Weapons for rebels and propaganda against governments. During the Cold War, the USA caused conflicts worldwide. Afghanistan, Iran, and Angola show what this policy left behind. From fueled wars to unstable states and hundreds of thousands of deaths. In Indonesia alone, massacres caused the deaths of 2-3 million people, and in Angola, about 800,000. What was then sold as a fight against communism ended in war and dictatorship for millions of people.
Afghanistan 1979: CIA Weapons for Islamists
In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support the communist regime. Following the invasion, President Hafizullah Amin killed and by the Moscow-friendlyBabrak Karmalreplaced It came to War between the Soviet Union and rebels in Afghanistan, primarily the Islamist ones Mujahideen.
The Mujahideen were a loose coalition of religious groups who rebelled against communist rule. With the help of the CIA supported the US provided the Mujahideen with rifles, anti-aircraft, and anti-tank weapons. After the Soviets 1989 Afghanistan, the Mujahideen split. Some of the fighters joined the currently ruling Taliban and others formed networks such as Al-Qaeda.
Years of civil war followed. 1996 took over the Taliban The power. 2001 The USA, under George W. Bush Jr., invaded Afghanistan. International troops under US leadership were stationed in Afghanistan until 2021, but could not stabilize. During the Detachment the last Western troops in August 2021, the Taliban once again took power in the country.
Infobox: Mujahideen and their heirs
In 1990, the Taliban (meaning „the students“ or „those seeking knowledge“ in German) emerged from Mujahideen fighters and religious Quranic students. After 1992, instability arose within the new Afghan government apparatus. The Taliban succeeded in defeating the remaining Mujahideen warlords. In September 1996, they captured the capital, Kabul, and proclaimed the „Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan“ there. This was partly made possible by American weapons that remained in Afghanistan from the previous war.
Iran 1953: CIA and Britain Overthrow Mossadegh
In the early 1950s, the government of Iran under Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh die Oil fields nationalize the country and thus wrest control of the natural resources from British corporations. However, the USA and Great Britain disliked this. The CIA became active in the country, uprisings were supported and 1953 The Shah, the King of Iran, appointed ruler. The CIA also relied on propaganda: Mossadegh was portrayed as a power-hungry politician close to the communists to turn public opinion against him and prepare the public for the coup.
Previously, the Shah had already been 1941 on the throne, through the 1953 coup but rose from ceremonial to de facto head. Until the 1970s For years, he ruled the country as an ally of the West. 1979 Protests broke out in the country. Despite US support for the Shah, the dynasty was overthrown.
* anstelle des Königs * instead of the king * instead of the king * the king was replaced by * the king was replaced by Islamic Republic of Iran under the Ayatollah, the religious leader, proclaimed. This regime remains in power to this day. The state repeatedly uses force against protests and opposition figures. In January 2026, human rights organizations documented particularly severe repression against demonstrators. Estimates range from 2000 up to 18,000 deaths occurred. Meanwhile, a new phase of the conflict has begun. In February 2026, Israel and the United States attacked Iran – Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed.
Infobox: The Ayatollah Regime
In the 1970s, there was great dissatisfaction with the Shah's government. It had become increasingly authoritarian, and the economic situation worsened. Amidst mass protests, he fled the country in 1979. Ruhollah Khomeini returned to the country and declared the „Islamic Republic of Iran“ – the country transformed from an authoritarian monarchy into a theocratic republic with religious leadership. The country went from being a key US ally to one of its bitterest enemies.
Egypt 1956: US Vetoes Own Allies
In July 1956 nationalized Egypt the Suez Canal Company. The most important Trade Route of the World was until then mostly owned by the former colonial powers of Egypt, the United Kingdom, and France. The UK was on the Suez Canal directed, to secure their oil supply and to enable access to their colonies in Africa.
Also France had an interest in an attack on the land on the Nile. The Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser supported the independence movements Algerians, then still a French colony. In response marched End October 1956 Israel, France, and the United Kingdom entered Egypt. Paratroopers occupied key points along the canal, while Israeli troops took the peninsula Sinai income. However, the former world powers and their allies in the Middle East did not take into account the new world order, which Cold War had created.
The USA positioned themselves politically against their own allies, Great Britain and France, and introduced a resolution in the UN for an immediate ceasefire. The Soviet Union, in parallel, increased with military threats pressure. Under this double pressure, Great Britain, France, and Israel had to break off their offensive and withdraw from Egypt. retreat.
Infobox: Abdel Nasser and Pan-Arab Nationalism
After the end of World War II, a wave of nationalism swept through the Arab world. Many former colonies strove for self-determination. In 1952, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser came to power through a military coup. He wanted more independence from the West, Arab unity, and far-reaching social reforms.
After the Suez Crisis, Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic from 1958 to 1961. However, it failed and was dissolved again. The Six-Day War against Israel weakened Nasser's position and the „Pan-Arab nationalism“ movement. Abdel Nasser died in 1970 - Pan-Arab nationalism lost importance.
Angola 1975: 800,000 dead, 4 million displaced
1975 was Angola one of the last countries in Africa to be freed from its colonial power Portugal independent. In the southwestern African country, a bloody civil war broke out after independence. Civil war out. On the one hand, the movements fought UNITA and National Front of Liberation of Angola against the Marxist-oriented MPLA. While the Soviet Union, together with Cuba, the MPLA supported, the USA supplied weapons to the UNITA and the FNLA. The Cold War in Angola therefore did not just mean ideology, but concrete arms deliveries, foreign interference and a decades-long civil war.
Also Apartheid South Africa mixed join the fighting on the side of UNITA and FNLA. 1976 banned the US Congress with the Clark Amendment While the United States' official intervention ceased, support continued covertly. 1986 US President Ronald Reagan lifted the ban. From 1986 onward, the funds from that time sometimes flowed most modern weapons at the market to UNITA and FNLA.
The fighting in Angola lasted for decades until 2002 the leader of UNITA, Jonas Savimbi, who was killed in combat. The civil war had lasted for decades between 500,000 and 800,000 fatalities demanded and over 4 million Angolans distributed.
