Bruce G. Richardson
In the Shadow of the Bear…a New ‘Great Game’ unfolds
‘Turkistan, Afghanistan, Transcaspia, Persia…Are the pieces on a chessboard upon which is being played out a game for the dominance of the world…Lord Curzon (Viceroy of India, 1899-1905)
On 7 October, 2001, in a combat-support role, military, special operations and intelligence units from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kirghizstan, Kazakhstan and Russia, invaded Afghanistan as part of the utterly shameless, United States-led ‘Operation Enduring Freedom.’ Without doubt a hubristic euphemism from the self-appointed Paladin of moral rectitude… the U.S., for the savage and gratuitous onslaught that was to follow.
It is therefore difficult to reconcile the term ‘Enduring Freedom’ with carpet bombing of rural villages by B-52 bombers, the deployment of proscribed weapons such as white phosphorous and depleted uranium, indiscriminate cruise-missile attacks, nighttime home incursions and unlimited political, financial and military support for the pro-Moscow, anti=Pashtun Northern Alliance, unimaginable familial, economic, and social dislocation and the ultimate outrage…occupation by foreign troops. Thus Russia, America’s Cold War enemies reinforced by their Central Asian communist contingents, had covertly joined forces against the predominantly-Pashtun Taliban, those whom during the Soviet/Afghan War the U.S. had so vigorously supported rhetorically and militarily.
Of regional significance, is the appearance of a covert unit of armed Russian troops having disguised their identity by wearing identical clothing/uniforms as that worn by military units of the Northern Alliance. Though vigorously denied by Moscow, the fact that the Russian special operations troops were disguised is in and of itself…telling, reflecting a profound distaste for gratuitous war in Afghanistan by the Russian electorate, and therefore the need for complete secrecy. At a recent press-conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied the presence of Russian troops in Afghanistan and said that the “Russian people would not want for their boys to again be fighting in Afghanistan.” Russia has generally been critical of the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan, but has discreetly assisted Washington and NATO with helicopters, special-forces personnel, and intelligence thought to be collected by a network of Kremlin spies in the northern vestiges of Afghanistan. In addition, just prior to the incursion, Russia consigned massive arms shipments consisting of aging T-55 main battle tanks, MI-17 helicopters, armored personnel carriers, heavy weapons and missiles to the Northern Alliance. The cozy relationship between the Northern Alliance and Moscow has a long and storied history and therefore the events of 7 October 2001, should come as no surprise and or require further elaboration.
Under international law, the disguising of combat troops by Russia constitutes a ‘False Flag’ operation, a codified violation of international law. Wikipedia defines ‘false flag’ operations as covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by others. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors, that is, flying the flag of another country other than one’s own:
Article 23 of the Annex of the IV Hague Convention, does not prohibit such use, but does prohibit their improper use. It is certainly forbidden to make use of them during combat. Codified in 1997, the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 (Protocol 1): Article 39, directs that it is ‘prohibited to make use in an armed conflict of the flags, uniforms, insignia or military emblems of adverse or other parties while engaging in attacks or in order to shield, favor, protect or impede military operations.’ Ironically, the American Soldiers Handbook states: ‘The use of the flag, insignia, and uniform of other than one’s own country are not to be used during actual fighting.’ As Russia and the United States are signatories to the various treaties and conventions that regulate war, the deployment therefore of Russian troops in a combat-support role disguised as Northern Alliance regulars, is clearly an infraction of international law. But it is apparent that in this war international law is cited only when and if those in opposition are deemed in violation… and rarely if ever when the super-powers are themselves in violation. (Afghanistan: A Search for Truth, 4th Edition, Bruce G. Richardson, pp. 153-414, 2009)
Russia invades Afghanistan…yet again:
On 13 November, 2001, combined Northern Alliance/Russian military contingents entered Kabul yet again; it is said under the discreet command of Russian Lt. General, Ruslan Sultanovich Aushev. The Russian military components many of whom had prior Afghanistan experience were drawn from the 201st Motorized Rifle Division based in Tajikistan. Afghanistan’s indigenous pro-Moscow minority units were placed under the command of Generals’ Abdur Rashid Dostum, Mullah Daoud and Fahim Khan, long viewed by the Afghan people as notorious traitors from the earliest days of the Cold War. (American Raj, Resolving the Conflict between the West and the Muslim World, Eric S. Margolis, pp. 194-196, 2008)
A passage from history worthy of consideration taken from Afghan Amir Abdur Rahman’s memoirs as published in 1900, and yet well within current cognitive reasoning and discourse, was penned by the Amir in reference to his many (12) years of exile in Russia and yet speaks eloquently to this issue of foreign fraternization and collaboration:
‘I am under great obligations to the Russians, and shall never forget their kindness, because ingratitude is the very worst of sins…But…I am not entitled to sell my country and my people to the Russians in compensation for my personal gratitude toward them’.
