Blowback from the Soviet Afghan War

Blowback from the Soviet-Afghan War

XXXX

Studies in Intelligence

The Soviet-Afghan War was a battle, (i.e. exchange of fire power, as opposed to a verbal confrontation of ideals) during the period known as the Cold War. The Untied States was not willing to sit and watch the Soviet Union impose the spread of communism around the world. Intervention from the other superpower could have invited an all out nuclear war, so the US contributed in the form of covert actions. The Soviet-Afghan War ended as did the Cold War but some of the issues the US faces today are results of the United States prior involvement in these affairs. Namely the effective threat the US faces from the leftover fighters that have become terrorists. The United States involvement in covert operations can have unforeseen consequences in direct relation to the acts it performs on foreign soil. It is up to the intelligence community to foresee these events and assist in making the proper decisions regarding the worthiness of these actions.

When one thinks of covert action, visions of James Bond are often conjured in the mind. The passing of codes to the operative to instigate a mission; driving an expensive foreign automobile at breakneck speeds through an Eastern European country; scaling a wall to gain entrance into a compound, overwhelming several thugs and tricking the guard dogs into submission; the use of high tech gadgets to defeat laser detection, and gain access to a safe; collecting the item and escaping in the nick of time to end up with a hefty bank account and lie in the arms of a beautiful women. Well, that is how it appears in the movies, but the real intelligence community defines covert operations in another manner.

Covert actions are defined by the National Security Act as “[a]n activity or activities of the United States Government to influence political, economic, or...