Canada takes notes from failed Soviet war.

If Canada had taken notes from the Soviet war it would have never have joined as junior partner in U.S. imperialism in the first place. The mistake is to occupy Afghanistan and try to impose a government that will be a puppet or at least favorable to the occupier. The article does not mention that s0me of the same people who defeated the Soviets are now fighting against us.
The article does not mention that the situation was different then in that the U.S. and other supplied the insurgents with money and arms. Of course those are the bad guys now. Good guys and bad guys change over the years. It is hard to keep them straight. The jihadists haven''t changed it is just that they are good guys when they are fighting the likes of the Evil Empire and bad guys when they resist Enduring Freedom.


Canada takes notes from failed Soviet war
STEVEN CHASE
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
July 12, 2008 at 12:44 AM EDT
OTTAWA — The Canadian military has been studying the Soviet debacle in Afghanistan for clues on how to prevent similar mistakes as NATO tries to beat back a persistent insurgency and ready the country's weak but pro-Western government to assume greater control.
It began a research project in 2006, a year in which fighting intensified for Canada in the war against the Taliban.
“The project was undertaken … for the purpose of determining whether this history offered any lessons to be learned for the Canadian Forces,” an executive summary of some of the research said.
The Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, and pulled out combat forces in 1989 after a costly decade of fighting mujahedeen. They left behind a weak, pro-Soviet government that collapsed in 1992.
Invaders of Afghanistan
Many foreign forces have attempted to conquer Afghanistan and its predecessor states. Few have succeeded. Here are some examples of those who tried.Darius the Great: In the late sixth century BC, much of the country was absorbed into the Persian empire of Darius the Great. However, plagued by constant uprisings, the Persians never established effective control.Alexander the Great: In the third century BC, Alexander the Great invaded. The harsh, mountainous terrain and brutal weather were only part of the challenge. The Afghans themselves were no less formidable. Constant revolts undermined whatever glory he could claim.Genghis Khan: In 1220, the Islamic lands of Central Asia were overrun by the armies of this Mongol invader. But even Genghis Khan failed to destroy the strength of Islam there. By the end of the 13th century, his descendants were themselves Muslims.Britain: There were three major interventions by the British Army between 1838 and 1919. Each one ultimately failed.Soviet Union: In 1979, the Soviets rolled in about 115,000 troops. The Afghans responded with an extended guerrilla war, and in 1989 the Soviets withdrew.Sources: The Claremont Institute, encyclopedia.com, CNN, espritdecorps.ca, channel4.com, BBC, NYT

By the time the Department of National Defence began its research project, Canadian soldiers had been fighting Taliban insurgents for nearly half a decade without subduing them, a 2007 Forces paper notes.
“Despite many successes … the insurgency against the government of Afghanistan, the U.S. troops and [North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces] persisted.”
Many of the research findings are lessons that, by 2008, the Canadian Forces, NATO soldiers and Western governments had already gleaned through experience in Afghanistan and other foreign missions.
Researchers said the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is a major hindrance. The mujahedeen used the porous frontier to smuggle arms and resources into Afghanistan in the 1980s and are offering Taliban supporters the same supply route for insurgents and weapons today.
“The movement of insurgents and materiel across the Afghan-Pakistan border is a paramount strategic problem,” says a 2007 memorandum by Anton Minkov and Gregory Smolynec titled 3-D Soviet Style: A Presentation on Lessons Learned from the Soviet Experience in Afghanistan.