Event

Covert aid to the Afghan resistance

Secret U.S. and Saudi aid to Afghan fighters, channelled through Pakistan, from July 1979; the U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed in 1991 to end military aid to both sides from 1 January 1992.

15 links, 7 backed by primary records

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Dates: Jul 1979 –

How each side tells it

According to Zbigniew Brzezinski

involved Zbigniew Brzezinski

According to Turki Al-Faisal

involved Turki Al-Faisal

According to Human Rights Watch

involved Central Intelligence Agency

Connections 15

involved

United States government supplied money and arms Primary record 1
Zbigniew Brzezinski says he wrote Carter that day that the aid would induce a Soviet intervention According to Zbigniew Brzezinski Scholarship & press 2
Ronald Reagan under his administration the program grew Primary record 3
Charlie Wilson added $50 million in 1984, per the Archive Scholarship & press 4
United States government agreed with the Soviet government in September 1991 on a cutoff of military aid to both sides from 1 January 1992 Scholarship & press 5
Soviet government agreed with the U.S. in September 1991 on a cutoff of military aid to both sides from 1 January 1992 Scholarship & press 5
Turki Al-Faisal described Saudi aid as “financial, military and moral support” According to Turki Al-Faisal Scholarship & press 6
United States government Congress ultimately provided nearly $3 billion, per the National Security Archive Scholarship & press 4
Government of Saudi Arabia supplied money and arms; much of it went into a CIA Swiss bank account, per the Archive Primary record 1 4
Pakistan the route the aid went through Primary record 1
Inter-Services Intelligence helped train the rebels and distribute the arms Primary record 1
Central Intelligence Agency channelled covert aid through Pakistan According to Human Rights Watch Scholarship & press 7
Central Intelligence Agency planned propaganda to support the revolt, April 1979 Primary record 8
Central Intelligence Agency provided Stinger missiles in 1986, after pressure from several congressmen and State and Defense officials, per the Archive Scholarship & press 4
Jimmy Carter signed Findings on Afghanistan on 3 July 1979 Primary record 9

Timeline 1 date

Jul 1979 – Covert aid to the Afghan resistance

Proof 9 sources

The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, 9-11-commission, 22 Jul 2004. Primary record
Saudi Arabia and the United States supplied billions of dollars worth of secret assistance to rebel groups in Afghanistan fighting the Soviet occupation.
This assistance was funneled through Pakistan:the Pakistani military intelligence service (Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, or ISID), helped train the rebels and distribute the arms.
Interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski, Le Nouvel Observateur, 15–21 January 1998 (English translation), Le Nouvel Observateur (translation on the Marxist History Archive), Jan 1998. Scholarship & press
And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention.
We didn't push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would.
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XII, Afghanistan: Preface, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, 2018. Primary record
Carter’s policy laid the groundwork for what would become the largest covert operation in U.S. history during the Reagan administration
Afghanistan: The Making of U.S. Policy, 1973-1990 (essay by Steve Galster), National Security Archive, 9 Oct 2001. Scholarship & press
In 1984, Wilson used his powerful position on the House Intelligence Committee to tack on an additional $50 million for Afghan covert aid
Congress ultimately provided nearly $3 billion in covert aid for the mujahidin, more than all other CIA covert operations in the 1980s combined.
The Saudi government, which deposited many of its contributions into a CIA Swiss bank account, also gave direct support to several fundamentalist groups.
in 1986, due to pressure from several congressmen and a number of bureaucrats at the State and Defense departments, the CIA provided the mujahidin with U.S.-made Stinger missiles
Afghanistan: Mujahidin Victory: The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Library of Congress country study), Library of Congress, Federal Research Division (text hosted at countrystudies.us), 1997. Scholarship & press
On September 13, the Soviet government, now dominated by Boris Yeltsin, agreed with the United States on a mutual cutoff of military aid to both sides in the Afghan civil war. It was to begin January 1, 1992.
Kingdom has big role to play in Afghanistan (interview with Prince Turki Al-Faisal), Arab News, 4 Nov 2001. Scholarship & press
We provided them with financial, military and moral support during their struggle against the Soviets.
Afghanistan: Crisis of Impunity: The Role of Pakistan, Russia, and Iran in Fueling the Civil War, Human Rights Watch, Jul 2001. Scholarship & press
the U.S., through the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), granted Pakistan wide discretion in channeling some U.S.$2-3 billion worth of covert assistance to the mujahidin, training over 80,000 of them.
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XII, Afghanistan, Document 44: Editorial Note, U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, 2018. Primary record
a series of black propaganda operations designed to support the tribal revolt in Afghanistan, to encourage uncommitted Afghans to back the dissidents, and to stimulate foreign support for the dissidents
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XII, Afghanistan, Document 59: CIA Covert Action Activities in Afghanistan (report of 22 August 1979), U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, 2018. Primary record
Since the signing by the President on 3 July of Specific and General Findings on Afghanistan (attached), CIA has initiated action to implement this policy.

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