The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan

187 Pages·1989·3.88 MB·English

by  Amin Saikal

The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Nearly ten years of bloodshed and political turmoil have followed the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Soviet occupation not only
proved a major trauma for the people of Afghanistan; invasion ended
at a stroke the growth in superpower detente that had characterised
the late 1970s; and back at home in the Soviet Union the effects of
escalating military costs and over 13,000 young military casualties
have been felt at every level of society.
The decision to withdraw combat forces under the provisions of the
Geneva Accords of April 1988 is one of the most dramatic
developments in the international system since the end of the Second
World War. Unable to overcome fierce insurgent Mujahideen
resistance, the new Soviet leadership, under General Secretary
Gorbachev, has opted to cut its military losses under a veil of UN
diplomacy. The effects of this decision will be felt not only in
Afghanistan, but in the Soviet Union, in Southwest Asia, and in the
wider world.
The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan has been designed to
explore the background to the decision to withdraw and its broader
implications. The authors, all established specialists, examine the
Geneva Accords; the future for post-withdrawal Afghanistan; and
the impact of withdrawal on regional states, Soviet foreign and
domestic policies, the Soviet armed forces, Sino-Soviet relations and
world politics. They write from diverse disciplinary traditions,
while bringing together a shared sensitivity to the issues which
complicate the Afghan question.

The Soviet Withdrawal
from Afghanistan
edited by
Amin Saikal
Australian National University, Canberra
and
William Maley
University of New South Wales, Kensington
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© Cambridge University Press 1989
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 1989
Reprinted 1989, 1990
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
ISBN-13 978-0-521-37577-1 hardback
ISBN-10 0-521-37577-0 hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-37588-7 paperback
ISBN-10 0-521-37588-6 paperback
Transferred to digital printing 2006
For all the innocent victims of the Afghan War
All royalties from the publication of The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan
are being paid to Save the Children to assist with their Afghan projects

Contents
Preface
1 Introduction 1
Amin Saikal and William Maley
2 The Geneva Accords of April 1988 12
William Maley
3 Post-Withdrawal Afghanistan: Light at the End of the Tunnel 29
Louis Dupree
4 The Regional Politics of the Afghan Crisis 52
Amin Saikal
5 The Afghan Conflict and Soviet Domestic Politics 67
T. H. Rigby
6 The Soviet Armed Forces and the Afghan War 82
Geoffrey Jukes
1 Afghanistan and Soviet Alliances 101
Robert F. Miller
8 Afghanistan and Sino-Soviet Relations 122
Leslie Holmes
9 The Afghanistan 'Settlement' and the Future of World Politics 142
Richard A. Folk
10 Conclusions: Management of the Afghan Crisis 161
/. L. Richardson
List of Contributors 171
Index 174

Preface
This book grew out of an international symposium held on 19 August
1988 by the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts, Australian
National University. The symposium was opened by the Australian
Defence Minister, The Honourable K.C. Beazley, M.P., who made time in
a busy schedule to contribute a thoughtful address on Australian
Government perspectives on Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. The
Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University, Professor L.W.
Nichol, kindly chaired the opening session. The contributors to the
symposium were asked to prepare papers on specified aspects of the
Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan which fell within their individual
areas of expertise. Beyond this, they were in no way obliged to adopt a
particular methodological approach, or to conform to a particular line of
argument. This volume contains revised versions of the papers which
were presented at the symposium, together with an introductory essay by
the editors.
We owe sincere thanks not only to Mr Beazley, Professor Nichol, and
the contributors, but to several other people who played key roles in
making the symposium possible. Most of all our thanks go to the Head of
the Department of Political Science, Professor Nancy Viviani, whose
enthusiasm and support for this project were boundless. We are also
indebted to Dr Robert Cushing, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, for
generously making funds available to support the symposium, and for his
encouragement. Sharon Merten showed great organisational skill and
personal patience, ably backed by Thelma Wasiliew. For their great help
in arranging the symposium, we warmly thank them both. Mary-Louise
Hickey has been a constant source of support throughout the duration of
this project, and proof-read the manuscript with meticulous care.
Finally, we must thank the staff of the Department of Politics,
University College, University of New South Wales, in which the
manuscript of this book was assembled. Professor Ian McAllister
provided moral support. Alvaro Ascui and David W. Lovell gave
generously of their time to supply advice on word-processing. Shirley
Ramsay and Beverley Lincoln typed many difficult pages with great good
cheer. We thank them all.
Amin Saikal Canberra
William Maley January 1989