Editing Afghan Students Association (section)

==Activities and Political Impact==
===Activism and Protests===
Student associations organized rallies, debates, and publications at Kabul University, advocating for social reforms (e.g., women’s education, land reform) or religious conservatism. In 1972–1973, protests against Daoud’s administration. Soon, Muslim Youth’s anti-communist demonstrations gained traction in rural areas, foreshadowing the Mujahideen uprising.

===Saur Revolution 1978=== 
Bolstered by student activist support, overthrew Daoud in the Saur Revolution on April 27, 1978, establishing the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan under Taraki, with Amin as a key figure. Student activists, particularly Khalq supporters, played a role in mobilizing urban support.

===Soviet Invasion 1979=== 
The details of what prompted the invasion will be covered in "Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan]] but it should be noted that it involved actions taken by the CIA and was orchestrated to stave off land reform which is a common pattern of [[Operation Gladio]]/[[ Operation Condor]] operations in regime change operations. In the immediate aftermath of the invasion Amin was assassinated. This escalation the destabilization and strengthened the Mujahideen which already had connections to the CIA. 

===Operation Cyclone===
The CIA’s Operation Cyclone (1979–1992) funded Mujahideen groups. CIA activities in Afghanistan pre Saur Revolution included intelligence gathering and covert support for anti-communist activities per The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk.

===Hafizullah Admin===
Hafizullah Amin, a key Khalq leader and Kabul University figure, led the Afghan students’ association at Columbia University (1957–1963), funded by the Asia Foundation, a known CIA front. The Asia Foundation, established in 1954, supported student groups, channeling funds through educational programs, per The Cultural Cold War by Frances Stonor Saunders. While this funding targeted Afghan students in the U.S. Amin's support of the land reforms and other aspects of the government of Daoud was counter to CIA objectives and may have led to his assassination.

===Pre-1979 CIA Activities=== 
A 1979 CIA National Foreign Assessment Center report, Afghanistan: Ethnic Divergence and Dissidence (published March 1980), indicates the agency monitored Afghanistan’s political landscape, including student activism per CIA FOIA. The CIA’s focus was on tribal and religious leaders, not urban students, until Operation Cyclone targeted Islamist Mujahideen like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former Muslim Youth student leader, per Ghost Wars by Steve Coll.

===USAID===
USAID a known CIA front, established in 1961, focused on development aid in Afghanistan during the 1970s, supporting agriculture, education, and infrastructure.  Its education programs, including teacher training and school construction, engaged universities.  USAID supported Kabul University through faculty exchanges and curriculum development in the 1960s–1970s, particularly in agriculture and engineering, per Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response by M. Hassan Kakar. For example, USAID funded the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s partnership with Kabul University to train teachers, per The History of USAID in Afghanistan (archived). 

===Asia Foundation===
(ties to the CIA): The Asia Foundation’s funding of the Afghan students’ association at Columbia University (1957–1963), led by Hafizullah Amin, is well-documented, per Wikipedia on Hafizullah Amin. In Afghanistan, the foundation supported educational initiatives at Kabul University in the 1960s–1970s, including scholarships and library development, per The Asia Foundation: A History (asiafoundation.org, archived). 

===Ford Foundation===
The Ford Foundation (ties to the CIA) funded agricultural research at Kabul University in the 1970s, per Ford Foundation Annual Report (1970s, archived). The Rockefeller Foundation focused on health programs, per Rockefeller Foundation Archives.