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-