Soviet Bear vs Afghan Pride: A lesson for all

By: Muhammad Jalal

Almost 40 years ago on this day, the Soviet invaders completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Soviets acknowledged their failure, withdrew from Afghanistan and stopped their bleeding wound. The final and complete withdrawal of Soviet combat forces from Afghanistan began on 15 May 1988 and ended on 15 February 1989 under the leadership of General Boris Gromov.

The Kabul-based communists considered themselves more loyal to communism than Soviets and even branded them (the Soviets) as weak communists, and they also they killed their own leaders one after another for the sake of loyalty to Soviets.

The Soviet invaders spent almost ten years in Afghanistan trying to subdue Afghans but before their aspirations could be fulfilled, they were drowned in their blood and brought down by the this proud nation. The Kremlin realized in the fifth year of its occupation of Afghanistan that their military invasion of Afghanistan was a historic mistake. It was then that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachov called Afghanistan a bleeding wound for the Soviets and they decided to gradually withdraw their forces.

General Boris Gromov, the commander-in-chief of the Soviet forces in Afghanistan, said this on their defeat as he crossed the Hairatan Bridge “Our arrival in Afghanistan was a big mistake of our officials. We will tell our next generation never to repeat this mistake again.”

The communist regime in Kabul, led by Najibullah, which was under heavy attacks by the Mujahideen, was counting the last moments of its survival like today’s authoritarian regime led by Ashraf Ghani. After the withdrawal of Soviet forces, both regime officials and the international community saw the fall of Najibullah’s government in the face of Mujahedin onslaughts after three years.

The current conditions in our country are exactly the same again as then as a large number of American-led forces have left Afghanistan with a similar defeat while a limited number remain. The American-backed government is incapable of dealing with internal divisions and battlefield setbacks. The Americans, international community and the Afghans are all predicting the collapse of this corrupt authoritarian regime but they are still urging the Americans to stay for their illegitimate survival.

The Soviet invasion and their nearly ten-year war was the last nail in the coffin of communism as their slogans of invincibility were shattered and their arrogant hopes of ruling the world vanished. God willing, the fate of every invader and slave will be the same as that of the Soviets and their slaves.

The pride of the defeat of communism forms a shining part of Afghanistan’s history. Blessed are those who were involved in one form or another during the war in those days. May God accept their sacrifices, efforts and hard work. They are the pride and glory of Afghanistan.

The then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachov understood that the Soviet Union’s troublesome economic and international situation was complicated by its involvement in the Afghan War and thus he decided to end it. Today as we see a horizontally and vertically divided American society, troubled American economy and damaged international reputation, so its the best option for American administration under Joe Biden to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan in line with the Doha agreement to salvage themselves.