizona, has made similar claims about the Taliban's alleged betrayal of American interests.

Despite these claims, there is no concrete evidence to support the notion that the United States was directly involved in creating or supporting al-Qa'ida or the Taliban. The roots of the Afghan civil war and the country's subsequent transformation into a safe-haven for terrorism can be traced back to decades prior to the Soviet invasion.

In conclusion, the Soviet-Afghan War was a complex and multifaceted conflict that cannot be reduced to simplistic narratives about American complicity in the rise of al-Qa'ida or the Taliban. The war was a tragic consequence of Cold War politics and regional power struggles, and it serves as a reminder of the devastating consequences of military intervention and political meddling.

Why is the soviet afghan war called the cold war