Games without Rules: The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan

by Tamim Ansary

The United States and its allies would quarantine Soviet influence by surrounding it with a chain of nations hostile to Communism and friendly to the Western European allies. To this end, US diplomats cobbled together a number of military alliances. In the west, there was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In the east, there was the (weaker) Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO). And between the two, there were the Baghdad Pact nations, soon renamed the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), which included Turkey and Iraq as members. The brand-new nation of Pakistan joined both CENTO and SEATO, which made it a crucial link in the chain. With Pakistan closing the gap, SEATO, CENTO, NATO, and east Asian allies of the United States such as Japan formed an almost continuous fence around the Communist bloc.