ABSTRACT
Both before and after the communist coup d’etat of April 1978 in Afghanistan the military formed a microcosm of Afghan society. It mirrored the faults and virtues of that society, whose study may provide us with valuable insights into the initial success of the communists in seizing power in Kabul, as well as their subsequent inability to consolidate that power nationwide. The disintegration of the Afghan military forces was so extensive that in less than two years communist political power could be sustained only by the massive intervention of the Soviet Union. Subsequently, despite Soviet and Afghan communist efforts, the lack of substantial progress in rebuilding the Afghan armed forces along communist lines as a basis of local political power remains perhaps the Achilles Heel vitiating military, political, and diplomatic efforts to sustain a communist regime without massive direct Soviet military support.