During those years, he had been the interested recipient of numerous confidences from high Russian officials who hoped to enlist his aid in bringing Afghanistan into the Russian orbit. During the 19th century, master story-teller Rudyard Kipling coined the phrase the ‘Great Game’, a term which came to signify Russia’s gamesmanship: the dogged pursuit of access to the Indian Ocean and control of the Indian subcontinent. Abdur Rahman, also known as the ‘Iron Amir,’ however resisted Tsarist inducements and refused to betray his country…unlike his modern-day Cold War contemporaries. Abdur Rahman ruled Afghanistan from 1880 until his death in 1901.
In a replay of 19th century ‘Great Game’ intrigue and geo-strategy, Russia’s motive for aiding the U.S. against the Taliban is seen as predicated primarily on their vexing fear of an expanding anti-Communist, Taliban-style religio/revolutionary zeal which could induce indigenous foment and armed unrest amongst the populations of the brutal, dictatorial, and repressive Communist Central Asian regimes. The spoils of energy-rich Central Asia are of significant, strategic importance for Russia. Moscow therefore will go to any lengths to prevent a Taliban-inspired revolution which would likely threaten their economic and strategic interests, upset the social order, and or jeopardize the exploration and development of oil, natural gas and a myriad of valuable rare-earth elements such as lithium. (See: Is an Oil Pipeline behind the War in Afghanistan, by Bill Sardi, www.lewrockwell.com)
This new-found cooperative-relationship between the U.S. and Russia is however exceedingly tenuous. Russia has stated its opposition to the proposed American military presence in Afghanistan. Again, fearing severe economic loss and or disruption in countries seen as ‘within their sphere of influence’, their being shutout of the Trans-Afghan-Pipeline deliberations due to a lack of financing available…the result of a World Bank and IMF strategy as dominated by the United States and given the burgeoning American military and commercial presence around the world. (One part of the Bush Administration’s pre-911 plan to reshape the world was to replace the Taliban so that a pipeline to bring oil from the Caspian Sea through Afghanistan could be built, David Ray Griffin, www.lewrockwell.com)
‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ has been a win-win situation for Russia, unrest in the Central Asian satrapies has been charged to combatting drugs and terrorism and has elicited sympathy from the West. Afghanistan’s relations with China have also improved measurably as well, resulting in their appointment to ‘Observer’ status in the Shanghai Cooperative Organization (SCO). Though under threat from Uzbek strongman General Abdur Rashid Dostum, a notorious Cold War traitor, war criminal and warlord who for reasons of personal enrichment remains opposed to resource development in the north of Afghanistan, SCO observer status has had the immediate result and initial benefit that witnesses the signing of lucrative commercial (copper and oil) agreements with an added premium of 25-year in-force validity between Afghanistan and China.
Formation of the SCO, while geo-political in nature, has largely been formulated to frustrate American hegemony in the Asian heartland. In addition, Moscow’s influence over the north of Afghanistan is so complete that it is reminiscent of the popular fashioning of colonial enclaves by the powerful nations during the nineteenth century. For all practical purposes, the northern reaches of Afghanistan have become a Russian colony. For the U.S., a diminished image around the globe as an untrustworthy, imperial power bent on dictating and dominating the world through permanent militarism while camouflaged as the ‘War on Terror.’
For the Afghan people it remains endless war and loss…loss of loved ones, of property, and loss of freedom and civil rights, due to a gratuitous war based on fabrications, falsehoods, outright lies, propaganda and imperial visions of grandeur by the current ‘Great Game’ players, i.e., the United States, Pakistan, China and Russia.
Bruce G. Richardson