Omar Sindi | Exclusive to iKurd.net
The invasion of Afghanistan on December 29, 1979 was one of the misadventurous fiascoes committed by the Soviet Union under the reign of Leonid Brezhnev. In 1978, the Communist Party, which was led by Nur Mohamed Taraki, overthrew the regime of Sardar Mohammed Daoud in Kabul Afghanistan, and murdered him in a coup d’état led by the communist members.
That was the beginning of the political crisis in Afghanistan, which gave the excuse for the Soviet Union’s intervention and invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union’s transgressive action of invasion was faced with international condemnation and sanctions, mostly from Democratic countries led by the United States, as well as many Muslim countries who supported sanctions.
Where Taraki‘s communist government started unpopular land reform in a Tribal Society and launched a close relationship with the Soviet Union under the banner of Socialism. All dissenting voices were purged ruthlessly and people rose across Afghanistan against the government, known “collectively as Mujahideen” (Mujahidun in Arabic, meaning “those who engage in jihad”), which were supported militarily and economically mostly by the Western Democratic States, led by the US, and included China and Muslim Countries. At the time of imperial ambition, under the banner of a Socialism expansionist policy, so called Socialist States were holding powers by the “Iron Fist” policy. Because the dogma of a “utopian society” was dying, people around the globe no longer believed in unworkable political systems and their economic theory of government controlling, where Karl Marx, Friedrich Engel, and others imagined the phase of socialism to communism the phenomena on paper only!
“The treaty was signed in 1978 and the two countries agreed to provide economic and military assistance. Afghanistan borders Russia, and they have always considered it important to its national security and a gateway to Asia. Russia had long tried to establish strong ties, holding interest there for centuries. A 1978 communist revolution in Afghanistan and its subsequent one-party state, run by head of the communist party Nur Mohammad Taraki, was extremely unpopular with the Afghan people and the Soviets attempted to bolster it with a treaty”. Before 1917, the October Revolution in Russia’s Czar-led regime had ambitions to push Eastward into the Persian Gulf (into a warmer climate). In 1914, Russia’s Czar sided against the “Central Powers- World War I” [therefore] “to gain access to the Mediterranean Sea at the expense of the Ottoman Empire.”
On April 25, 2005, Vladimir Putin said to the Russian people that the dissolution of Soviet Union “was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century” which indicates Putin’s benign analyses and imprudent action that Russia’s leaderships imperial ambitions have still not been diminished, or the Soviet Union’s Empire policy under the banner of Socialism, dominated Eastern Europe, and other places. On March 5, 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered the “Iron Curtain Speech”. “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an “iron curtain” has descended across the continent”.
President Putin, with his decision to use violent force against Ukraine, knowingly entered a quagmire, with his miscalculation (“special military operation” as was his euphemism) of a quick victory, perhaps he didn’t anticipate the determination and will of the Ukrainian people, with norms of economic help and military assistance from Democratic States, mainly led by the US, just like in the late 1970’s, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, Soviet Union General Secretary of the Communist Party; his force entered a quagmire in Afghanistan, which many political pundits, historians, writers, and academics believe that the war continued for more than decades in Afghanistan, and the Afghani people fighting back the invaders, which became one of the factors in the Soviet Union’s of economic exhaustion, (at that time the US President Ronald Regan administration pressured the Saudis government to glut the market with oil, so the oil price drastically came down at the international market, and the Soviet Union’s main resources were oil revenues for war effort- that economic revenue was majorly lost) which caused Soviet loosen the grip of the power and eventually led to the collapse/dissolution of Soviet Union regimes under Communist political system.
There were many efforts by European Heads of State to find a peaceful solution between Putin’s government and the Volodymyr Zelensky government. It was conspicuously clear that President Putin was not interested in a political discourse – a peaceful solution in the conflict between his government and the Zelensky government, it appears he just wanted to dismantle the Ukrainian government- cease to exist; just like he tolerated no dissent opinion or opposition inside Russia: many opposition leaders were mysteriously poisoned, killed, put in jail, or gone underground or abroad.
