Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 7, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press thursday. May 7, 1981 Unity hampers Afi focus by . Greenway Boston Globe Peshawar Pakistan the snows arc melting in the hindu Rush and with the coming of Spring fighting is increasing across the Frontier in Afghanistan. It is an unequal War full of unspeakable cruelty which pits the armoured might of the world s greatest industrialized army against ill armed but resourceful mountaineers and villagers whose religious fanaticism and passionate nationalism have carried them off on the wings of a moslem jihad or holy War. Resistance to the soviet invasion of 1979 has not slackened. From All re ports the rebel Mujahideen Are better organized militarily than a year ago and their morale continues to hold despite the fact that they Are woefully lacking in modern weapons. The War has reached a standoff of sorts. It is doubtful that the afghan rebels will Ever be Able to hand the invaders a major defeat As their ancestors once did when they Des troyed an entire British army in 1842 Between Kabul and Jala Labad. The rebels can do Little More than conduct a sniper s War convoys and outposts and then fading away into the rough Hills in the classic guerrilla tac tics they developed centuries ago. Soviet losses Low this is not yet however a serious Challenge to soviet might and so Viet losses Are not believed to be High enough to really matter to the red army. Statistics Are not Avail Able but it is doubtful that soviet casualties run to More than 100 a month. Parallels with Vietnam Are mislead ing. The afghan rebels have no Cohe Sive political Unity to guide them As did the vietnamese communists. There Are six major rebel groups with head quarters Here in Peshawar which con duct raids and expeditions across the Border and other perhaps More purposeful groups entirely inside Afghanistan itself. But they Are a collection of monarchists islamic fundamentalists pro Western and anti Western groups whose Only Unity is opposition to the soviet invasion and who in Many cases heartily dislike each other. This disunity hurts them when it comes to forming an effective political opposition but Unity has never been the Way of the afghans. Warfare is an ancient tradition among the afghan tribes and the Only time they unite is when faced with a foreign invasion the British in the 19th and Early 20th Century and now the soviets. They Are probably More effective fighting in their own Way then they would be if some artificial Unity were imposed. The rebels have no big Power to support them in the manner that the soviets helped the vietnamese and whatever arms they Are receiving from abroad Are Little in evidence and according to All accounts have Little or no effect on the War. For the most part the rebels Arm themselves with Cap tured russian Kalashnikov rifles usually taken from afghan army out posts or from deserters or the first world War Type British rifles that Tri Besmen traditionally carry. If you would Only give us something to shoot Down the helicopters we could take care of the tanks and _ the a Mujahideen fighter said. It is a constantly repeated theme. But again the afghans Are masters of hit and run guerrilla War and despite their pleas for heavier equipment they would probably find themselves handicapped with weapons heavier than hand held anti helicopter missiles. Consider the following British description of fighting the pathans who make up the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan on the Northwest Frontier of what is now Pakistan in the 1930s the Core of our problem in the army was to Force Battle on an elusive and Mobile enemy. The enemy while he retained any common sense tried to avoid Battle and instead fight us with pin pricking hit and run tactics. We had Light automatic guns howitzers a these afghan snipers using captured soviet ak-47 rifles can Mored cars tanks and aircraft. The Pathan had none of these things yet when he tried to even up the disparity and numbered himself with stolen Auto Matics or Home made artillery he suffered heavily because they constituted impediments things that were difficult to move but were Worth defend ing. And when he stayed and defended something whether a gun or a Village we trapped him and pulverized him. When he flitted and sniped rushed and undoubtedly there Are soviet officers writing the same accounts today. Like the British part of their crowbar tactic is to demolish villages from the air in order to teach offending tribes men a lesson. The difference is that the British would warn the villagers to vacate their Homes before the raid while the soviets practice a less gentle Manly War. If the soviets Are not seriously threatened militarily the resistance has nevertheless prevented them from creating a stable political climate. Today More than a year since their invasion the russians have not been Able to build any of the institutions that would indicate Progress toward a communist regime that might one Day stand on its own feet. Soviet control of the country