Introduction. Afghanistan and the left
The Afghan Stalinist coup d'état of April (Saur) 1978 had enormous consequences. The "Great Saur Revolution" led directly to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan at Christmas, 1979. That in turn led to the Second Cold War. The USSR got drawn into what was soon accurately being described as "Russia's Vietnam War". In the nine years of that war, perhaps one and a half million Afghans - about one in 12 of Afghanistan's population - died. Six million - one in three - Afghans were driven over the borders as refugees. The prolonged war in Afghanistan helped shatter the elan and self-confidence of the...