I don't think it was all that complicated.

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Post #395,077

9/26/14 3:45:07 PM

I don't think it was all that complicated.

First, we have, (Emphasis Mine), "Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage for 444 days (November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981), after a group of Iranian students, belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who were supporting the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis

Next we have (from your link), "The initial Soviet deployment of the 40th Army in Afghanistan began on December 24, 1979, under Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev."

So, 50 days after our embassy falls in Tehran, the Soviets invade Afghanistan. You think that was just a coincidence?

Post #395,081

by Another Scott

9/26/14 5:03:29 PM

Lots of things happened in November-December, 1979.

Wikipedia.

Vietnam invaded Cambodia the same day. Coincidence??

The folklore I heard was that the invasion had something to do with the things you cite (Iran, friendly client on the border), but it had more to do with the Brezhnev Doctrine:

As a direct result of the so-called ‘Brezhnev doctrine’, the USSR asserted its “right and duty” to go to war in foreign countries “if and when an existing socialist regime was threatened.”[5] This accounts for the increased overseas military, political, and economic support being given at this time to pro-Marxist régimes in Nicaragua, Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Yemen, etc. Such expeditions were in line with the twin geopolitical objectives of the Soviet Union. The first Soviet policy consisted of preparing the Red Army for a potential conventional and, probably, nuclear confrontation with the US. Secondly, Moscow pledged to continue supporting “wars of national liberation” abroad.[6] The latter resulted in what some analysts cleverly called the Third World War.[7] It would be decisively challenged in the deserts and mountains of Afghanistan.

IOW, it's complicated. ;-)

That's my story, YMMV.

Cheers,
Scott.
(Who thinks coincidences are quite common, actually.)

In other news, over 3,500 dead in Ukraine. - (mmoffitt) - (15) - Sept. 24, 2014, 01:28:12 PM EDT

Face it, Putin is responsible for the carnage! - (a6l6e6x) - (14) - Sept. 24, 2014, 05:24:44 PM EDT

Does Putin bear some responsibility? Of course. - (mmoffitt) - (13) - Sept. 25, 2014, 09:30:58 AM EDT

Here's what it's like in Putin's Ukraine: - (a6l6e6x) - (12) - Sept. 26, 2014, 12:22:22 AM EDT

Why bother? - (crazy) - Sept. 26, 2014, 10:22:41 AM EDT

And here's what Kiev's governance in Odessa looks like. - (mmoffitt) - (10) - Sept. 26, 2014, 11:45:13 AM EDT

Should we trust the original source? - (Another Scott) - (9) - Sept. 26, 2014, 12:07:40 PM EDT

Don't like the source? How about the late Alex Cockburn's former haunt? - (mmoffitt) - (8) - Sept. 26, 2014, 01:04:32 PM EDT

Heh. It takes two to tango. - (Another Scott) - (7) - Sept. 26, 2014, 01:31:03 PM EDT

Heh. Afghanistan. - (mmoffitt) - (6) - Sept. 26, 2014, 02:31:07 PM EDT

Interesting. - (Another Scott) - (5) - Sept. 26, 2014, 03:35:48 PM EDT

I don't think it was all that complicated. - (mmoffitt) - (1) - Sept. 26, 2014, 03:45:07 PM EDT

Lots of things happened in November-December, 1979. - (Another Scott) - Sept. 26, 2014, 05:03:29 PM EDT

"Complicated" ??? Try.. invented, spun, macerated and contrived (?) - (Ashton) - Sept. 26, 2014, 06:43:11 PM EDT

What Russia could have learned from Afghanistan. - (mmoffitt) - (1) - Sept. 29, 2014, 08:22:09 AM EDT

Well.. the 'by God' kinda blows the comparo, eh? :-0 - (Ashton) - Sept. 29, 2014, 05:21:40 PM EDT

EGM: Who's that chick Mario is rescuing up there?
Brian: It's Princess Peach.
Kirk: It's a hooker.
Niko: She looks cut in half.
Tim: Oh wow... she's one of those pole dancers.
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