What baffles and impresses about the soviet army in afghanistan is that it operated as long as it did, and with as little outcry from its soldiers and their families. The handheld stinger surfacetoair missile was so effective in the afghan war against the soviet union that it was credited with changing the course of the conflict. The ussr entered neighboring afghanistan in 1979, attempting to shore. In his new book, jonathan steele sorts the fact from the fiction. Bearden and journalist james risen wrote in their 2004 book, the main enemy. Paris taliban forces in afghanistan are reported to have up to 100 shoulderfired stingers, the u. The afghanistan war diary, released by wikileaks, has exposed as never before a culture of lies, deceit, violence and manipulation of information in the current united statesled war. This one conflict sparked the collapse of the soviet union, the rise of osama bin laden, the age of jihadist terrorism, and the birth of the taliban and al qaeda. Army ch47 helicopter with a new generation stinger missile. His mischaracterization of the soviet war contained no single scrap of truth. Afghan mujahideen upset their plans, holding on with little more than natural fighting skills, until cia agents came to the rescue with american arms.
March 2014 this article uses bare urls for citations, which may be threatened by. During the soviet invasion of afghanistan, how many soviet. The extraordinary story of the largest covert operation in history by george crile m. The islamists were already armed with strela2m missiles which were destroying soviet aircraft from 1980 and on. Back from afghanistan the experiences of soviet afghan war. Stinger operations against soviet mi24 hind helicopter. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading ghost wars. Soviet war in afghanistan from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia hidethis article has multiple issues.
Haqqani was happy to make charlie wilsons wartime fantasy come true. The stinger was credited for the loss 333 aircraft and helicopters by the soviet military. Kuperman like much cold war history, the landmark 1986 decision by the united states to arm the afghan mujahedin1 with stinger antiaircraft missilespurportedly the first time americanmade weapons were supplied to kill soviet troopshas been distorted by opposing political. This nineyear power struggle in a small, landlocked country ultimately led to some of the most profound moments in modern history.
Click download or read online button to get back from afghanistan the experiences of soviet afghan war veterans book now. A pentagon senior official, michael pillsbury, successfully advocated providing stinger missiles to the afghan resistance, according to recent books and. It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles and helicopters as an aam. Charlie wilsons war is a 2007 american biographical comedydrama film, based on the story of u. When i was researching a 2009 book about the soviet war, i found enough. They dragged chains and tires on the road to create a dust cloud, which would attract soviet. The stinger was first fired in 1986, and no more soviet aircraft were shot down in 1986 an. The sovie t afghan war was a conflict wherein insurgent groups known collectively as the mujahideen, as well as smaller maoist groups, fought a guer rilla war agai nst the soviet army and the democratic re public of af ghanistan government for over nine years, throughout the 1980s, mo stly in t he afghan countryside. Delta force, and the afghan mujahideen fighting the invading soviet goliath.
After the war, the soviets maintained their airborne. The secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin laden, from the soviet invasion to september 10, 2001 coll, steve on. Trump was wrong about the soviet war in afghanistan the atlantic. The cias supply of stinger missiles to the mujahideen forced the soviets out of. Outside jalalabad, afghanistan, 25 years ago this week, an angry young man named abdul wahab quanat recited his prayers, walked onto a farm field near a soviet airfield, raised a stinger missile launcher to his shoulder and shot his way into history. He wanted to fire stinger missile at one of the soviet helicopter. During charlie wilsons visit to afghanistan, he met jalaluddin haqqani. The sovietafghan war, when america trained the same. The book is a rollercoaster ride of military history focused on the soviet unions invasion of afghanistan and the united states subsequent efforts to help the afghans regain. Mujahedeen rebels aim usmade stinger missiles near gardez, afghanistan. A muslim woman officer in the soviet army during the sovietafghan war. It is unfortunate that milton bearden, in an otherwise informative article afghanistan, graveyard of empires, novemberdecember 2001, repeats the tired myth that the stinger antiaircraft missile changed the course of the war in afghanistan in the 1980s, forced the red army to withdraw, and thereby led to a cataclysm for the soviets.
