„There is no piece of land in Afghanistan that has not been occupied by one of our soldiers at some time ora another. Nevertheless much of the territories stays in the hands of the terrorists. We control the provincial centers, but we cannot mantain the political control over the territory we size.
Our soldiers are not to blame. The fought incredibily bravely in adverse conditions. But to occcupy towns and villages temporarily has little value in such a vast land where the insurgents can just disappear into the hills. We need more soldiers. Without them, without a lot more men, this war will continue for a very, very long time“
Das klingt als wären es Worte des amerikanischen Generals, Stanley McChrystal, der Kommandant der Nato in Afghanistan, der von seinem Präsidenten 40.000 Soldaten mehr fordert. Doch sind dies die Worte des Generals Sergej Akhromejew, Kommandant der sowjetischen Truppen in Afghanistan. Akhromejew sagt dies alles zum Politbüro der Sowjetunion – am 13. November 1986.