The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and the U.S. Response, 1978–1980

The Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan in December 1979, marking the only time the Soviet Union invaded a country outside the Eastern Bloc. The United States and its European allies strongly criticized the Soviet move into Afghanistan and devised measures to compel Moscow to withdraw. The conflict lasted a decade and ended with the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989, but left Afghanistan shattered and vulnerable to Islamic fundamentalist groups such as the Taliban, who later provided a training base for Osama bin Laden.