The United States is repeating the same mistakes the Soviet army made when it occupied Afghanistan, Russia's ambassador to Kabul said. "But maybe these mistakes are unavoidable," Ambassador Andrey Avetisyan told the German Press Agency dpa ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Red Army's invasion on December 24, 1979.
International troops are focusing on the provincial capitals and have no control over rural areas, he said. "That was a problem for the Soviet army, and clearly it is a problem now too," the ambassador said. Then, like now, the training of the Afghan army was an issue, but Avetisyan said he believed the Soviets did better sometimes than the present-day troops.
The civilian engagement has been "gravely neglected" since the beginning of the international mission eight years ago, the diplomat charged. The war in Afghanistan cannot be won by military means alone, he said. "How many more examples does mankind need to understand that?" Avetisyan asked. "It is not like World War II, where you are in Berlin and say, 'This is Victory Day.' This will not happen in Afghanistan." Military efforts had to be combined wih civilian reconstruction, which was more important and needed to be strengthened, the envoy said. "Otherwise the coalition can be here fighting for years and decades without any success in the end," he said.