Mikhail Gorbachev, a man who has seen it all before, favors a rapid demilitarization of the situation in Afghanistan. In this opinion piece from Russia’s Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Mr. Gorbachev reveals some of his Afghanistan battle scars, says the allies have only a “50-50” chance of success, and tells of the advice he offered President Obama.
For Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Mikhail Gorbachev writes in part:
It’s necessary to understand why this is happening and what can be done in this almost catastrophic situation. … 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. In the end we got what we wanted to prevent – further destabilization and a de-facto war that killed many thousands of people, with dangerous consequences for our country. In addition, the West and particularly the United States, acting in the spirit of the Cold War, added fuel to the fire: they were ready to support anyone, just to spite the Soviet Union. They didn’t think of the consequences.
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. They were only interested in one thing: the withdrawal of Soviet troops, after which they saw themselves as masters of the situation. By depriving the government of Najibullah even minimal support, Boris Yeltsin played into their hands.
On his advice to President Obama, Gorbachev writes:
When I was asked what I would recommend to President Obama, who has inherited a difficult situation from his predecessor, I answered: the goal should be a political settlement and withdrawal of troops. And this requires a strategy of national reconciliation.
At the London summit, the U.N. representative to Afghanistan said that we should talk about the demilitarization of the entire Afghanistan strategy. It’s a pity that this wasn’t said – and done – much earlier!
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