The Soviet–Afghan War was a conflict wherein insurgent groups (known collectively as the Mujahideen), as well as smaller Maoist groups, fought a nine-year guerrilla war against the Soviet Army and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan government throughout the 1980s, mostly in the Afghan countryside. The Mujahideen were variously backed primarily by the United States, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, and the United Kingdom; the conflict was a Cold War-era proxy war.
Between 562,000 and 2,000,000 civilians were killed and millions of Afghans fled the country as refugees,mostly to Pakistan and Iran. The war caused grave destruction in Afghanistan and is believed to have contributed to the Soviet collapse, in hindsight leaving a mixed legacy to people in both territories.
The foundations of the conflict were laid by the Saur Revolution, a 1978 coup wherein Afghanistan's communist party took power, initiating a series of radical modernization and land reforms throughout the country. These reforms were deeply unpopular among the more traditional rural population and established power structures.
The communist party itself experienced deep internal rivalries between the Khalqists and Parchamites; in September 1979, People's Democratic Party General Secretary Nur Mohammad Taraki was assassinated under orders of the second-in-command, Hafizullah Amin, which soured relations with the Soviet Union.
Many Afghans held Amin responsible for the regime's harshest measures, such as ordering thousands of executions. Thousands of people disappeared without trace during his time in office. Eventually the Soviet government, under leader Leonid Brezhnev, decided to deploy the 40th Army across the border on December 24, 1979.
Arriving in the capital Kabul, they staged a coup (Operation Storm-333), killing General Secretary Amin and installing Soviet loyalist Babrak Karmal from the rival faction Parcham.
The Soviets initially planned to secure towns and roads, stabilize the government under new leader Karmal, and withdraw within six months or a year. But they were met with fierce resistance from the guerillas and had difficulties on the harsh cold Afghan terrain, resulting in them being stuck in a bloody war that lasted nine years.
By the mid-1980s, the Soviet contingent was increased to 108,800 and fighting increased, but the military and diplomatic cost of the war to the USSR was high. By mid-1987 the Soviet Union, now under reformist leader General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, announced it would start withdrawing its forces after meetings with the Afghan government.
The final troop withdrawal started on May 15, 1988, and ended on February 15, 1989, leaving the government forces alone in the battle against the insurgents, which continued until 1992, when the former Soviet-backed government collapsed
The State and Revolution :flag-su:
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The Conquest of Bread
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COMMUNITY CALENDAR - AN EXPERIMENT IN PROMOTING USER ORGANIZING EFFORTS :af:
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a 2:30:00 long gritty biopic about Rick as his struggles to turn into a pickle tear apart his family and strain his interpesonal relationships. Lots of extended scenes in dark high contrast lighting on him putting his inexplicably dirty face into his somehow even dirtier hands and silently weeping, as a broken jar of brine slowly leaks out down the floor and out the door. It concludes with a climax of him turning into a pickle, but his tears of joy quickly turn into tears of sorrow as he realizes: But at what cost did I turn myself into a pickle? Alternative Ending: He doesn't turn into a pickle.
Bombed an interview cause they legit asked 6 questions in a row and my monkey brain couldnt keep up :le-monke:
But silver linings, got a job offer for like $28 an hour. Thats like 2 and half times more than I ever made in me life so :floppy-parrot:
when i was straight out of high school i had cripplingly bad social anxiety, i still have bad anxiety to this day but i can function, anyway i had a mock interview in one of my classes and i did so bad the professor stopped the interview and told me to go get more experience lol
Jesus, I can relate. I have aphantasia and I find most interview questions impossible to answer. I'm like I know I did the thing but couldn't tell you how I did it. Because I interview so poorly I google common interview questions and write like a novella worth of bullshit I can spew.
yeah that's pretty much what i would probably have to do.
ngl I pretty much went into being self employed to avoid ever having to do interviews. I really only have done like 2 or 3 n my whole life.
Not only do they not think about it, but they actually find fault in the drivers themselves.
As little as people care about it now, what's even more extreme is that in the post-war period when public transport was being gutted, car fatalities per capita were 2-3× what they are now.
Existential angst ahead; you've been warned.
Half the time I feel this way. And the other half the time, I wonder if we haven't normalized death enough. Like, there is an extremely high likelihood that in a few million years, not only will we not exist, but there will be no perceptible trace or legacy of us left on Earth. (which is of course just one planet, in one solar system, in one galaxy, in one cluster...) And in many ways, this makes life incredibly miraculous and something to be celebrated. Against all odds, we somehow exist. I try to take that mindset most of the time. But other times, I do wonder whether life ultimately matters (and, accordingly, if it's even worth worrying about dying / people dying.)
I mean on a geological/chemical scale, which is probably the longest time frame we know of at the moment. If, for example, there were a nuclear war, elevated levels of radioactive isotopes might still be detectable for a million years or so. maybe changes in the fossil record. that sort of thing.
Finished listening to Blowback tonight. I can’t believe 9/11 and the wars are gonna be 20 years old soon. Crazy shit. I remember hearing some of the names and headlines on the news as a kid; some of you guys weren’t even born fuuuuck. But yeah, good show check it out sometime if you haven’t.
Reading Andrew Roberts' book about this "Napoleon" guy. He just set out to invade Russia. I have a good feeling about it and I think it's going to work out for him
EDIT: oh god, oh fuck
Don't know where else to post this but it's a funny story.
Once I was arrested in Taiwan (mistaken charges, case was later thrown out). They seized my phone to gather evidence, and the secretary was printing out pictures from it to ask the investigator if they're relevant. One was a picture of Mao laughing with the caption LMAO.
Had an excellent weekend getaway with my boyfriend. Genuinely feeling so blessed that we were able to get this time away to ourselves. I am so much more relaxed than I was a few days ago
:comfy:
do you guys remember during the election when cubans voted republican like they always do, and democrats started to use race science to explain " actually cubans are naturaly incline to vote for dictators " that was really funny
it so fucklng cold right now in Texas but me and my roommates have hot cocoa :meow-coffee: (although right now i am pushing aside the fact I have to drive to work in conditions that led to the death of a dozen people since we don't have salt trucks or any idea how to drive in the cold :doomjak: )
they really should shut the whole state down at 30, people can't handle that shit. nobody has the tires for it, let alone the experience
God damn Abbott and his even more insane Lieutenant Governor are more focused on NBA teams not playing the anthem than providing more Covid relief or even dealing with this storm in an effective way like you said maybe shutting shit down so people don't die.
lol yup but if abbott actually did anything about anything for people, texans themselves would crucify him for it. This is in no way a defence of him, he's merely a product and distillation in human form of dumbass texan thought.
chauvin
still can't get over that fucking name, there is a god and he hates all of us
Well I'll be the first to respond to the given prompt, I guess...
I think its kinda cool how Afghanistan has played a part in not just tearing apart the American super-power, as well as playing a part in tearing apart the USSR, but also played a major role in the Bronze Age collapse, as they supplied much of the rare tin that was required for the elite bronze empires to keep their hold over the stuff they did.
watched judas and the black messiah with the missus for valentines day. can't help but wonder and imagine what amazing things hampton (and his comrades) would have accomplished had he not been cut down so young. and all his peers as well. absolutely tragic.
fucking unreal, he was on the path to do so many incredible things with his fire and persuasiveness. of course this is why they made him a target. ...fucking pigs
Sounds like Miss Bad Vibes needs a Good Vibe :screm-cool: if you know what I mean
You are going to need a lot of pool noodles and lube but this can resolved.