In December 1979, the USSR invaded Afghanistan. An event interpreted differently by the Afghan and International left. Those who perceived Moscow as socialist described the invasion as "internationalist support". Those who saw the USSR as imperialist viewed it as an occupation.
In the mid-1950s, Afghanistan was dominated economically by the West. When the Afghan monarchy declared its independence from Britain, it lost part of its northeastern provinces. Foreign pressure on the new Afghan state forced it to seek other international partners.
Moscow expanded its ties with the Afghan monarchy in the mid-50s, offering loans at a 3% interest rate. The king's attempts to develop relations with both blocs did not last long. His prime minister Daoud Khan took power in a coup in 1973 and proclaimed a Republic. While Daoud Khan tried to remain neutral, the country still owed one-third of its debt to the USSR.
Under these circumstances, the USSR saw it necessary to form a new ally in Afghanistan to suit its own interests. It helped the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) to seize power in 1978. The PDPA was known by the Afghan left to be Soviet-friendly, and was composed of the Khalq (left-social democratic) and Parcham (social democratic) factions.
The conflicts between the East & West were escalating in the 1970s, threatening the outbreak of a new world war. In Afghanistan, Khalq-faction leader Taraki was unable to fulfill Soviet expectations. In particular, the Soviets were worried about the growing strength of Afghan intelligence chief Hafizullah Amin.
When Amin realized he was losing Soviet support, he began flirting with the US. In September 1979, Amin staged another coup and had Taraki assassinated. For Moscow, this was the straw that broke the camel's back. On 27 December 1979, the USSR invaded the country, shot dead Hafizullah Amin, and instated Parcham-faction leader Babrak Karmal in his place.
By this time a civil war had been going on in Afghanistan since 1978. In the name of reform, the PDPA regime gave land to tribal chiefs and landowners. The Taraki government gave privileges to the majority Pashtuns, increasing pressure on other minorities. These policies led to the formation of the Organization for the Liberation of the Afghan People (SAMA), a Maoist organization.
SAMA largely succeeded in linking the spontaneous struggle of the peasant masses with its own. They were the first to take up arms against the PDPA & the USSR in 1978, and dealt severe blows to the invading Soviet forces, as well as the US-funded Mujahideen.
SAMA lost many of its key leaders to both the Soviets & US-funded Mujahideen and was forced to withdraw from the Afghan political scene, leaving the battlefield to the Moscow-backed government and US-funded feudal reactionaries. In modern Afghanistan discourse, the plight of the SAMA has been ignored, while warlords were championed as "heroes of the free world".
The tragedy of Afghanistan, beginning with the British invasion in 1839 is that it has been bombed back a century with the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the US-led invasion in 2001. The Taliban government, which was granted political power on a silver platter, has plunged the country spiritually and mentally back to the Middle Ages.
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