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Russian Offers View On Conflict

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 7, 2008

Los Angeles Times

MOSCOW - Retired Lt. Gen. Ruslan Aushev, 54, served for five years in Afghanistan during the Soviet Union's nearly decadelong battle with mujahedeen there. He was wounded and named a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Aushev, who later served as president of the Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, is now chief of the Committee of Afghan Veterans. He talked about the lessons learned from the 1980s war in Afghanistan and what they suggest as the U.S. military enters the eighth year of its conflict in Central Asia.

In its invasion of Afghanistan, do you believe the United States benefited from the Soviet experience? Do you see any evidence of your lessons from the Soviet defeat?

I can tell you which mistakes you made and which mistakes we made. They are the same mistakes. We set up a very weak leader, Babrak Karmal. He didn't have prestige with the people. Today, the leadership of Afghanistan does not enjoy popularity with the people. They said of Babrak Karmal, he only sits there with the help of Russian bayonets. We said, 'Afghans, you are living according to the Soviet way of life, where religion is separated from the state, mullahs should be expelled, religion is the opiate of the people. You'll be living in collective farms. You will have pioneer camps, Comsomol youth organizations, and so on and so forth.' The Soviet way of life in the country that still lives in the Dark Ages!

And what did you say? You said, 'We are giving you democracy.' They cannot even translate the term properly. Under us there was a lot of corruption, and today there's a lot of corruption. Neither under you nor under us did an ordinary person get anything.

At the height of the Soviet war, there were more than twice as many Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan as there are U.S. and allied soldiers in the country today. Do you believe the United States should increase the level of troops in Afghanistan?

You can expand your presence, but what will change? I think you need to do three things. First, create statehood. Set up a popular authority that would deal with corruption and social issues. Second, a combatable armed force should be created in Afghanistan. And an economy should be created to help people. If you deploy 200,000 troops there, daytime is your time, you're in command. At night, the Taliban comes and they are in command.

The U.S. finds itself propping up a relatively unpopular government against attacks from a radicalized Muslim population. This scenario is familiar to you. What advice would you give to American commanders on the ground?

No matter what, you won't get away from the Taliban. You need to talk with the Taliban, come to terms. The Taliban should be engaged by the organs of power. They should take part in negotiations. You should find common points with them.

What's your assessment of Afghan leader Hamid Karzai?

I don't know him. I know one thing: He failed as president. If he's protected by American special forces, then how do people react to this president?

Do you remember a time when it became clear from events on the ground in Afghanistan that it was a losing war for the Soviet Union, that there was nothing to be done but withdraw? What was that time like?

When we entered Afghanistan in 1979, people gave us a very nice welcome. Exactly a year later, 40 percent of the population began to hate us. Five years later, 60 percent of the population hated us. And by the time we were to pull out, 90 percent hated us. So we understood, finally, that we are fighting the people.

That was the mistake of our politicians. We realized we would not be able to fulfill our tasks. We were to be in Afghanistan not because we needed it, but because Afghanistan was an important strategic point. But the presence of troops damaged the political angle.

In general, it's very bad for troops to be anywhere for a long time. Military doctrine says you go in, carry out your task and go, and give the power back to civilian authorities.

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