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Russi an pres–
ence in slralegic
Afghanislan tol–
lows p l an dal –
ing from c za risl
limes . Nexl on
INOIAN OCEAN
BEHIND THE CRISIS
INAFGHANISTAN
At stake is control of a strategic "choke point'' of life-and-death
importance to the West!
T
HE CRISIS
in remete Afghan–
istan is no mere local strug–
gle. Massive Soviet military
presence in the country
leaves no doubt on tha t seore.
Soviet intervention began with a
year-end coup in Kabul, Afghanis–
tan 's capital. T he Kremlin thrust a
hand-picked protégé-Babrak Kar–
mal- into power. Former president
Hafizullah Amín, pro-Soviet but
ineffective in putting down rebel–
lious antigovernment Moslem
tribesmen, was ousted, then exe–
cuted.
On the heels of the government
ovcrthrow followed a large-scale air–
lift of Soviet combat troops and
military equipment into Afghanis–
tan. Additional men and matériel
poured dircctly over the 1000-mile
Soviet-Afghan border. The Soviets
insist the new Karmal regime invited
them in to restore order.
These moves tightened Moscow's
grip on Afghanistan to such a degree
that thc country has become, for all
intents and purposes, a Soviet satel–
lite.
But thc Kremlin's designs go far
beyond that limited objective. T o
Soviet policymakers, Afghanistan is
but a
stepping stone
toward a far
greater prizc.
The Soviet Union's move into
March 1980
by
Keith
w.
Stump
Afghanistan may well be the first
step toward a new strategic bal–
ance-in the Kremlin's favor- in the
Middle East and South Asia. In the
words of the C hi nese news agency
Xinhua, Moscow appears determined
to "rule the roost in Asia."
Crossroads of Central Asia
What's really behind the Soviet
action in Afghanistan? What does it
portend for the West?
lt
is the latest
chapter in a centuries-old struggle
for domination of this pivota] cerner
of the world. A brief look at the
histor y of t he region leaves little
doubt asto the ultima te intentions of
the Kremlin.
Afghanistan has been entangled in
power-bloc rivalries for centuries.
The mountainous, landlocked coun–
try at the gates of the towering
Hindu Kush range is larger in area
than Spain and Portugal combined.
lt
is strategically positioned in the
heart of Asia, between the Middle
East, Central Asia and the Indian
subcontinent (see map). This pivota!
location has exertcd a decisive in–
Auence on the country's history since
antiquity.
Afghanistan became an early
crossroads of caravan trade and cul–
tural exchange. The old silk route
between Europe and the Far East led
through its perilous mountains. But
more importantly,
the vast majority
of the great historie invasions of the
Indian subcontinent were made
through its mountain passes.
Perhaps the best known of these
passes is the historie 35-mile-long Khy–
ber Pass, the "Gateway to Central
Asia," connecting Kabul with Pesha–
war, in what today is Pakistan.
No
other pass in the world has had such
continuing strategic importance.
The region was first conquered in
516 a.c. by the Persian king Darius I
(the Great). Nearly two centuries
later, in 326
B.C.,
Alexander the
Great and his Macedonian army con–
quered the area-then known as
Bactria-on their way to India.
The conquering Arabs took Af–
ghanistan in
A.O.
652, introducing
the Islamic faith. Today sorne 99
percent of the country's 17 million
people are Moslem, primarily of the
Sunni branch.
In 998, Mahmud of Ghazni, a
Moslem conqueror of Turkish ex–
traction, assumed control of t he area,
using it as a base for this thrust into
India. T he Mongol conquerors
Genghis Khan (about 1220) and
Tamerlane (late 1300s) overran
Afghanistan in the course of their
conquering marches into India. Tam–
erlane's descendant, Babur-founder
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