Compare and contrast the reasons for the superpower

withdrawal in two Cold War proxy wars.

Thesis: When the last of Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan on
February 15, 1989, the war had a clear resemblance to that in Vietnam
some 20 years ago. In comparing the reasons for the withdrawal of
both superpowers, the USSR and the US, from their respective
conflicts, there exist some similarities such as the significance of
guerrilla warfare and the ineffectiveness of counter-insurgency
methods. However, differences also exist such as the role of media in
negatively portraying warfare, which was a large contributor to the US
withdrawal from Vietnam while not being very significant for the
Soviet-Afghan War.
Argument 1: The use of guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan and Vietnam
were effective in prolonging the conflicts until the withdrawal of the
superpowers.
Evidence: It became clear to the Soviets that the Mujahideen were not going to be
easily crushed. Robert Kaplan, American journalist. General Giap saw a protracted
warfare as a gradual altering of the balance of power by a long series of small tactical
victories. In addition to the 12,000 to 50,000 dead Soviet soldiers, "The war was an
economic and military burden on the Soviet Union. Sir Robert Braithwaite, served as
UK ambassador to Moscow from 1988 onwards. $110 billion cost to America, 58,000
lives.
CC: There were slight differences in the specific tactics used in guerrilla warfare
between the Mujahideen and the Viet Cong. The Mujahideen lacked structure and
cohesion, essentially warlordism with a unified goal as regions of the country were held
by different commanders. Only Ahmad Shah Massoud fought by the book, drawing
inspiration from Mao and followed a concrete 4-stage plan. More importantly, the
Mujahideen had access to Stinger missiles provided by the CIA through Pakistan. Its
potency sowed fear among thousands of Russian pilots and troops. Steve Coll,
Ghost Wars. Meanwhile, the VC had little technological boost like the Stinger missile,
and relied on a key feature of guerrilla warfare, mobility, to prolong the war, as seen with
the Ho Chi Ming trail.
CCC: Declassified Soviet Politburo documents show that Stinger missiles had a minimal
effect on the decision to withdraw, as the decision was initially made before the mass
introduction of Stinger missiles to Afghanistan.

Argument 2: Neither the USSR nor the US were very successful in

their counter-insurgency methods and failed to break the guerrilla
movement.

Evidence: According to Lester Grau in The Bear Went over the Mountain, the Russians
used large scale offensives against Mujahideen strongholds, which temporarily cleared
those sectors and killed many civilians in addition to enemy combatants. The killing of
civilians further alienated the population from the Soviets, and in turn fused more
support for the Mujahideen. Americans used napalm bombs and defoliants like Agent
Orange, to clear forests and lessen impact of VC. Also large-scale carpet-bombing
through Operation Rolling Thunder and Christmas Bombings of 1972. Such methods
were extremely destructive, which similarly also alienated the population, increasing
support for the guerrilla fighters.
CC: The US were different than the USSR in that they also used soft methods to win
over Vietnam with the Hearts and Minds Program.
CCC: However, the program was ineffective as well as McNamara wrote: We failed, as
well, to adapt our military tactics to the task of winning the hearts and minds of people
from a totally different culture.

Argument 3: The Soviet Union suffered little from public opinions on

the ongoing war while the US was greatly affected by public opinions
against the war.
Evidence: Soviet Union was a one-party state that controlled the media, so public knew
little of the conflict, thus media played a minimal role. There was a suppression by the
Soviet media for several years of the truth how bad the war was going. Lester Grau.
Meanwhile, Vietnam was the first televised war. The Tet Offensive in 1968 exposed lies
of LBJs administration that the US was winning and the brutality of war. Release of
Pentagon Papers in 1971 created a paranoid Nixon administration and further angered
American public. Loss of American public support made it difficult to justify continued
use of resources in Vietnam War.
CC: Gorbachevs Glasnost and Perestroika allowed the public to see more of the truth
of the Soviet Afghan War, which could have contributed to the decision to withdraw.
CCC: However, Glasnost and Perestroika were in effect from 1985 and onwards, and
the decision to withdraw was already forming in 1985, before such policies would have
had a significant impact.