With help from china and many moslem nations, the united states led a huge international operation over the last eight years to arm the afghan guerrillas with the weapons they needed to drive the. Included in this covert action program was the stinger guided missile. Operation cyclone was the code name for the united states central intelligence agency cia. This weapon system would be credited as the major factor in the russian withdraw in 1989. This silence speaks more to the muffled fear of soviet society than to the horrors of war in afghanistan. By the mid1980s, the soviet war in afghanistan had reached something of a stalemate. Operation cyclone a rick fontain cold war novel book paperback large. Part of the cold war, it was fought between soviet led afghan forces against multinational insurgent groups called the mujahideen, mostly composed of two alliances the peshawar seven and the tehran eight. Fim92 stinger in the soviet war in afghanistan youtube. Stinger missile becomes major security threat to western interests, india. Today this vast stockpile of weaponry, particularly the shoulder fired stinger missile, has become a major security threat to western interests, apart from the damage it has already caused in india. Developed in the united states, it entered service in 1981 and is used by the militaries of the united states and 29 other countries. How the cia send stinger missiles in afghanistan to fight soviets.
The stinger missile that made afghanistans history wsj. Pilots made bombing runs at greater height, thereby diminishing the accuracy of the attacks, but the rate of soviet and afghan aircraft losses did not change significantly from what it was in the first six years of the war. The end of soviet military occupation, which began in 1979, has left the afghan army more vulnerable to these guerrilla forces, who are fighting the russianinstalled afghan government. Soviet aircraft shot down by stingers there are many claims about the impact of the stinger missile given to the mujahedin during the soviet afghan war. The significance of the afghanistan war diary history. The soviet decision to withdraw from afghanistan was made in october 1985, several months before stinger missiles entered. A muslim woman officer in the soviet army during the soviet.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Thirteen years after the start of the war in afghanistan, a look at photographer robert nickelsbergs intense images of the decadelong conflict, published in a. What the longbow was to english yeomen and the v2 rocket was to the germans in world war ii, the stinger antiaircraft missile is to todays americanbacked guerrilla fighters. He is the author of seven other books, including on the grand trunk road, the bin. The stinger a shoulder fired surface to air missile or sam severely changed the war and soviet pilots were so scared that it led to a dramatic change to military tactics. Congressman charlie wilson and cia operative gust avrakotos, whose efforts led to operation cyclone, a program to organize and support the afghan mujahideen during the soviet afghan war. In a role reversal from previous cold war conflicts, the soviet union began to fight a counterinsurgency against rebel groups ultimately supported and armed by the united states. Trump was wrong about the soviet war in afghanistan the. The secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin.
Oh58 stinger missile shoots down helicopter youtube. The christian science monitor is an international news organization that delivers thoughtful, global coverage via its website, weekly magazine, online daily edition, and email newsletters. The secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin laden, from the soviet invasion to september 10, 2001. How the taliban got their hands on modern us missiles. A guerrilla soldier aims a stinger missile at passing aircraft near a remote rebel base in the safed koh mountains february 10, 1988 in afghanistan. The fim92 stinger is a manportable airdefense system manpads that operates as an infrared homing surfacetoair missile sam. The soviet invasion led to a civil war and western aid for the afghan. The fim92 stinger is a personal portable infrared homing surfacetoair missile developed in the united states and entered into service in 1981. The secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin laden, from the soviet invas ion to september 10, 2001 kindle edition by coll, steve. What was the hit ratio of stinger missiles during the. The event panicked the soviet ranks, changed the course of the war. A mujahedeen fighter fighter aims a stinger missile at a passing airplane in 1988. The secret history of the cia, afghanistan, and bin laden, from the soviet.
An afghan mujahideen aims a fim92 stinger missile at. Brief clip from the discovery channel depicting the stinger missile and its impact on the russian war in afghanistan 1986. Outside jalalabad, afghanistan, 25 years ago this week, an angry young man named abdul wahab quanat recited his prayers, walked onto a farm field near a soviet airfield, raised a stinger missile. Fim 92 stinger missile game changer weapon of soviet. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.
How the cia send stinger missiles in afghanistan to fight. The story of the soviet occupation of afghanistan is well known. The soviet war in afghanistan, 1979 1989 the atlantic. The peshawar seven insurgents received military training in neighboring pakistan and. The reallife story behind charlie wilsons war the dark comedy is based on real events in the life of democratic texas congressman charlie wilson. How accurate and successful were stinger missles during. In the west, the soviet invasion of afghanistan was considered a threat to. The most reliable number out there for stinger shootdowns is a number. It depicts first the shooting down of a soviet mi24 hindd helicopter the same kind as the stinger brought down in afghanistan, and then a soviet an2 colt. Stinger missiles forced the soviets out of afghanistan and. The stinger missile and us intervention in afghanistan jstor.
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