Mujahedeen Essay

The military conflict between Russia and the Mujahedeen (1980-1989) defines an important example of the use of guerrilla warfare that Mao Zedong instituted in the Three Stages of Insurgency. The first stage of Mao’s insurgency involves utilizing the bare minimum for survival, yet by also utilizing organizational skills to assemble a small fighting force. After the Soviets had invaded Afghanistan and taken the capital of Kabul, it seemed an obvious victory for the larger Russian forces. However, the local mujahedeen militias began to organize in areas of Afghanistan where the terrain was mountainous and difficult to traverse. The example of early the early survival of the Mujahedeen organization was founded in the Panjshir Valley. Ahmad Shah Massoud was able to organize a fighting force of fighting men (Tajiks) by remaining isolated from his enemies:

With “fewer than 30 followers, 17 rifles of various makes, and $130 in

More so, the U.S. began to send the Mujahedeen anti-aircraft missiles (called Stingers) that were able to shoot down helicopters and other aircraft. This greatly reduced the bombardment on the Mujahedeen, which forced the Russians to bring in land forces to fight the enemy. In 1985, the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, had been politically pressured into withdrawing Soviet forces because of the increasing unpopularity of the war and the growing army of the Mujahedeen. After nine years, it became evident that the small guerilla forces of Massoud had slowly and steadily built a large army in which they could defeat the larger Soviet threat. This is how the third stage of Mao’s insurgency guidelines provides the decisive forms of mobilization that the Mujahedeen acquired by utilizing successful small-scale attacks, which brought greater military support from the United States in