is limited to military bases and to a lesser degree Urban centres and main lines of communication. With Little More than u1uc1 1u lci1u Irmes communication. With Little go Chekov doctrine still prevails h it c this n _ by . Greenway Boston Globe Peshawar Pakistan the Posi Tion of Russia in Central Asia is that of All civilized states which come into Contact with half Savage wandering tribes possessing no fixed social organization in order to Cut Short Perpet Ual disorders we established Strong places in the midst of a hostile Popula Tion but beyond this line there Are other tribes which soon provoked the same dangers. The state then finds itself on the horns of a dilemma. It must either deliver its Frontier Over to disorder. Or it must plunge into the Depths of Savage countries Ambi Tion plays a smaller part than Imperi Ous necessity the greatest difficulty is knowing where to these words explaining russian expansion in Central Asia were written by the Czar s Imperial Chancellor Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Gor Chekov in 1864. Geography National ambitions and perceptions of Security do not necessarily change with time and today the West is wondering where Imperial rus Sia s successor the soviet Union in tends to Stop. It is arguable that the soviet invasion of Afghanistan in december of 1979 was less the result of a grand design upon warm water ports and the persian Gulf than it was of having been drawn deep into a situation that they badly miscalculated. This does not make the soviet presence in Afghanistan any less dangerous however. For it opens the possibility of new adventures beyond Afghanistan in order to Cut Short perpetual disorders in Afghanistan itself. In 1973, Mohammed Daud overthrew the afghan monarchy that had ruled in Kabul off and on for More than a Century. The coup had More to do with Daud s ambition and personal feuding with the ruling elite than russian in Trigue. But As Selig Harrison a student of afghan affairs has written the 1973 coup created an unprecedented Politi Cal vacuum in Kabul where the Mon Arch had traditionally provided the Only focus of legitimate authority of a society divided along tribal ethnic and religious lines. Moreover it abruptly upset the uneasy equilibrium Between the West and the soviet Union that had prevailed in Afghanistan throughout the cold Moscow began to encourage their favourites to form an Alliance with Daud in the Hope of increasing their influence for the inevitable Power struggle that would follow Daud s Rule. Rightists in their turn began to listen to the Siren song of the Shah of Iran who spoke of winning Afghanistan away from its former pro soviet neutrality with Money and with Savak agents in Kabul. Daud moved to the right began to arrest communists and was displaced by a communist Nur Mohammed Taraki who came to Power in a hastily improvised coup. Neither Taraki nor his ally Hafizullah Amin who organized the coup would have been Moscow s Choice they preferred another communist faction led by Babrak Karmal. But they were stuck with a marxist regime and they moved quickly in order to control factionalism and political infighting continued however and Amin began to emerge As the dominant Power in Kabul. The soviets feared Amin s Brand of afghan nationalism and they Felt his methods of carrying out the War against increasingly hostile rebel Tri Besmen in the Countryside was making the situation worse. Amin pushed through increasingly unpopular reforms that More and More alienated the deeply conservative Countryside. Land Reform for example violated islamic principles of land ten ure and such innovations As equal education for men and women horrified tribal mullahs and elders. According to afghans interviewed Here and in Refu gee Camps along the Border these Young communists tried to make the Case that islamic customs were keep ing the country backward the More they pushed reforms the More the tribesmen picked up their guns and joined the revolt. Thus it was that with some irony the soviets found themselves trying to put the Damper on the communist revolution in the Countryside in order not to to aggravate the revolt of the tribesmen. They pumped in More Money and Mili tary advisers but Amin would not listen to their advice on How to fight the War. The soviets began More and More to mistrust the unpredictable and uncontrollable Amin and so they persuaded Taraki to remove him. However when it came to a showdown and a shootout at the Palace it was Taraki who died and Amin who emerged victorious that was september 1979. The rus sians began to fear that the stubborn Amin might emerge As a Tito like Fig ure and order the soviets out. Thus in december of that year they simply removed their erstwhile ally much in the manner that the americans re moved Ngo Dinh diem from Power in Vietnam 16 years earlier and installed their favorite Karmal in his place with the introduction of russian ground troops into the country. The Brezhnev doctrine that no coun try once communist can be allowed to revert to anything else May have been invoked during the