In 2014, Putin annexed the Crimean Peninsula to Russia and declared two republics in the Eastern of Ukraine, Donetsk and Luhansk region – Russia suffered minimal isolation and no major international sanctions.
The ongoing destructive war in Ukraine is a war against humanity, where President Putin has ignored “Global Order”, it breach of all the rules of international laws, or justification and left no norm and respect for international standards; it’s very obvious that authoritarian regimes and dictators don’t like to abide by the international norm and standards, such as tolerance for political dissent, human rights, or free fair elections in their respective country(s), the world order is becoming whacked; it’s becoming like “Medieval Period” where bigger nation states, especially Authoritarian regime states, are trying to devour smaller nations’ states. Ukraine war is war between democracy and autocracy!
One example is Turkish President Erdogan has ignored all international norms and standards, just mentioning two sovereign countries Syria and Iraq where his troops along with his proxies of various Islamic terrorist organizations literally invaded, under banner of security, gross violations of human rights have occurred in the region under Turkish troops and their proxies, with no international punitive, where Turkish drones on the sky 24/7, killing many innocent people, including children. Erdogan regimes being criticized on lip service only, no major international backlash or economic sanctions for his regime’s reckless policy.
World leaders, particularly from democratic states, are dealing with the war crisis in Ukraine, trying to save Ukraine from Putin’s war rage atrocity; at the same time two Nordic States, Finland and Sweden, from the fear of Russian aggression want to join NATO membership; This maverick President Erdogan is objecting their adamantine, unless they agree with his policy and there is no end of his gambits, he is also trying use Ukraine war crisis to invade more of Syria in Rojava Kurdistan to create more chaos, more refugees, and more killings, by his proxy forces, etc.
Turkey became a NATO member not by a choice, but by need, purchasing Russian “the S-400 Missile System ” bears it and also, not imposed sanctions on Russia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, despite Turkey’s reckless foreign policy perilous and illegal occupations and interferences of foreign land, Mr. Stoltenberg position is still not negative on Turkish State for unjust policy, that is considered a realpolitik! Alas, the Turkish State is also a NATO member, where NATO policy requires their members to abide by democratic protocols, it appears NATO condones the aberration rule of the Turkish state because Turkey is indispensable; Sometimes NATO sly innuendo of Turkish policy! For example, such as the Afrin Region in Rojava Kurdistan-Syria ongoing ethnic cleansing and demographic change, by the Turkish state, NATO and world community are muted about malevolent policy.
The Turkish State should face stiff international economic sanctions and isolations for pursuing this reckless policy, a way that the Russian state has been faced off with. One can read between the lines – in recent decades, so many heads of states and authoritarian regimes ignoring international standards and norms, they are rendering the role of the United Nations ineffective at the international geopolitical risk- stage of policy, as their predecessor did to the League of Nations in the early 20th century. The Ongoing atrocious war in Ukraine is not picturesque and the people must not be blithe with, dictators and authoritarian regimes must not win the war because they will curtail the freedom and liberty,… to the people in their domaine…Many people in the World recognize Mahatma Gandhi-India was a disciple of the peace, he still encouraged and supported Allies… both World Wars I, against “Central Powers” in World war II, against “Axis Powers” perhaps he then best understood the price for freedom and liberty… have no cost!
