> > >The Soviets invaded in 1979 because the then-rulers only managed
> to make things
> > >worse.
> >
> > This is a rather rosy view of why the Soviets invaded.
>
> I don't think I'd agree. There was no particular enthusiasm for
> intervention, and certainly no grand plan or intention to move
> beyond Afghanistan.
Oh, come on...
(with all due respect)
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 ...
IMO there was indeed a Grand Plan, although I would agree with you that it wasn't a plan that sparked much enthusiasm among the ordinary people whose children were being told to go off and spill their blood for the furtherance of said Plan...
cheers,
de Immod
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