Kremlin deliberations that led to the invasion but in reality it was the go Chekov doctrine that was being applied. It is probable that All the interested parties including the soviets would like to set the clock Back to 1973 but things have gone too far to turn Back now. It seems Likely that the russians have no other course now than to stay in Afghanistan perhaps for another generation. Do Little More than harass the russian invaders. Afghanistan. The Frontier called the Side and the Mujahideen pinprick mini Strator who in 18938is not officially recognized by afghanis Tan and is ignored by the pathans themselves unless they can use it As a convenience. Not Only does the Durand line Divide the Pathan a but it separates members of the same tribe and family. The matter is further complicated by the fact that Many of the areas close to the Border on the Pakistan Side Are by an arrangement left Over from British times tribal agencies in which the tribesmen have a great measure of local autonomy and Are not to pakistani Laws. When you consider that no afghan Central government Ever really con trolled the afghan Side of the Pathan country what you have is a fiercely Independent Pathan nation divided by an artificial Border that neither Paki Stan nor Afghanistan can really Seal off or even Monitor. In these mountains blood feuds and warfare Are a Way of life and even teen age boys carry rifles. Hate outsiders there has perhaps never been a people More inhospitable to outside interference and when the British were trying to pacify their Side of the Border the tribesmen Felt free to take their families Over into Afghanistan. The reverse is happening today and there Are officially two million afghans 90 per cent of them pathans now living in refugee areas the Paki Stan Side of the line. Warfare in Afghanistan has always been fought on Savage terms. It is a no Quarter War with few prison ers taken. Afghan rebels when they Are caught Are often tortured to death As Are the soviet prisoners. According to rebel sources it is a russian prac Tice to bomb an area when their soldiers Are captured in order to kill then quickly before they can be put to death in More traditional ways such As being castrated and flayed alive. The Story is told of a time when a soviet armoured car was surrounded by rebels who were closing in for the kill. Suddenly smoke poured from the car s gun ports and a terrific explosion was heard from inside. The soviets had killed themselves rather than be caught. Veterans of warfare in these Hills would understand. Keep the country in turmoil. The soviets hold what they can with Armor artillery and the dreaded mi24 helicopter gunships the Scourge of the Mujahideen and Seldom get involved with infantry operations. They do not often leave their helicopters and tanks but when they do they Are no match for a rebel Leader said Here. He did not add however that when the russians stay inside their machines the rebels Are no match for them. And so the stalemate. For the most part infantry operations have been left to the afghan army which the soviets push Forward to do most of the actual fighting but the afghan army is Rife with desertions and can no longer be counted upon Only a few weeks ago an afghan tank Driver came across the Pakistan Bor Der to defect bringing his tank with him. More recently afghan army defectors brought a russian helicopter to Pakistan. Recent reports from the afghan Capi Tal Tell of soviet air and artillery bombardments in the suburbs of Kabul in apparent retaliation for a rocket attack on a soviet military Convoy in which approximately 30 russian sol Diers were killed. In recent weeks the soviets them selves have reportedly taken Over the Security of Kabul and have pushed two and possibly four afghan divisions out of the capital into the Countryside. There Are unconfirmed stories of gangs going through the bazaars of afghan towns rounding up everyone of military age for the afghan army. Many defect to the Mujahideen the first Chance they get. But for All of their failure to build a a credible afghan government to carry out their bidding the russians have the capability of holding on to Afghanistan the same Way the British held on to the Northwest Frontier never quite Able to pacify the Countryside but capable of keeping revolt within Bounds through punitive raids and expeditions. Afghanistan might even become a training ground to Battle Harden troops the Way the Northwest Frontier was for the British. The land of the pathans who make up the largest single ethnic group fighting the soviets lies in the Moun Tain country on both sides of an artificial Frontier that separates Pakistan and _ Frontier that separates Pakistan and would understand. Hemp costs Resolution produces acrimony because of inherently different Politi v vex j a philosophies the two major parties member s Resolution supporting the saw a message in because of inherently different Politi Cal philosophies the two major parties have a problem when they actually share a common View. Paying for the ramp in Manitoba has been a Good example