The War in Ukraine is President Putin’s war, which he is invading a sovereign state, with devastating consequences where it’s widely reported that his troops have committed atrocity of mass killing of innocent civilian, including rapes, murders, kidnappings, if that’s proven that constitute a “ War Crime Act”; but what’s clear, the atrocious war still ongoing, with no end appears on the horizon yet, the quick victory that Vladimir was expecting didn’t happen yet because the resistance of Ukrainian people determination of fighting back to the invading forces. Whether wrongly or attentionally, Putin underestimated the unity among democratic states against his ill invasion of Ukraine, but what it’s clear Russia is faced with a sever international economic sanctions, including many of lieutenants within his inner circle, such as oligarchs and kelaptocrats that will most likely hurt Russian economy for years to come or maybe it’s unsustainable. Unfortunately, many Russian soldiers, including many military Generals, have also paid the ultimate price with (their lives) for Vladimir Putin of misguided policy in Ukraine. There is no perfect system, not say, liberal democratic states are flawless either, but it has check and balance in the system, they do have their own misguided policy too, but to scale of autocratic states where dictator(s) or authoritarian regime make his own policy based on his political vision…
Nuclear threat: In recent years, the scenario of nuclear weapons threats has come mostly from Kim Jon-un-North Korea, so many world leaders did not take North Korean dictator’s verbal threat seriously, perhaps it is viewed that his verbal bluster threats are just for his domestic political consumptions, because there are two authoritarian Superpowers, Russia and China are going control him; but now that nuclear threat is coming from Vladimir Putin – Russia. Those leaders or head of states who make nuclear threat, to his foe for his geopolitical advantages they should bear in mind there are other nation/states they also possess nuclear weapons arsenals too.
As we heard from the scientists, academics, historians. God forbid, in the event nuclear exchange happens between two nation states, that is the annihilation of our civilization, as we know of! For example, Chernobyl disaster nuclear accident in Ukraine in 1986 that time it was a part of Soviet Empire, the release of radiation into atmosphere, that time most of the European continent was affected of environmental damage of radiation leaking out to atmosphere. Ongoing war in Ukraine, Russian soldiers briefly occupied the Chernobyl nuclear plant site and surrounding area of high radioactive contamination. Russian soldiers left the site because the soldiers were getting sick (Russia exposed its own soldiers to potentially unhealthy levels of radioactivity during its month-plus possession of defunct nuclear facility-NPR) because of contamination, that area is still unlivable, after so many years!
Imperial Ambitions of Nostalgia: many politicians and writers have labeled the “Middle East” &‘ forever wars’ ;They should also call Russia a state of forever war as well, centuries of the colonial campaigns- Russia’s expansionism and imperial ambitions in between two continents, starting from Czar’s reign, conflict war with Japan ‘s Empire, most of time was in war with European powers, both Ottoman Empire, varios Persian Shah’s. Under reign of Lenin and Stalin, under banner of Socialism of “utopian society” of imagination, devastating of civil war, between “Reds- by Bolsheviks, and Whites, a politically-diverse coalition of anti-Bolsheviks” with Iron fist policy holding onto East European Countries and in the east Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, etc. by forces.
Mikhail Gorbachev reign “Perestroika and Glasnost [-] restructuring and openness” it failed thru miserably, which it produced leaders like Boris Yeltsin to Vladimir Putin, the nostalgia of the past, which all these leaders stem from the period of Peter the great, to present leaderships have told Russian people good time will arrive very soon! But each skullduggery project gives birth to the next devastating war for Russian people; just like “waiting for Godot ”[-] “it almost literally means one is expecting something to happen or to come but it will probably never happen”!
There is an old adage that says, when a dog grinds a bone, firstly he thinks how to exude it out of his rear end. Leonid Brezhnev occupied Afghanistan by force for years. It was a meat grinding war for years of human cost and materials; many people lost their lives, which also caused the beginning of the end of the Soviet Empire. Now, Vladimir Putin is at war in Ukraine. What is clear, it is a costly devastating war at both human cost and material cost that the war effort is also not going well as Vladimir Putting expected, even though being a Former KGB agent (‘Committee for State Security’) he is a ruthless man and a skillful politician, he doesn’t know which direction the war will go. Though it looks like that the piece of bone got stuck somewhere in his rear end. But do not know, if Putin weighed in the pros and cons of Leonid Brezhnev policy in Afghanistan prior to invading Ukraine, unquenchable yearning for restoration of the Soviet Union Empire ?
Omar Sindi, a senior writer, analyst and columnist for iKurd.net, Washington, United States.
The opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of iKurd.net or its editors.
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