America should learn lesson from Soviet defeat

by: Muhammad Jalal

Four decades ago the then super power Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan when it was at the zenith of its power and pride.The Soviets entered Afghanistan as their lackeys laid the ground for their intervention and then a long struggle for independence and sovereignty pursued in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is known as the graveyard of Empires and it again became the graveyard for yet another arrogant power of its time. Afghans began their struggle and continued until the withdrawal of the Soviet invaders, marking the end of Soviet Union’s interventions in foreign countries and fracturing the Soviet Union into many independent countries. The current American-led invasion of Afghanistan is similar to the Soviet invasion. With each passing day, the resistance against the invasion is growing both politically and militarily while also building regional consensus against American military and political might.

As we mark the 41st anniversary of the brutal invasion of Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union, it is also a great lesson for the current American-led invaders. The Americans were among the countries who were the fiercest opponents of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and campaigned internationally against Soviet incursion into a sovereign land, and like many other countries, provided support to the Afghan Mujahideen against the occupation. The Afghans fought bravely and offered immense sacrifices for their independence. Americans while witnessing the defeat and disintegration of the Soviet Union, still dared to invade Afghanistan with a dream of completely controlling Afghanistan.

If we look at the past 19 years, the Afghans have not bowed down to the American invaders and they started the struggle while the whole world, including those who supported Afghans against the bloody Soviet invasion, stood by the American side. Soldiers from 50 countries entered Afghanistan with the Americans, whereas the rest of the countries supported it politically and financially. The foreign invaders led by America have done their best to subjugate the Afghans through wanton killing and torture but they have failed to gain anything tangible.

The American-led invaders and their political leaders must learn from the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan, refrain from testing the mettle of Afghans any further and to rethink the idea of using force against Afghans. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has always urged the American-led invaders to use rational and logical principles and withdraw their forces from Afghanistan.

America should learn a lesson from the Soviet Union’s defeat in Afghanistan and withdraw their forces by abiding to the historical Doha agreement to bring an end the longest war in their history. The use of brute force has not yielded anything substantial for Americans and will not do so in future either therefore they must accept this reality and bring this experiment to an end. The only way for Americans to end their unwinnable war in Afghanistan is to withdraw their forces and agree to the solution provided by the Islamic Emirate which is the finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict through diplomacy and political engagement.