The Secret War in Afghanistan: The Soviet Union, China and Anglo-American Intelligence in the Afghan War (Library of Middle East History)

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and the subsequent war with the indigenous Afghan Mujahedeen, was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Cold War. Key details of the circumstances surrounding the invasion and its ultimate conclusion only months before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 have long remained unclear; the entire episode is a shadowy narrative of clandestine correspondence, covert operations and failed intelligence. Making use of recently declassified archives, The Secret War in Afghanistan brings to light the full role of the CIA in arming and training the Afghan fighters. Here, Panagiotis Dimitrakis analyses every aspect of this vital turning point in Cold War history; from President Jimmy Carter's 'Afghan Trap' to Margaret Thatcher's role in the crisis. Dimitrakis also outlines the full extent of China's involvement in arming the Mujahedeen, effectively fighting Brezhnev's Soviet Union by proxy. This will be essential reading for scholars and students of the Cold War, American History and the Modern Middle East.