Afghanistan: Gorbachev's delusional history
William linked earlier to a Gorbachev op-ed, available in translation from worldmeets.us. Based on the lessons of the Soviet experience, Gorbachev recommends
a political settlement and withdrawal of troops. And this requires a strategy of national reconciliation.
But what exactly was the Soviet experience and its lessons? First, instead of an invasion of a sovereign country, Gorbachev recounts,
In 1979, the Soviet leadership decided to introduce troops into Afghanistan, justifying this step not only by a desire to assist friendly forces, but also the need to stabilize the situation in a neighboring country.
Assist friendly forces, gun down their leader and replace him with a Soviet puppet. For a good account of this period, see Ghost Wars, by Steve Coll.
So what were the lessons of the Soviet Union’s friendly venture into Afghanistan?
Our biggest mistake was a failure to understand the peculiarities of Afghanistan; its incredibly complex ethnic, tribal and clan structure, unique traditions, and disinclination toward governance.
No, the Soviets’ biggest mistake was the indiscriminate murder of Afghan civilians, hundreds of thousands, maybe more. Gorbachev never admits this happened. But he was part of the Politburo in the early years of the war, and presided over it as General Secretary in its final years. As far as I know, Soviet forces were just as brutal after Gorbachev came to power as before.
Yet Gorbachev claims that as part of Perestroika, he chose a path of reconciliation and withdrawal. He even suggests,
The then-leadership of Afghanistan showed a willingness to compromise and did more than its share to achieve reconciliation. And in some provinces of the country, this process had begun. But the U.S. and Pakistan, especially Islamabad’s military elite, blocked all paths to a settlement.
It’s true that the US and Pakistan didn’t work for a settlement. Because a ‘settlement’ meant accepting the Soviet-backed regime and forgiving its brutality. What the Afghan people wanted — and fought for — was liberation.
Now, it isn’t news that Gorbachev’s a bit loopy. I saw him lecture several years ago, and he seemed to have left the reality-based community. But this isn’t a basic part of the Gorbachev story in America. To us, he is still the kindly, enlightened man who helped bring the Cold War to a peaceful end. Which he did. And then he started losing it. It can’t be easy to rule a superpower one day, preside over its death and then live in relative obscurity, except for the occasional Pizza Hut commercial.