The Afghan Syndrome: The Soviet Union's Vietnam

July 7, 1979: Leonid Brezhnev stunned the western world by ordering the Red Army into Afghanistan, a supposedly staunch ally. There has been a great deal of speculation on the events preceding the invasion and the actions of the Soviet Union and its soldiers for the next ten years.Until now, the full story of the Soviet Union's "Vietnam" has remained untold. The Afghan Syndrome, by two distinguished Soviet soldier-journalists, delves into the state-controlled secret archives to give readers the true story of the internal intrigue in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital city, and the tenuous relationships between the giant Soviet superpower and its tiny but strategically situated neighbor.The book provides details of military operations against the Mujahidin, the brave and relentless insurgent fighters who were willing to risk everything for Allah and their country as they sought to destroy the invaders. The authors tell of incredible bravery on the part of the Soviet soldiers, who were ill-suited to fight in this barren and inhospitable land so far from their homes.In another parallel to America's war in Vietnam, we learn that the Soviet soldiers, who were sent in harm's way by old politicians, did not receive the reception they deserved after their return from Afghanistan. Instead, in many cases, they were treated as pariahs, not heroes - a familiar story to our own veterans.This conflict is responsible for many of the reforms instituted by Gorbachev, and its effects are still influencing the world today.