DATE=12/26/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=SOVIET INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN REMEMBERED
NUMBER=5-45122
BYLINE=ED WARNER
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: On December 27th, 20 years ago, Soviet troops
crossed the border into Afghanistan, triggering a
chain of events that shook the world. Alarmed
nations, the United States above all, increased their
defense spending and took stronger action against
Soviet expansionism. Heroic Afghan resistance drew
the invaders into a quagmire that contributed to the
Soviet Union's eventual collapse. Moscow's
miscalculation changed the globe in a way it had not
expected. V-O-A's Ed Warner looks back on that
pivotal decision to invade.
TEXT: The Soviets were on a roll, recalls Thomas
Guttierre, director of the Center for Afghanistan
Studies at the University of Nebraska. History seemed
to be going their way, and they wanted to extend their
reach toward the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.
Control of Afghanistan would help them get there.
They had an excuse to intervene because the pro-Soviet
government in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, seemed on
the verge of collapse. So the fateful decision was
made, says Mr. Guttierre, without any qualms:
/// 1ST GUTTIERRE ACT ///
I think they had no anticipation, really, that
the war in Afghanistan would be as difficult as
it was, because they felt that Afghans, who did
not enjoy a very high standard of living, would
be appreciative of the fact that they would be
getting more resources through the Soviet
system.
/// END ACT ///
But the Afghans elected to fight, and the rest is
history. Thomas Greene, a former U-S diplomat who
served in Afghanistan, says a hardy mountain people
who loved their country were not about to give it up:
/// 1ST GREENE ACT ///
They [had] repeatedly repelled invaders over the
years. They threw the British out twice -- in
the 1840's and the late 1870's -- and were not
going to let anybody take over their country.
There were also religious reasons. The
resistance was very closely allied with
preserving Islam, their faith, and the Soviet
regime was seen as a godless regime.
/// END ACT ///
The Afghan resistance received aid from many
countries, but U-S help was crucial. This took the
Soviets by surprise, says Mr. Green, since they had
noted the weak U-S response to the seizing of American
hostages in Iran (a short time earlier, in November of
1979). In the Kremlin's opinion, the United States
remained a post-Vietnam paper tiger.
In fact, the invasion galvanized opinion in the United
States, leading to an arms build-up and all-out aid to
the Afghan resistance. That tipped the scales, says
Mr. Guttierre:
/// 2ND GUTTIERRE ACT ///
The Soviets began to understand that when the
United States made commitments with humanitarian
assistance as well as military assistance, the
United States -unlike so many chapters in its
history -- was really committed to this over the
long term, and was not going to pull out. I
think they also became convinced that the
Afghans were going to fight to the last Afghan,
if need be, and it just became too much for them
to be able to deal with.
/// END ACT ///
Empire also became too difficult to deal with, says
Mr. Guttierre. The humiliating retreat from
Afghanistan in 1989 was soon followed by the smashing
of the Berlin Wall, and the collapse of the Soviet
Union. The Afghans can take their share of credit for
these events.
Yet they remain tragically at war. Mr. Greene says
this is the result of the way they received aid in
their struggle against the Soviets:
/// 2ND GREENE ACT ///
By the time the Soviets invaded Afghanistan,
Iran had already become hostile to the United
States. So the only channel we could get
supplies to the resistance was through Pakistan,
and Pakistan had a very clear vision of a
planned Islamic regime in Kabul -- one that
would be friendly and not intermittently
hostile, the way the Afghans had been in the
1950's, 60's and 70's.
/// END ACT // /
Backed by Pakistan, the Taleban have now gained
control of most of Afghanistan, though their harsh
rule is still contested. Mr. Guttierre says
Afghanistan remains a country ruled by intimidation,
not by choice. The war started by the Soviet Union
will not really be over until Afghans are free to
choose their own future. (signed)
NEB/EW/WTW
26-Dec-1999 17:46 PM EDT (26-Dec-1999 2246 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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