America following Russia?
When 80,000 (later increased to 120,000) Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan to stop the fanatical Mujaheedins from toppling the pro-Moscow regime in Kabul, they took up the combat and didn't equip and train the Afghan army. The Soviet commanders were supremely confident that they could do the job themselves. The Soviet Union was a formidable superpower and the Soviet forces were backed up by fighter-bombers, helicopter-gunships and tanks and spearheaded by mechanised infantry divisions in full combat gear. Rag-tag Mujahedins had little apparent chance against such a military machine.
And yet, the Red Army made a hasty retreat after ten years of occupation because heavy Russian casualties made the occupation unsustainable. But they left Afghanistan without a combat capable army to thwart the insurgents. As a result, the pro-Moscow regime fell like a house of cards. By taking up the combat, the Americans may be simply replicating the failed Soviet mission. US President Barack Obama's decision to deploy an additional 30,000 troops resembles former Soviet President Mikhael Gorbachov's decision to deploy an additional 40,000 Soviet troops in 1985. And like the Soviet Union, the United States has also not properly equipped and trained the Afghan army to face the Taliban on their own. It is a pity that after eight years of American occupation, the Afghan forces are still not prepared to defend their country.
If 120,000 Soviet troops could not defeat the insurgents, 100,000 American troops cannot do the same. Moreover, the Soviet Union enjoyed a strategic advantage that the US forces never had. The Soviet Union was a superpower with common borders with Afghanistan while America is a distant power dependent on an unreliable ally like Pakistan for transit facilities. To avert further catastrophe, the United States should make equipping the Afghan army its top priority. The US forces should provide logistical support to the Afghan forces, but the bulk of fighting should be left to them. The greatest danger is that like the Soviets, the Americans might make a hasty retreat if mounting American casualties make the mission unsustainable. Instead of raising troop levels (only to withdraw later), America should gradually reduce its military presence, letting the Afghan army to take up the combat.
American philosopher George Santayana once remarked: "Those who ignore history end up repeating it." The Americans are clearly ignoring the lessons of failed Soviet mission in Afghanistan. Unless they change their strategy, they will face the same disaster that the Russians faced.
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