Afghan Invasion Dbq

The Soviets invaded Afghanistan to expand the influence (spread of communism) and to protect their interests of Afghanistan (natural resources- oil, coal, iron, and ore). This occurred in the end of December 24, 1979. Thousands of troops were sent to Afghanistan by the Soviet Union. Led to complete military and political control of Kabul and large portions of the country. This lasted about nine-years. It ended by the last troops (Soviet Union) departing Afghanistan on February 15, 1989. Because the Soviets had failed to secure Afghanistan from the rebels. About 15,000 soviet soldiers were killed, and about 30,000 were injured. One million Afghans were killed. The leader of Afghanistan was General Secretary Babrak Karmal and President Mohammad Najibullah.
Before the war, the Soviets had been supporting and providing aid to Afghanistan for a long time. Since, the Soviets supported communism and Afghanistan did not because many of the laws went against their Muslim religion. The leaders of the Soviet Union were concerned that President Amin was communicating with the United States. Which caused the invasion. They put President Amin to death and installed their own leader, President Babrak Karmal. Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union. He wanted to end the war and increase the Soviet troops to end it quicker. However, this didn't work, so Gorbachev realized that the war was costing Soviet troops and hurting their economy. He signed a peace treaty to end the war, which the last Soviet troops departed from Afghanistan. This is equivalent to the Vietnam war for the United States, both in economic stress, and social discontent that caused