What was the name of the US program to arm Afghan mujahideen?

The US program to arm Afghan mujahideen was called Operation Cyclone. Run by the CIA, it funded and supplied Afghan resistance groups fighting the Soviet-backed government and, after December 1979, the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.

The program began in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter and expanded dramatically during Ronald Reagan's presidency. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency distributed much of the money and weaponry, meaning US support often favored Islamist factions approved by Pakistani leader Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq rather than every Afghan resistance group equally.

Early deliveries included Soviet-designed weapons obtained through third countries, helping conceal direct US involvement. From 1986, American-made FIM-92 Stinger missiles gave the mujahideen a powerful defense against Soviet helicopters and aircraft. Operation Cyclone continued after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989 and formally wound down as US aid ended in 1992.

The program is often confused with Operation Enduring Freedom, the US-led military campaign launched in Afghanistan in 2001. Operation Desert Storm was the 1991 Gulf War campaign, while Operation Red Dawn was the 2003 mission that captured Saddam Hussein.