Re: [ImmoderateHeroQuest] Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_C7tyyx-xFVHcrs2JX6uz4EIXPLRCGrIhdPcGP8CmtuPSxIFokUhlo2JFP0eB1xQkkoi>
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 09:56:29 +1300

At 07:45 PM 1/18/2006 +0100, you wrote:

>I remember at the time, that the main objectives were to extend Soviet
>"influence" in the general but precise direction of the Indian Ocean. In the
>1980s, there _was_ still some sort of extant ideological desire to spread
>the Soviet model Far and Wide ...

The usual method of extending Soviet Influence did not involve committing large numbers of troops among hostile fuzzy-wuzzies for extended periods of time. Insofar as the Soviet Union had any plan to reach the Indian Ocean, it was implemented through the 1978 coup, not the 1979 invasion.

--Peter Metcalfe