ABSTRACT
This chapter briefly reviews how the United States and Soviet Union competed to install a client regime in Kabul and, in so doing, destabilized Afghanistan and Pakistan before, during, and after the Soviet invasion in 1979. The chapter also details how the United States tried to balance the political forces within Afghanistan by instrumentalizing its regional allies, especially Pakistan, which was turned into a recruiting and training ground for Wahhabi militants—the so-called Mujahedin. By aiding the Mujahedin, the United States fueled an internationalized civil war, the consequences of which continue to shape the security governance of the region.
