Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site brl-tgr.ARPA
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!hplabs!hao!seismo!brl-tgr!jcp
From: jcp@brl-tgr.ARPA (Joe Pistritto )
Newsgroups: net.flame,net.politics
Subject: Re: RE: Afghanistan's government's  invitation
Message-ID: <4815@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Sat, 22-Sep-84 09:08:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.4815
Posted: Sat Sep 22 09:08:36 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Sep-84 06:39:23 EDT
References: <479@tty3b.UUCP> <1731@sdcc6.UUCP> <5971@mcvax.UUCP>, <1843@ucbvax.ARPA>, <234@digi-g.UUCP> <1093@ihuxi.UUCP>
Organization: Ballistics Research Lab
Lines: 26

'Reactionary big landowners' eh?

From the film I've seen of the Afghan resistance, it looks like most of the
fighters are lucky to own the turban on their heads, much less any appreciable
amount of land.  I've met 'reactionary big landowners' in India, and they
don't look like the type to run around blowing up bridges, etc.  (There
are such folks in Afghanistan, incidentally, and the *WERE* against both
the previous gov't (Amin), and the current gov't (Karmal & the Soviet Army),
which were/are both trying to establish a Soviet style government system
in Afghanistan.  But the resistance to BOTH governments was by the mostly
illiterate people living outside the major cities who didn't want the
central government (never a powerful force in Afghan history) controlling
their lives.  (Gee, as a Republican, that sounds familiar...)  When the
Russians invaded, they had to make up a good story about 'powerful
landowners and reactionary elements', etc.  (It wouldn't do to have the
mighty Soviet Army putting down peasant rebellions now would it?  Sounds
too Czarist for your typical Russian propagandist).  This sort of
misinformation has been used COUNTLESS times by the Russians and their
friends, (for instance: Angola, Grenada (before the invasion),
Nicarauga (sp?)).  The last time the Russians tried to dominate Afghanistan,
it should be noted that the 'great world power' at the time drove them out,
mainly by helping Afghan rebels, and then finally by a small invasion
themselves.  (This was, of course, the British Empire protecting its
investment in India).

						-JCP-