Get Nebula with 50% off annual subscription with my link: https://go.nebula.tv/realtimehistory Watch Mad Kings on Nebula: https://nebula.tv/madkings?ref=realtimehistory After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, the various mujahedeen factions and Afghanistan's neighbours Pakistan, Iran and the USSR are still vying for control. With new weapons still streaming in, some factions are not willing to compromise to achieve their vision of peace and thus Afghanistan descents into civil war. » SUPPORT US https://patreon.com/realtimehistory https://nebula.tv/realtimehistory » THANK YOU TO OUR CO-PRODUCERS Mike Gloudemans, George Durrett, Luis Gonzalez, Mike Cumings, Jr., Charles Shananaquet II, Joel Sanchez, shane cawthon, Andrew Thomas Mooney, Chris Rohde, Bruce D, Jim Frame, Glenn Sugden, Lisa Anderson, George Haramundanis, G S, Kempf Mario, jhgBo8jigr hzufjkl, Gayle Elizabeth, Glenn G Webb, Stephen D Nugent PsyD, Daniel L Garza, Chris Daley, Simen Røste, Amy Williams, Jim F Barlow, Taylor Allen, Adam Smith, Josh Bruder, Konstantin Bredyuk, Richard L Benkin, Matt, Rob Carle, Murray Godfrey, Jan, Gage Manthey, Theodore Patrick Shannon, Bruce G. Hearns, Stephanie Schindhelm, Paul Wilcox, Brad Durbin, Fogeltje, » SOURCES Anas, Abdullah. “To the Mountains: My Life in Jihad, from Algeria to Afghanistan.” Hurst & Company, 2018. Braithwaite, Rodric. "Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan 1979-89" Oxford University Press, 2011. Coll, Steve. "Ghost Wars: The secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001" Penguin, 2004 Collins, Joseph J. “Understanding War in Afghanistan” National Defense University Press, 2011. Gall, Sandy. “Afghan Napoleon: The Life of Ahmad Shah Massoud” Haus Publishing, 2021. Hershberg, James G. (ed.). “CWIHP Bulletin No. 8/9 (Winter 1996): The Cold War in the Third World and the Collapse of Detente in the 1970s” Cold War International History Project, 1996. Jalali, Ali Ahmad. "A military history of Afghanistan: from the Great Game to the Global War on Terror" University Press of Kansas, 2017. Maley, William. “The Afghanistan Wars – Third Edition” Red Globe Press, 2021. Kaplan, Robert D. “Soldiers of God: With Islamic Warriors in Afghanistan and Pakistan” Vintage Books, 2001. Rashid, Ahmed. „Taliban: The Power of Militant Islam in Afghanistan and Beyond” I.B Tauris, 2010 Tomsen, Peter. “The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failures of Great Powers” PublicAffairs, 2011. »CREDITS Presented by: Jesse Alexander Written by: Jesse Alexander Director: Toni Steller Editing: Philipp Appelt Motion Design: Philipp Appelt Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com Research by: Florian Wittig Fact checking: Florian Wittig Executive Producer: Florian Wittig Channel Design: Simon Buckmaster Contains licensed material by getty images, picture alliance, and Reuters Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3 Music Library: Epidemic Sound All photos and film in our documentaries are authentic historical footage. We do not use generative AI to create new assets. However, we may use AI tools to upscale or clean up certain assets without distorting or compromising the original image. All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2026
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Why are we still "allies" with Pakistan?
13:08 if he only knew how absolutely prophetic his prediction became, 💯
Watched this on nebula but leaving a comment to help its performance
I am very fascinated by this period of Afghan history, since it tends to be glossed over in favor of the major historical events, yet it plays a huge role in bridging together the Soviet-Afghan War with the much later 2001 Invasion of Afghanistan.
You guys should listen to the Blowback podcast! They did a whole season on the Afghanistan saga all the way from the Soviet invasion and CIA’s relationship with the mujahideen up until the American invasion and withdrawal. All incredibly researched and sourced!
It is strange that now in the USA they are not called "freedom fighters" lol... The irony
On the 9th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which was held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, from September 4-7 , 1989. Former President Najibullah warning the US continue supplying to The Mujahideen : "US wanted a Vietnam for USSR in Afghanistan , but I telling you this with current aid that US is supplying , to terrorists in order to destroy Afghanistan . Afghanistan might become a Second Vietnam for the US instead!"
LET'S GO! these videos are always great! Thanks For this ❤❤❤❤❤
Turns out Abdul haq was right about everything
The fact that communist Afghanistan lasted after the Soviet Union fell and our puppet government fell even before we had finished packing our bags tells you everything you need to know about the legitimacy of these regimes. There was a genuine strain of communist sympathy at least in the cities, no such consensus existed for neoliberalism in 2021
As someone from Afghanistan, I'd like to respectfully point out a significant error , the majority ethnicity in Afghanistan is actually Tajiks (source: official demographic studies and independent historical research). Dari ( Persian ) is widely spoken even in southern provinces which are Pashtun majority.
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Thank you for making this, I made a comment about the Afghan Civil War in the Soviet Afghan war video. Maybe part 2 is in the works to the 96 Taliban takeover?
the abdul haq quote at 13:21 is probably the most prophetic stuff i've ever heard
Amazing! There is absolutely no content about this subject, with which I have been fascinated for over a decade.
Moral: Dont play in the hands of foreign powers.
Descent*
Interesting watch. Growing up in the 80s and 90s in South Africa I don't recall the situation in Afghanistan featuring much on our news TV compared to the Gulf War and Balkans Conflicts of the 90s which got enough coverage that I remember them being on TV.
Fascinating documentary! Thank you
Keep up the good work! Love these 😊😊😊