S33E450 - Soviet Invasion, Mujahideen Resistance: The Fight for Zhawar

In this episode, historian and writer Michael G. Stroud explores how decades of political instability drew the Soviet Union into Afghanistan in 1979—and why the intervention quickly spiralled into a protracted and unwinnable war.

From the struggle to control vast, rugged terrain to the challenge of winning support from a fiercely independent population, we examine the realities faced by Soviet and Afghan government forces.

At the centre of the discussion are the battles for Zhawar, a vast cave complex on the Afghan-Pakistan border that served as a critical Mujahideen st...