I know they were funding them. But USSR leadership’s decision to depose Amin was not in any direct way connected to this.

Zbigniew Brzezinski

Way to hurt your argument, the guy has said all kinds of things.

Not that he’s wrong, just what these all people said post factum is not so valuable. Of course they were trying to stir up shit in Afghanistan, it’s in a strategic location and a traditional point of contention since Russian Empire and British Empire.

But their attempts could have continued for another 10 or 20 years with limited success.

Instead the Politburo decided to shoot up the gas station just for the fun of it. Apparently they were feeling pressure from all sides. Apparently they felt it was a good idea to show how Soviet military is still a superpower’s military.

So they relieved that pressure by USSR imploding and have shown that Soviet military is indeed a superpower’s military - well-conserved since end of WWII though.

At least many in a generation went there and learned how to actually fight wars, and Afghanistan veterans are the reason Armenians won the first NK war, for example. (When people in Armenia say it was all in vain because of the relatively recent wars - I wonder what they are comparing it with, considering that Soviet and Azeri soldiers were “cleaning out” Armenian villages on Armenian SSR’s territory, killing and abusing civilians, in the beginning of that war. The world today is better for Armenians because they fought back then, not worse.)