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The failure of the Soviet Union to conquer Afghanistan is largely wrapped up in the tenacity and diversity of the Afghanistan people, who have a history of resisting occupying forces going back to Alexander the Great. The Soviet's, who invaded in 1979 officially, failed, like so many modern forces, to read their history books and relied too heavily on their superior numbers and weaponry to do the job.

According to the website www.state.gov, Afghanistan was weakened in a 1978 coup by former Prime Minister Daoud, who seized control of the country and abolished the ruling monarchy. This weakened the country and created significant political instability, allowing the Soviets to negotiate with the ruling faction - who in turn had removed Daoud's rule - providing military support as the Afghan army disintegrated. However, the greater influence of the Soviet's in Afghan affairs was not appreciated and faced with issues of security, they were forced to invade to maintain their political and strategic interests in the country. It led to ten years of entrenched warfare with Afghan mujihidin who fought an embittered campaign against the Soviets and their puppeteer Afghan officials before a retreat in 1989.

Like the British in the previous century, the Soviet Army was unable to effectively control the country outside of major centers, due to the geography and the different tribes and warlords who makeup the country. This is similar to Iraq in a way, where the American military machine has been hampered by the complicated nuances of tribal strongholds within the broader picture of three factions, all within the single state of Iraq. Thus, the Soviets were drawn into a game of fighting not one single conspicuous army, which is what most modern armies are still set up to do, but a calculating highly mobile and inconspicuous enemy who engaged the power of the Soviet army on its own terms. Even if you have 120,000 troops on the ground, you can not engage that force all at once, since the political and geographical nature of the country does not allow you to do so, blunting the critical mass you can gain in overwhelming the enemy. The principal has been around for thousands of years going back to David and Goliath.

The British learned this bitter lesson in the 19th century and it cost them dearly, but part of the Soviet's problem remained the sheer tenacity of the Afghanistan people in resisting foreign influence. I recall reading an article by a former British Special Air Services officer, who recounted his experiences with some of the people he helped train to fight the Soviets. He arrived in a village where children were playing soccer (or football depending on your locale) with what appeared to be a very rudimentary ball. On closer inspection it turned out to be the head of a Russian pilot from a helicopter gunship shot down earlier by mujihidin from the village. This kind of disdain gives you some idea of the level of dislike for the Soviets.

Ironically the most successful invader were the foreign based Taliban, who forced change ideologically. Soviet Communism was not so ideologically acceptable to the Afghanistan people, and with foreign support, a deep rooted desire not to be occupied, and their factionalized existence, they managed to resist the might of the Soviet armed forces.

Learn more about this author, Nathan Hook.
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