Editing Operation Cyclone (section)

==Overview==
Operation Cyclone was a covert CIA program that ran from 1979 to 1989, and in some accounts until 1992, aimed at arming, funding, and training Afghan mujahideen fighters to resist the Soviet Union’s invasion and occupation of Afghanistan (1979–1989). It was one of the largest and most significant covert operations in CIA history, driven by Cold War objectives to counter Soviet influence in Central Asia. The program channeled billions of dollars in aid, primarily through Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to various Afghan resistance groups, with notable implications for global geopolitics, including the rise of militant groups like al-Qaeda.