of that difficulty. In mid october solicitor general Robert Kaplan announced the new fed eral plan for the provincial share in maintaining the ramp Force. The proposal was frightening since the eight provinces involved would be responsible for 75 per cent of the policing costs up from 56 per cent. Municipalities which paid the Basic 56 per cent for the first five officers and 81 per cent for the remainder would suddenly be paying a total of 90 per cent of the costs with the total Bill increasing by about million in the first year. Kaplan described the Price tag As a fair evaluation of the services provided while Gerry Mercier said the use of the word fair tested the imagination he predicted that the amount would be a tremendous Burden on municipalities. The Federal minister insisted that if the municipalities were not satisfied they had the option of forming their own police forces. There was no plan for alternative police services but Mercier believed the Federal action might jeopardize the ramp future As a National police Force. He and the other attorneys general sent a telex to Ottawa explaining their con under the dome Arlene Billinkoff Cern and hoped for More negotiation. The Federal government refused to Budge set april 1 As the deadline and said the existing agreement would not be renewed. As Kaplan explained the proposed funding was based on the average amount of time spent by the ramp on matters which fall within the Federal jurisdiction and was proper however he was willing to allow smaller municipalities More time to phase into the new level of funding. That proposal was unacceptable to four of the provinces and when the deadline arrived Kaplan said services would be Cut unless they agreed to the new fiscal arrangements. To Mercier that was a ridiculous Way to negotiate a new contract and in a letter to the free press said that while the attorneys general were prepared to meet Kaplan his proposal was unreasonable with that attitude it was doubtful that the problem would be resolved quickly. There May be a More rapid Resolution in the legislature. In Early March Jim Galbraith introduced a private member s Resolution supporting the province s attempt to negotiate fair and reasonable contracts consistent with the Cost sharing arrangements in the existing contracts. He said the Federal government was seeking an unprecedented and unwarranted Mas Sive shift and should be opposed. It was a motherhood Resolution and Vic Schroeder admitted he would sup port any action to keep the funding at the current level. He encouraged the government to use All of its negotiating skills to keep the Federal government paying a substantial portion of the Bill. But on the other Side he reminded the tories that if there was difficulty in negotiating they had Only themselves to blame and should realize More provincial Money must be Given to the municipalities in order to cover the costs. Bill Uruski agreed. He did not like the dramatic increase but it was up to the provincial government to make up the additional Cost or provide some program of amelioration. In Stead he saw a Bash Ottawa Resolution. That was the wrong Way said june Westbury. How could they negotiate in Good Faith when they were considering such a Resolution it indicated an in flexible attitude at a time when open minds were needed. Saul Miller had an open mind and saw a message in this Resolution. It told municipalities that they would have to sink or swim without provincial Aid the province appeared to be ducking its responsibility and while he disapproved of the sudden increase he believed the province was obliged to help. What Type of help according to Brian Corrin the province should con Sider absorbing All such increased municipal costs caused by the new arrangements or extend broader Access of the municipalities to other Revenue sources. Therefore he added that concept As an amendment to the Resolution. Doonesbury despite that amendment Bill Jen Kins said the nip arguments did not necessarily mean they would oppose the Resolution but rather that they wanted to talk about alternatives. Their primary responsibility was to ensure that the municipalities were not mis treated. Contingency plans were needed. Yes support was needed in order to prevent the municipalities from be coming victims noted Jay Cowan. Then both sides could cast aside their derogatory statements sit Down and bargain. The provinces were willing to bar gain insisted Mercier along the lines indicated by former solicitor general Warren Allmand who said in 1974 that the costing formula should reflect in a reasonable Way the benefits derived by the Federal and the various provincial l governments while the municipalities would be treated As fairly As we Mercier believed it was premature to indicate what extra funding the province would provide for the moment he wanted a fair and equitable agreement. It was evident others in the chamber shared that Hope. Judging by the cur rent tension of the Federal provincial negotiations the Las were Likely to reach their goal first. But would it have any Impact ;