Even though we have not had a socratic seminar or any other formal discussion about A Thousand Splendid Suns in class yet, the little discussion we have had did not include one very important subplot of the novel. The subplot in question, the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, is very important to the novel as a whole, by aiding in the development of several of the conflicts that occur in the novel.
In World History class with Mr. Farmer, as many of you will probably remember, we learned about the Middle East for half of the year, and we learned about Russia for about a quarter of the year. So, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan should be nothing new to most of us. For anyone who forgets, during the cold war, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to spread communism to the Middle East. In response, the United States supplied the Mujahideen with weapons to fight off the Soviet. The Mujahideen eventually overpowered the Soviets, and took control of Afghanistan.
Until I began to read A Thousand Splendid Suns, I felt that the Soviet Union was justified in invading a country based on “survival of the fittest,” and that the United States was justified in providing the Mujahideen with weapons. Now, I feel that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was not just, but as a result, the United States were pushed to supply weapons to the Mujahideen.
My change of heart is majorly due to the commentary that both the novel and the characters in the novel give about the wars in Afghanistan. For example, Babi says that the only thing that the Soviets did right is the education of women. This commentary reveals his discontent with the Soviet invasion. Mammy also expresses her distaste for the Soviets when she declares that she will not be happy until the last Soviet troop leaves Afghanistan.
The Soviets were not the only group that invaded Afghanistan in the novel. In fact, the invasion of the Taliban seems to create more discontent for Mariam, Laila, and Rasheed than the Soviets did. Once they have control of Afghanistan, the Taliban leaders decimate it with civil war and destruction even worse than the Soviets.
Reading this book, as well as others like The Power of One, has really opened my eyes to the reality of invasion. It happens today! Operation Iraqi Freedom, for example, was an attempt by the United States government to invade Iraq and topple the totalitarian government that existed there. I was always told that that countries that the United States invaded were happy to have us spread our form of freedom. However, it could be possible, as in this novel, that there are some individuals that think of US outreach equivalent to that of the Soviet Union. Are we just as bad as the Soviet Union was?
In my opinion, an invasion of one country by another is only justified if it is of importance for national security. However, a country that invades another should realize that there could be consequences for their actions. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the invaded country to defend themselves from invasions.
