MIDDLE EAST REVIEWS

by LT Youssef H. Aboul-Enein (USNR)

Girardet, Edward R. Afghanistan, The Soviet War. St. Martin Press, New York. 259 pages, 1985.

Written while the brutal war in Afghanistan was being fought, journalist Edward Girardet introduces readers to the war that drained the Soviet Army of its will to fight. The unsuspecting rugged terrain would be the final catalyst that would spur on the collapse of Communism. However, nothing is simple in Afghanistan and this book takes us into the kaleidoscope of different MuJahideen factions as well as the communist Afghans who brought upon the land the might of the Soviet war machine.

The author examines the two communist parties, the Parchain and Khalq, revealing their history, development and the personalities of their leaders. In April 1978, the communists would take over Kabul and a string of events would lead to the Soviet Invasion in December 1979. Soviets would entangle them- selves in local communist politics with a daring assault by Rus- sian airborne troops on the palace of President Hafizullah Amm. Moscow would find a suitable replacement in the form of another part boss President Najibullah, propping his regime and army with Soviet forces. Mujahidden (freedom fighters) would initially learn the hard way how to tactically deal with a fully equipped modem mechanized force. Chapters deal with how both sides adapt and cope with new tactics, from the introduction of the Soviet Mi-24 Hind helicopter to weed our guerillas- hiding in the mountains to the Mujahideen acquiring modem weapons and using them against these threats. Readers are. taken to a fascinating glimpse of guerilla warfare, as invading Afghanistan would be easy, holding onto it would frustrate Soviet forces and intensify the ferocity of both sides.

Among Mujahideen you learn that the ethnic group called Pushtuns think and fight differently from Hazaris, Tadjiks, and Baluchis. The author delves into the different styles of fighting and training among the Mujahideen. It would be a Tadjik commander with his village in Northern Afghanistan that would organize the Mujahideen well enough to repel the Red Army eight times. Ahmed Shah Masood studied Mao's writing on Guerilla Warfare and organized his forces into moutariks (mobile forces) and sabhets (local defense units). Each moutarik unit was composed of 75 men and received regular pay and subsistence for their family.'In return, they fought the Red Army in the hills and fields constantly harassing mechanized units. Each moutarik unit also had an artillery component made up of a ZPU-2 anti-air gun, Rocket Propelled Grenades or mortars. The local defense units were village-based fighters and farmers organized in groups of 50 to 100 men, that kept Soviet forces occupied while the villagers escaped to the hills or until mobile (moutarik) units arrive to envelope Red Army units in fields of fire. Many Mujahideen lead- ers would send their lieutenants for training under Ahmed Shah Masood. Other Mujahidden leaders described range from the n amentalist group, Hizbi-Islami led by Gilbuddin Hekmetyar to moderates like Sibghatullah Mujaddadi.

Dissention among the Afghan communist army units was so prevalent that the Russians did not issue them certain weapons, fearing they would desert and turn over those weapons to the Mu- jahideen. As you read the chapters on Soviet propaganda and the dreaded Afghan secret service created by the communists called KHAD you realize this is a regime doomed to failure. Girardet's book is a true find for those wishing to understand the Afghan War and are interested in guerilla warfare. The author spent sev- eral years reporting in Afghanistan for the Voice of America and National Public Radio.

Mishal, Shaul. The PLO under Arafat, Between the Gun and the Olive Branch. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut. 190 pages, 1986.

Professor of Political Science at Tel Aviv University, Shaul Mishal is a prolific writer on Palestinian affairs. The PLO under Arafat is his third book on the subject. It unravels the organization and its various factions and spends many chapters explaining the different methods of these factions in their quest for Palestinian statehood. To understand how Arafat rules the former Occupied Territories of Gaza and the West Bank it is crucial to understand the deep divisions within his Palestinian National Council (PNC). It is also important to understand the development of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) which sprang from Arafat's group Al-Fatah in the late sixties. The author examines key covenants and doctrines that have blocked peace attempts with the Israelis for four decades. Some Palestinian organizations resort to Marxism like George Habbash founder of the radical People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), other Palestinians have allied themselves with Syria or Iraq becoming a tool for the advancement of their respective brands of Baathist (Arab National Socialism) ideology. The Syrians formed Al-Saiqa (Thunderbolt) and would advance Syrian interests during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1984). The Iraqis would create the Arab Liberation Front (ALF).

It would be a long and tortuous road for Palestinians as they experimented with Nasserism and tried to cope with changes in the region brought about by the Camp David Peace Accords. The book does not cover the Intifadah (Palestinian Uprising) when one day in 1987 Palestinians rejected the notion of linking their problems to the Arab world and began pelting Israeli army units with rocks taking matters in their own hands. These Palestinians were driven by a sense of economic desperation and hopelessness that was not given enough coverage in this book. What the author does offer is insight into why Arafat cavorts with radicals like Hamas while placating liberals who are able to deliver a more digmified face to his regime and political apparatus. With the election of Ehud Barak as new Israeli Prime Minister on May 17th readers will come to understand the dynamics of the relationship Israeli politicians have with Yasser Arafat.

1999, Foreign Area Officer Association
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