Q&A: Who was the Soviet Union fighting in Afghanistan in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and who is the U.S. fighting there now?

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Q: Who was the Soviet Union fighting in Afghanistan in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and who is the United States fighting there now?

— Randy Cauthen, Hartwell

A. Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to support President Babrak Karmal, who seized control in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership, according to a New York Times overview of the country’s history. Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on Dec. 27, 1979, beginning a nine-year battle against the Islamic Mujahideen rebels, composed of a variety of groups. As recounted in the book and movie “Charlie Wilson’s War,” the United States, with covert CIA aid, backed the Mujahideen against the Soviet forces. U.S.-made Stinger antiaircraft missiles crippled the Soviet Air Force. After United Nations-sponsored peace talks, Soviet forces left Afghanistan in 1989. The country became a stronghold for Islamic extremist groups such as Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida, which had flocked to the country to battle the Soviets. The Taliban gained control by 1996 and provided a haven for bin Laden, mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. After Sept. 11, President George W. Bush launched an attack against the Taliban when it refused to hand over bin Laden. The Taliban was driven out of major Afghan cities, regrouping in a mountainous area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. With American forces concentrated in Iraq, the Taliban, financed by the opium trade, regained strength in seeking to overthrow U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai. President Barack Obama has sent 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan to battle the Taliban.

Louis Mayeux wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get an answer. Call 404-222-2002. Sorry, individual responses are not possible.