Pakistan under Zia was actively working with CIA to destabilize Afghanistan to provoke the Soviet invasion. In fact, all the mujahideen groups that took part in the anti-Soviet jihad were already working with CIA and ISI before the invasion. The ‘Bear Trap’ worked out well for the West, but not so well for Afghanistan or Pakistan.
ChatGPT: CIA involvement in Afghanistan prior to Soviet invasion.
The CIA, or Central Intelligence Agency, had a significant involvement in Afghanistan prior to the Soviet invasion in 1979. In the late 1970s, the United States, along with several other countries, including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, started providing covert support to Afghan resistance groups, collectively known as the mujahideen. The CIA played a central role in coordinating this assistance, which included training, funding, and arming the mujahideen.
The CIA's objectives were to counter the Soviet Union's expanding influence in the region and to support the Afghan resistance against the Soviet-backed government. The CIA facilitated the flow of weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles, to the mujahideen, and also provided intelligence and logistical support.
This covert involvement by the CIA, along with assistance from other countries, contributed to strengthening the Afghan resistance and significantly impacted the course of the conflict that followed the Soviet invasion in 1979.