The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

Persian Gulf.Détente was coming to an end, and the prolonged period of confrontation wasrapidly following on its heels. The Cold War was nearing its peak.Proposing to initiate a large-scale operation to support the Afghan rebels, Americanintelligence had far-reaching goals, the most important of which was to engage the Sovietsin an armed struggle and bleed them to death. CIA analysts argued that if the rebelpositions could be strengthened, Moscow would be obliged to expand its militaryassistance to the regime, including direct military intervention in Afghanistan. This wouldbecome a trap for the Soviet Union—a trap that would clamp down as soon as the firstSoviet troops crossed the Afghanistan border and engaged the Islamic opposition.The Soviets would inevitably become mired in a bloody partisan war and would losetheir opportunity to establish total control over the oil-rich Persian Gulf region. Theforthcoming conflict would be a gift for the propaganda warriors, who would finally receiveevidence of the perfidy of the Kremlin and its expansionist designs. If the military activitieswere drawn out, they would exhaust the USSR, and then America would triumph in theCold War.On March 6, a Special Coordination Committee (a closed structure of the cabinetoverseeing covert operations) requested that the CIA develop a more detailed plan ofAmerican engagement in Afghanistan.CIA operatives traveled to the Middle East to study the situation and developspecific proposals. They found camps in Pakistan with tens of thousands of Afghanrefugees, many of whom were prepared to return to Afghanistan to overthrow the regimeof infidels. All they needed was weaponry. There existed one formal difficulty, however,448