Changes

The last Soviet troops left in February 1989, but Soviet military aid continued until the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union in 1991. The Najibullah regime lasted another three years, until a military offensive by the mujahideen  captured Kabul with little fighting in April 1992.  In the end, Afghanistan contributed significantly, perhaps decisively, to the collective loss of confidence that brought the Soviet Union to self-destruction.  The lost war discredited the Soviet army, which had been the single most important institution holding the union together, eroded the legitimacy of the Soviet system in the eyes of non-Russian nationalities, and accelerated glasnost.<ref> Rafael Reuveny and Aseem Prakash, "The Afghanistan War and the Breakdown of the Soviet Union." ''Review of International Studies'' 1999 25(4): 693-708. Issn: 0260-2105 Fulltext: [[Cambridge UP]] </ref>

The last Soviet troops left in February 1989, but Soviet military aid continued until the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union in 1991. The Najibullah regime lasted another three years, until a military offensive by the mujahideen  captured Kabul with little fighting in April 1992.  In the end, Afghanistan contributed significantly, perhaps decisively, to the collective loss of confidence that brought the Soviet Union to self-destruction.  The lost war discredited the Soviet army, which had been the single most important institution holding the union together, eroded the legitimacy of the Soviet system in the eyes of non-Russian nationalities, and accelerated glasnost.<ref> Rafael Reuveny and Aseem Prakash, "The Afghanistan War and the Breakdown of the Soviet Union." ''Review of International Studies'' 1999 25(4): 693-708. Issn: 0260-2105 Fulltext: [[Cambridge UP]] </ref>

After 1989 the United States provided relief and economic aid aid but stayed neutral in the ongoing tribal conflicts.  After 1990 a new organization arose, the [[Taliban]], a militantly anti-modern group that was strongly opposed to the mujahideen, and both anti-American and anti-Soviet. Primarily a youth group, the Taliban never received any aide from the US.<ref>US State Department, "Did the U.S. 'Create' Osama bin Laden? Allegations that the U.S. provided funding for bin Laden proved inaccurate," (2005) [http://usinfo.state.gov/media/Archive/2005/Jan/24-318760.html online] notes the US did not recruit any Arabs like Osama bin Laden. </ref> The Taliban militia took control of the Kabul in 1996, and installed a very harsh Islamist regime. Later it invited in [[Osama bin Laden]] and his Al Qaeda group, which established its base in Afghanistan.

After 1989 the United States provided relief and economic aid aid but stayed neutral in the ongoing tribal conflicts.  After 1990 a new organization arose, the [[Taliban]], a militantly anti-modern group that was strongly opposed to the mujahideen, and both anti-American and anti-Soviet. Primarily a youth group, the Taliban never received any aid from the US.<ref>US State Department, "Did the U.S. 'Create' Osama bin Laden? Allegations that the U.S. provided funding for bin Laden proved inaccurate," (2005) [http://usinfo.state.gov/media/Archive/2005/Jan/24-318760.html online] notes the US did not recruit any Arabs like Osama bin Laden. </ref> The Taliban militia took control of the Kabul in 1996, and installed a very harsh Islamist regime. Later it invited in [[Osama bin Laden]] and his Al Qaeda group, which established its base in Afghanistan.

==Bibliography==

==Bibliography==