Withdrawals Of Soviet And American Forces From Afghanistan: Comparative Analysis

Abstract

At the height of the cold war,Soviet Union attacked Afghanistan in December 1979 which the Afghans resisted bylaunching Jihad (Holy War).The resistance compelled Soviet Union to withdrawitstroops from Afghanistan on February 15, 1989. Subsequently, the Mujahideen (Holy Warriors) entered into a civil war to capture of Kabul but the more radical Taliban succeeded against them in 1996 who imposed strict Shari’ah Law andharboredthe infamous terrorist network which not only antagonized the nationalist and non-Pashtun Afghans but also the regional and foreign countries.After refusing American demand to surrender Osama bin Laden, the Taliban were ousted in 2001. USA and allies then provided a cover to the various Afghan governments against Taliban for twenty years but it also finally quit Afghanistan itself and left Ashraf Ghani at the mercy of Taliban in February 2020 who captured Kabulfrom him in August 2021. This current research study uses analytical method and relies on both primary and secondary sources. Itis an addition to the understanding of Soviet and American withdrawals and comparesthe outcomes of both the withdrawal. This research work tries to find an answer to the question that why the Soviets and Americans withdrew from Afghanistan and how both withdrawals were different form each other in terms of their outcomes?