A convoy of Soviet armoured vehicles crossing a bridge at the Soviet-Afghan border, May 21, 1988, during the withdrawal of the Red Army from Afghanistan. Vitaly Armand—AFP/Getty Images
Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat: 30-Year Anniversary of Soviet Withdrawal From Afghanistan: A Successful Disengagement Operation?
The withdrawal of the Soviet 40th Army from Afghanistan from 1988 to 1989 was a militarily successful operation save one mistake.
30 years ago this month, on February 15, 1989, the last Soviet soldier crossed the Afghan-Soviet border marking the end of one of the bloodiest conflicts ever fought in Afghanistan’s history. Notably, the Soviet retreat from Afghanistan from May 1988 to February 1989 was not a route. Rather, it was a well-executed and carefully planned disengagement operation that would allow the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) to survive for another three years after the end of the Soviet occupation. However, the public announcement of a rigid timetable for the withdrawal narrowed the Soviets options to respond to the changing military and political situation in the country.
It all began in November 1986 when the Soviet leadership under Mikhail Gorbachev made the decision to withdraw all Soviet combat troops by the end of 1988 from the country. Afghanistan had become “a bleeding wound” in the words of Gorbachev. Throughout 1985, the Soviets attempted to force a military solution—the year became the bloodiest in the history of the war—but ultimately failed to break the insurgency’s back.
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Update: 'Tired of fighting': 30 years ago, Soviets withdraw from Afghanistan (New Straits Times/AFP).
WNU Editor: The above Diplomat post on the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan is a good summary on what led to the Soviet Union withdrawing from Afghanistan, the withdrawal itself, and how the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the collapse of aid to the Afghan government that resulted in the Taliban being being well positioned to win the war.
