Unending Crisis: National Security Policy After 9/11

Three: Afghanistan

AFghANISTAN 53 T H R E E Afghanistan A fGhanIstan has been called the cRossRoad of emPIRes; It has also been called the Graveyard of Empires. It comprises the easternmost part of the Iranian plateau and, given the arc of the impassable Himalayas, is the primary land connection linking the great empires of Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent . While there are a few fertile valleys, such as in the Kabul and Herat areas, the country is largely dominated by jagged peaks and harsh deserts. And while it once was home to great cities such as Balkh and Bamian, all, except Herat, which managed to recover, were destroyed by Mongol invaders in the thirteenth century. Thus, the country is home primarily to fiercely independent nomadic tribes who inhabit the hills and mountains. Throughout the past 2,500 years of recorded history, they have always been able to resist conquest and overcome occupation. Turning to more recent history, one might recall the experiences of imperial Britain and Soviet Russia in Afghanistan. In early 1839, with the commencement of the Second Afghan War, the British invaded Afghanistan with a force of approximately twenty thousand from British India, referred to as the Grand Army of the Indus. They enjoyed initial success in conquering and pacifying the country and established their chosen man, Shah Shuja, as the ruler. After a peaceful year or two, however, the situation turned. By the latter part of 1841, the British garrison at Kabul as well as other British deployments were under siege. After heavy losses, British forces attempted a retreat through the narrow 54 ChAPTeR ThRee passes west of Kabul. They were utterly destroyed by Afghan tribal marksmen stationed on the heights above the passes, and only a young army surgeon, Dr. William Brydon, made it through to the safety of a British regiment posted at Jalalabad at the head of the Khyber Pass. The Soviet experience in Afghanistan began with the overthrow of King Zahir in 1973 . The coup’s leader, Mohammed Daoud, had been the king’s prime minister and a harsh ruler with backing from Moscow. In 1963, the king asked Daoud to retire so that his government could pursue more liberal policies. Remarkably, Daoud, who controlled the army, complied with the king’s request. Shortly thereafter, in 1965, the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), the Afghan Communist party, was founded at the home of Nur Mohammad Taraki, who became head of the Khalq faction, one of two rival bodies within the PDPA, the other faction being called Parcham.1 Ten years after surrendering authority, Daoud returned himself to power in a bloodless coup d’état while the king was vacationing in Europe. When he was previously in power, Daoud had built up a strong army based on Soviet support but loyal to him, which welcomed him back. He appointed himself president of Afghanistan and declared a republic. Initially, on returning to power, Daoud reduced Soviet influence in the Afghan government. But for a number of years after 1973, he played Moscow and Washington off against each other, accepting aid from both. However, for two decades, the KGB, the Soviet Union’s Committee for State Security, had secretly funded and developed Communist networks at Kabul University and in the Afghan army, training nearly four thousand military personnel in the Soviet Union.2 In 1977, Daoud was summoned to Moscow by Leonid Brezhnev, who complained about Daoud’s efforts to improve relations with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other countries outside the Soviet orbit. Daoud rejected Brezhnev’s admonishments by telling him that Afghans make their own decisions. This was the beginning of his downfall. The PDPA began to sense that Daoud, who was now elderly, was becoming vulnerable. In April 1978, when a leading Communist activist was assassinated, Daoud’s secret police were assumed to be responsible. Daoud became alarmed when the funeral procession became a demonstration . He largely lost control of the situation and arrested Communist leaders in Kabul after this protest. A few days later, Afghan army units surrounded his presidential palace in Kabul. Daoud held out through the night with his 1,800-man guard, but by morning, he and his entire family AFghANISTAN 55 had been killed. Some two thousand people were killed in other fighting around Kabul. Marxist military officers handed power to the PDPA, and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was proclaimed. However...