Soviet Military Interpreter Shares Personal Account Of Afghan Crisis Escalation In 1970s -...

There are certainly weird stories out there of how the former Soviet military and civilians see Afghanistan in the rear view (fun house) mirror. I worked with a group of Russian speaking contractor pilots that flew cargo for us. They were brave and cared about the common soldier. They flew with great skill and took risks in primitive Mi8s. On the anniversary of the Soviet invasion they asked to speak during a BUB. They arrived in the formal uniforms of their company (obvious civilian pilot uniforms with shoulder boards, but in khaki). Their best English speaker read a prepared statement, commending us for taking on the cause they were forced to abandon and honoring the memory of their comrades lost....not sure they understood what we were doing or what we did to undermine them, but ok....thanks. I am still thankful for the courage and skill they gave to,us. These guys were unarmed and flew into some hot FOBs and COPs, even unloading critical supplies while in contact. The enemy claimed several of their aircraft in the northern part of RC east working for other BCTs. We even got them US Mail certified, 285 card. A Russian speaking postal soldier taught them the class and they passed. They did door pushes to troops in temporary patrol bases....which technically wasn't in their contract.

While an interesting perspective he grossly marginalized the the impact of the reforms and the brutality of Nur Mohammad Taraki as well as why Russia intervened in the manner they did.
On a trip back from Cuba - Brezhnev advised Taraki to get rid of his prime minister, Hafizullah Amin. Brezhnev did not trust Amin as well he feared a US invasion in Iran due to the hostages as such he did not want any one remotely pro-west in Afghanistan. However unbeknownst to Taraki his body guard was actually an agent for Amin. The bodyguard reported back to Amin the intention of Taraki to strip him of his power. Thus is why Taraki was killed. Amin's government announced that Taraki died of an "undisclosed illness". The rare "undisclosed illness" was that of being held down by a palace guard while he was strangled and smothered with a pillow. Taraki's "illness" only lasted ten or fifteen minutes. However it seems rare illnesses (being poisoned) were in fashion. Fortunately for Amin it appears that Coca-Cola was an antidote. As a result of Amin's miraculous recovery Brezhnev became unnerved with the deterioration in Afghanistan and ordered a KGB-led assassination team in Afghan uniforms to kill Amin at the palace in the Afghan capital of Kabul in late December 1979. The end result was Babrak Karmal, who had been a KGB agent for many many years was now in charge.

The reality is Russia picked a brutal leader in their regime change that blew up in their face in rapid succession and thus in their desperate attempt to fix it found a long protracted war.

Sound familiar?

A good book on this is the Great Gamble which fills in many details to the back story of what was really going on with the Brezhnev Doctrine.

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99090399

Very interesting and admittedly "shocking" article; from the perspective of someone who lived and worked along-side the Pashtuns. A few of the officers I knew in the ANA claimed to be former Mujahideen; they didn't have DD-214's, so who knows-right? Anyway, from what we could tell, most of the older soldiers (those old enough to have been fighting age back then) seemed to regard the Soviets with a mixture of loathing and fascination (telling tales of them bayoneting children in one breath...then reverently speaking about their special operations folks the next). The younger soldiers seemed more preoccupied with hatred for the Pakistanis...and the Taliban. Among the civilians, there were even more mixed opinions. It's difficult to say for sure what was lost in translation, but some living in the mountains seemed (happily) convinced WE were Soviets...perhaps just the same words/descriptions; who can say? One thing is certain-we came across men claiming to be former Soviet troops living as Afghans. One rather large man was named "Yuri", and had several children, all showing European features, helping him run his small shop. The consistent story we heard was that he, and others, had found the Afghan people and Islamic faith to their liking, married into the tribes, and stayed. Honestly, given some of the experiences I had there...I'm not so sure it wasn't true. By the time I left, I was convinced that there's no such place as "Afghanistan"...just a collection of small nation-states with varied views on everything from other nations to religion. They all seemed to be dreaming of something out of an Erol Flynn movie; some magnificent past where their kings hunted with falcons, and the British dueled with them in the hills. It became painfully obvious at several points that most "Afghans" wanted us to stay...not so much because they wanted the Taliban, Al Qaeda, or anyone else out, but because they enjoyed being a "client state" of the world's superpower. From the paper certificates we blithely handed them (and they graciously endured), to the frustrating conversations over endless glasses of chai that usually ended in the ANA colonel getting a new desk...I slowly began to understand. The more I did...the less clear our "mission" became.