Press Release

The Department of State released today Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977–1980, Volume XII, Afghanistan.

This volume is part of a Foreign Relations subseries that documents the most important foreign policy issues of the Jimmy Carter administration. The focus of this volume is on the Carter administration’s approach to events in Afghanistan during the buildup of the Soviet Union’s presence in that country beginning in early 1978 and culminating in the large scale invasion of Soviet troops at the end of 1979. Officials in the Carter administration regarded Soviet actions as among the most flagrant violations of international norms during the Cold War. The volume is arranged chronologically, with the majority of documents concentrated around the crisis period during the lead-up to the invasion, and during the aftermath, when the Carter administration formulated a range of policy responses to challenge the Soviet Union’s domination of Afghanistan.

This compilation was compiled and edited by David Zierler. This PDF version of the volume and press release are available on the Office of the Historian website at https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1977-80v12. The full text and ebooks of the volume will be released on a later date. Copies of the volume will be available for purchase from the U.S. Government Printing Office online at http://bookstore.gpo.gov (GPO S/N 044-000-02697-0; ISBN 978-0-16-094970-8), or by calling toll-free 1-866-512-1800 (D.C. area 202-512-1800). For further information, contacthistory@state.gov.