Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation

ILLUSTRATIONS 
FOREWORD xvii 
PREFACE xxi 
THE GREAT GAME: 1837-1944 3 
Origins of Soviet interest in Afghanistan 3 
The "Socialist King," Amanullah Khan (1919-1929) 10 
Conclusion 17 
GROWING SOVIET INVOLVEMENT, 1945-1979 19 
Soviet Influence Grows 19 
Soviet and US Objectives in the Postwar Decades 27 
The People' s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (The Afghan Communist Party) 30 
The Communists Come to Power 37 
Reasons for the Soviet Invasion 40 
Conclusion 48 
THE SECOND STAGE OF THE AFGHAN REVOLUTION 51 
The Setting on 28 December 1979 51 
The Structure of Political Power 57 
Evolution of PDPA and DRA Leadership 63 
Biographic Sketches of PDPA and DRA Leaders 69 
Problems and Evolution of the PDPA 77 
Conclusion 86 
POLITICS OF THE RESISTANCE 87 
Background 87 
Opposition Groups in Peshawar: Attempts at Unification 92 
Resistance Groups in Iran 108 
The Resistance Movement within Afghanistan 110 
Leftist Resistance Groups 119 
Fighting among Guerrilla Bands 121 
Conclusion 123 
THE MILITARY STRUGGLE 127 
1. OVERVIEW AND TACTICS 127 
The Longest Soviet Foreign War 127 
Conflicting Claims of Territorial Control 134 
Kabul: Safest of the Soviet-Held Cities? 138 
Soviet Counterinsurgency Strategy 143 
Mujahidin Tactics 152 
Conclusion 152 
2. OPPOSING FORCES 155 
Balance of Military Forces 155 
Casualties and Equipment Losses from the Guerilla War 158 
Soviet Military Forces 165 
Main Problems of the Soviet Army 177 
DRA Military Forces 180 
The Mujahidin 190 
Conclusion 196 
3. INTERNATIONAL AID TO THE RESISTANCE 199 
Foreign Assistance to the Resistance 199 
Arms Aid to the Resistance 202 
The Resistance Goes on the Airwaves 215 
Medical Aid by the French, Swedes, and ICRC 217 
Conclusion 221 
REFUGEES 223 
Number of Refugees 224 
Attitude of the Kabul Government and the Soviets 225 
Ethnic Background and Area of Origin of Refugees 226 
International Relief Care in Pakistan and Iran 226 
Some Local Tensions 229 
Conclusion 230 
DECLINE AND REDIRECTION OF THE AFGHAN ECONOMY 233 
Overall State of the Afghan Economy 235 
Soviet Exploitation and Self Interest In Its Economic Relations 256 
Soviet Interest in Afghanistan's Mineral Resources 257 
Conclusion 261 
THE SECRET POLICE (KHAD) AND HUMAN RIGHTS 263 
The Secret Police — KHAD 264 
Afghanistan's Record of Human Rights Practices 270 
Freedoms of Expression, Assembly, Religion, Movement, and Participation in the Political Process 278 
Conclusion 281 
SOVIET CONTROL AND INDOCTRINATION 283 
The Means of Soviet Control 284 
The Sovietization of Afghanistan 298 
Aftermath of Reforms of the Saur Revolution 314 
Conclusion 320 
THE SEARCH FOR A DIPLOMATIC SETTLEMENT AND AFGHANISTAN'S FOREIGN RELATIONS 323 
Sovict-DRA Conditions for Soviet Troop Withdrawal 324 
Diplomatic Effotls 328 
The DRA's Foreign Policy 338 
Relations with the Two Superpowers 342 
DRA Relations with Neighboring Countries 352 
Conclusion 368 
CONCLUSION and OUTLOOK 371. 377 
APPENDIXES
A. Eight Additional leaders of the DRA Government 385 
B. Majoi Peshawar- Based Afghan Resistance Leaders and Their Organizations 397 
C. Guerrilla Group Affiliations in 1983 407 
D. History of the Resistance in One Province: Lowgar 411 
E. The War Situation in One Typical Afghan Province: Badakhshan in Late 1982 415 
ENDNOTES 419 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 501
INDEX 527 
THE AUTHOR 545 
Illustrations 
MAPS 
South Asia xviii 
Afghanistan xix and 325 
Provinces of Afghanistan 47 and 91 
Resistance-held areas throughout Afghanistan during two contrasting years. 1983 and 1984 111
Kabul 141 
Sites where operations took place with the aid of AFRANE [Amities Franco- Afyhane) during 1980-84 201 
Soviet "annexation" of Afghan territory 293 
Badakhshan Province 415 
PHOTOGRAPHS 
The Salang Pass xxiii 
Snow-covered peaks in Logar province xxv 
Feudal residence in Parwan province 7 
The Kabul River at Sarobi 9 
Village in Wardak province 13 
Hafilullah Amin 33 
Nur Mohammad Taraki 33 
Babrak Karmal 39 and 71 
Sultan A!i Kcshtnuuiu. DRA PriiiK Minister 75 
(Dr.) Salch Mohammad Zcary 75 
Mohammad Daoud. President of Afghanistan. 1973-78 89 
xiv Afghanistan 
Ex-King Zahir Shah 102 
Ahmed Shah Massoud, internationally known guerrilla commander 113 
"Mohammad Zabiullah," late resistance commander in Balkh province 116 
Butterfly Mine 147 
Ambushed Soviet convoy 151 
Mujahidin resting between sorties 153 
Soviet POWs 161 
Afghan guerrillas with captured Soviet tank 166 
Downed gunship 171 
Mujahidin commander 191 
A band of guerrilla fighters 193 
A band of mujahidin rests by a snow field 195 
A mujahidin fighter 197 
Carpets for sale in Mazar-i-Sharif 250 
Pol-I-Charki Prison — Kabul's dreaded political prison 269 
Mujahidin guerrillas display their captured arms 381 
Shah Mohammed Dost, DRA Minister of Foreign Affairs 387
Dr. Syed Burhanuddin Rabbani, first resistance figure to attract international attention 399 
Gulbuddin Hckmatyar, most controversial resistance leader in Peshawar 399
Sayed Ahmad Gailani, best known of the leaders of the resistance's Unity-of-Three moderate coalition 405 
Afghan Sage final page 
TABLES 
1 Contested regions and their guerrilla affiliations 12
2 Situation in the 28 provinces 136 
3 Provincial districts most under Soviet -DRA control 137 
4 I o\ vrv in Balkh province in August 
5 Annual estimate of the number of Afghan refugees 224 
6 Estimate of Afghan refugees by destination for 84 224 
7 Selective indicators of Afghan production 242 
Illustrations xv 
8 US-Afghanistan trade 251 
9 Economic aid from the United States and international agencies 253 
10 USSR: Economic credits and grants extended to Afghanistan 254 
11 Eastern European economic aid to Afghanistan 254 
12 Voting for UN General Assembly resolutions on Afghanistan 330 
13 Soviet-DRA airspace violations 357 
14 Purported Soviet casualties in Afghanistan from three raioni (districts) of the Transcarpathian Oblast in the southwestern part of Ukraine 495