War in Afghanistan the Foundational

War in Afghanistan

The foundational modern conflict associated with Afghanistan is a fascinating culmination of failed international relations, international out-fighting and national infighting. Within the nation of Afghanistan there are countless examples of outside forces challenging the internal workings of a nation and in a sense playing out their own national agendas, while the already challenged and poor nation of Afghanistan paid the ultimate price for the conflicts. This is not to say that Afghanistan did not already have the seeds for conflict, this can be attested to repeatedly in it divisive history, but the external influence. One of the most fascinating aspects of this modern conflict is that first hand and very detailed information is available, as the majority of the events, occurred within the watchful eye of the international media, and many of those who were most intimately involved are still alive.

The modern War in Afghanistan began first with the Soviets, who in conflict with the U.S. And other countries over ideology occupied the nation in 1979, fought a bitter war with Afghani rebels (aided by the U.S. And Pakistan) and eventually withdrew its forces, fighting its way in, in 1979 and out in 1989. Second the rebels (of which there were many competing factions) many backed by the U.S. deposed the Soviet leadership still officially in place (Najibullah) and sadly allowed for the takeover of the nation by a very extremist conservative Taliban, (between 1992-1996 when they took over Kabul the capital city). The period of Taliban control marked a period of extreme social and political order that only loosely represented order and was marked with extreme depravity and social control. The Taliban were then defeated by the Northern Alliance, a loose knit organization of rebels (again backed by the U.S.) in 2001 at the start of the U.S. War on Terror. It is safe to say that this convoluted and complicated turn of events forever changed Afghanistan and educated many on the meddling of men in the affairs of others, even though such lessons do not seem to be remembered.

The very long, expensive and bloody war conducted by the Soviet Union in Afghanistan was at an end, and withdrawal had been announced, as the Soviets regrouped to return to its own soil from many locations, to deal with internal problems. Some have compared the withdrawal to that of the U.S. from Vietnam in the way it sealed the fate of continued strife and conflict and effected the global balances of power in turn.

The Soviet experience in Afghanistan reaffirmed the modern proposition that military strength does not necessarily yield political results. Ironically, the nuclear age prevented Moscow from exercising all its technical capability. Even with its great military arsenal, boasting the most vast nuclear potential and one of the most sophisticated scientific sectors in the world, the Soviets were unable to dominate a determined peasant society and its overmatched guerrilla militia. However, the dynamic at work in Afghanistan was more than a determined rebel movement, it was also the force of global events which Moscow helped create but over which it had little control.

There is a consistent and valuable set of resources for researching the withdrawal of the Soviets from Afghanistan that details the internal and international press play by play of events, beginning with the signing of the Geneva accords that cemented the withdrawal and the proposed dates and actions that were expected of the Soviets as they retreated. The consensus being that the withdrawal was difficult and plagued with actions by rebels against the Soviets, and the Najibullah government they were attempting to leave in place, with the aide of Soviet armament and civil aide.

In fact so much occurred on a daily basis that the best way to detail the conflict was through a timeline of events beginning in 1987 and ending with the completed withdrawal in February of 1989. Many sources confirm that the withdrawal will likely end in full scale civil war and that the Soviet backed Najibullah government will be overthrown. It was left to the wise experts to determine the nature of the regime that would eventually take over the nation, as many rebel factions fought for ground all over the nation, some even attempting to sabotage the Soviet withdrawal and the Najibullah government long before the withdrawal was completed. Many experts in fact believed, in late January of 1989 that the Soviet Najibullah government would fall before the withdrawal was completed. "Along with the U.S., Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan also take measures to get their diplomatic personnel out of Kabul. The capital is suffering from food and gasoline shortages and rebels are expected to launch a major offensive against the city. (NYT)"

As Afghanistan government officials and soldiers slowly trickle over to the rebel side, frequently taking with them the arms that had been supplied them by the Soviets to fight the rebels. On January 29th, roughly two weeks before the February 15th slated complete withdrawal of the Soviets, U.S. Department of State official Richard W. Murphy states that "...the United States will not be able to stop the rebels from accelerating their siege of the Kabul government once the Soviets leave Afghanistan. (NYT)"

Furthermore on February 1st, "Jon Glassman, a U.S. official who has just left Afghanistan, warns that as the Soviets leave the country there is the possibility of a coup against the Najibullah government by communist hard-liners or guerrilla sympathizers. (NYT)" on February 2nd the news organization Asian Monitor Resource Center (AMRC) reports that, "Rebels continue to fire on Soviet convoys heading out of Afghanistan toward the Soviet border."

The situation was so bad that ground withdrawal was not possible for Soviet troops remaining in Kabul and they had to be airlifted out of the country, from one of the last remaining Soviet controlled airports. "The last Soviet troops in Kabul are being airlifted out. The soldiers are leaving for Tashkent and other Soviet cities on the return flights of transport planes which fly food and material to the Afghan capital. (Pravda)"

One of the prominent rebel leaders in fact predicts that Kabul will fall in a matter of weeks, rather than months. "Guerrilla leader, Gulbuddine Hekmatyar, predicts that Kabul will be captured "in weeks, not months" and that all Afghan cities will fall easily. Other guerrilla leaders note that fifth columns are in place in Kabul and elsewhere just waiting for Soviet forces to leave the country. (AMRC)" While Soviet puppet Najibullah claims that his government will survive the withdrawal and that he will retain control and avoid civil war with Muslim rebels. Though this is contrary to the events that were occurring across the nation, as the Soviets continued their rapid withdrawal, Najibullah believed that the Soviet government would not desert him completely and would continue to aide him in rebuilding the nation. On February 3rd he expresses these sentiments to the New York Times, "He expresses confidence that his government will not be deserted by the Soviet Union after the withdrawal, and condemns the closure of Western diplomatic missions in Kabul, calling the closures "psychological warfare" against his government. (NYT)"

