This Day in History: 1980-01-03

In 1980 Afghanistan’s new President Babrak Karmal made his first public speech, defending the soviet troops in his country and accusing the US of ‘lies and provocation’. This comes a week after the USSR led a coup in Afghanistan that led to a new front for the Cold War. Both superpowers secretly provided arms to their associates in the country. Afghanistan was at war for nine years with one million dead.