War in Afghanistan (The Era of Relative Peace)

The War in Afghanistan is one of the longest conflicts in the world. It started in 1979 with a pro-Soviet coup on the Afghan monarchy and then the subsequent Soviet invasion. After the war, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and the coalition government fought for control over the region. War would drag on until 2004 when the United States intervened on the side of the coalition government.

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (1980-1991)
From 1980 to 1989, various mujahideen forces fought against the Soviet Union, in what was dubbed as the Soviet Union's "Vietnam War." The mujahideen was covertly supported by the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Saudi Arabia, West Germany, and Iran; by way of Pakistan's ISI. Soviet troops were in the process of withdrawing from Afghanistan when Mikhail Gorbachev was arrested in a coup detat by hardline communist officials. Therefore, the Soviet War in Afghanistan became part of World War III.