According to the statistics 24,443 Soviet soldiers have been flown out of Afghanistan, beginning in August, as is reported by the Soviet newspaper Red Star, that also claimed, officially to it people that Soviet soldiers were having no problems with the withdrawal even though this contradicted Soviet officials who claimed road closures of the Salang, due to rebel actions. In the mean time official shipments of arms and food where entering the country on return trips and through frequent airlifts. "The Soviet airlift of food, fuel and other supplies to Kabul and other Afghan cities is continuing. So far 3,500 tons of flour had been flown into the Afghan capital and 3,475 tons of ammunition to Kandahar."

All this is occurring in conjunction with other outside support of the Rebels, as the U.S. decides to continue aiding the rebel forces.

President Bush decides to continue supplying Afghan rebels with military aid as long as the Najibullah government remains in power and Moscow continues its supply of military hardware to Kabul. Last week Bush ordered the National Security Council to conduct a high-level interagency review of the policy. The State Department, the Pentagon, the Central Intelligence Agency and the White House agree that military aid should continue. (WP)

On February 11th the Soviet press reports that 89,000 soldiers have left Afghanistan, leaving a remaining skeletal force of only 11,000.

The Soviet Union withdraws its last soldier from Afghanistan nine years and fifty days after entering the country. Lt. General Boris Gromov, commander of Soviet forces in Afghanistan, represents the last Soviet soldier to leave the country twenty-four hours before the February 15 deadline. The war cost the Soviet Union approximately 15,000 lives and undisclosed billions of rubles. In addition, Moscow received international condemnation and suffered in its relations with China, the West and the United States, and the muslim world. (NYT)

Meanwhile the Soviets and its Afganistan government forces brace for the complete deterioration of the nation

Soviet newspapers report that some Afghan army units have begun looting their strongholds and abandoning them to guerrillas. (VOA)the last Soviet troops fly out of Kabul, ending a nine-year occupation of Afghanistan ahead of schedule. Moslem rebels launch rocket attacks on Kabul hours before the final withdrawal. (BBC)

The value of the early assumptions proved very real, though the soviet controlled government was able to hold the nation until 1992, despite many rebel attempts to take over the nation, and especially Kabul. Again on February 16th the U.S. pledges to continue to support the rebels, stating that the ultimate goal of the support is, "...Afghan self-determination. Secretary of State James Baker says the Soviets should assist in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. (NYT)"

Defections of government troops to rebel forces continues, unabated. In one defection, near the Soviet border, "Material gained by the resistance included fifteen tanks and armored cars, forty trucks, fifty tractors and bulldozers, 10,000 assault rifles, 850 heavy machine guns and a large number of grenade launchers. (VOA)"

By 1992 the Najibullah's hold on power had come to a near complete failure.

For the past few years as many as fifteen different guerrilla groups, known as mujahidin (holy warriors), had been advancing on Kabul, intent on deposing Najib. The mujahidin, armed and financed principally by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Iran had fought for ten years against the Soviet Union, and once the Soviet Union withdrew they continued their battle against Najib, who had been supported by the Soviet Union. The mujahidin saw Najib as a Soviet puppet, and even worse, as a godless atheist ruling a devout Muslim country

This is despite the fact that Najib had managed to hold on to the nation for almost three years, far laonger than any experts or rebels believed he was capable of doing. Yet, his time proved to be at an end, despite UN protection, by seclusion for nearly 4 years, after his failed attempt to leave the nation in 1992. Najib was eventually taken by rebels and executed with several of his family members and some other Soviet backed officials.

A council of Impartials, was put in place as a temporary step, but it also failed to unify the nation.

The barring of Najib from leaving Afghanistan, as well as the concurrent takeover of Kabul in 1992 proved to be the beginning of yet another end. In fact even those rebels that barred his leaving, in some ways regret the action, as it allowed for the takeover of the nation by the Taliban by the end of 1996.

On 27 September 1996, Taliban soldiers entered the UN compound, captured, tortured, and killed Najibullah, then hanged him in Ariana Square, outside the Presidential palace. He had been sequestered with the UN for almost four and a half years."

KABUL, Sept 27 [1996] (Reuters) €"Afghanistan's Taleban Islamic militia appeared in full control of Kabul on Friday after entering the capital in tanks and on foot, witnesses said. They said the streets were bustling with pedestrians, cyclists and cars, and shops and markets were open despite an Islamic holiday. Tanks had pulled back to the side streets although fighters were still visible at key points. All key government installations appeared to be in Taleban hands including the Presidential Palace and the Ministries of Defence, Security and Foreign Affairs. No government forces were visible on the city's streets.Unusual activity was most obvious outside the presidential palace, where crowds had gathered to see the bodies of former President Najibullah and his brother Shahpur Ahmadzai hanging from a concrete traffic-control post. "We killed him because [he] was the murderer of our people," Noor Hakmal, a Taleban commander who entered the city from Charasyab, south of Kabul, overnight, told Reuters. "Najibullah was ousted in 1992 when Islamic Mujahideen guerrilla forces closed in on Kabul after 14 years of civil war against a Soviet backed communist government." The Taleban met little resistance from government forces which had abandoned the city hours before.