Afghanistan: Soviet Perspective on Next Steps

Nato Making Same Mistakes As Soviet Army, Says Zamir Kabulov, By Tony Halpin and Jeremy Page, January 3, 2009

The Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, once told his British counterpart that Nato was making all the same mistakes that the Soviet army did in the country in the 1980s.

“The Soviet Union tried to bring socialism to Afghanistan. Unfortunately, you are trying to do the same with democracy,” Mr Kabulov, who served in Kabul in the 1980s, told The Times.

“We have to ask what the Afghans want,” he told The Times. “What have the people of Afghanistan received from the coalition? They lived very poorly before and they still live poorly, but sometimes they also get bombed by mistake.”

… The Taleban is an idea and this idea has support among the local population because many problems were resolved when they ruled. Their methods were awful from a European perspective but they got results.”

“If the US and Britain can win the friendship of the local people, then they won’t help the Taleban. But if you bomb them and treat them badly, they will try to kill you in every way possible. I saw so many horrible things there, the pressure was just terrible.”

“The West should correct its mistakes and forget the idea that they can win the war,” he said. “Instead of bringing in more troops, they should focus on strengthening the Afghan army and police. And if you’re not going to stay here forever, you have to build the economy.”