WEBVTT

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(whistle blowing)

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This is Kabul in 1978.

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These images remind us of an era

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when East and West
confronted each other

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for world domination.

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Today, the Cold War
has given way

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to a new confrontation,

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which opposes the Muslim
and Western worlds.

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And it was
in this country, Afghanistan,

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that this transformation
took place.

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This is the story
of the bloody 10-year war

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which pitted
the Soviet superpower

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against the Afghan resistance,

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a war whose aftereffects

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continue to make headlines
every day.

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This is the story
of an absurd war

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that changed the world.

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♪

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To understand
how the war in Afghanistan

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turned into a major conflict
with global implications,

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we must go back in history.

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The USSR and Afghanistan

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had always been
the best of friends.

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Russia was the first major power

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to recognize the state
of Afghanistan in 1919,

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just as Afghanistan
would be the first country

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to recognize Soviet Russia
in 1921.

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Throughout the 20th century,

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relations between
the two countries

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were excellent,

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and Soviet leaders
were at great pains

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to pamper Afghanistan,

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this buffer state

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with its strategic location
at the heart of Central Asia,

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wedged between the USSR
to the north,

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Iran to the west,

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and China and Pakistan
to the east.

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In the 1970s,

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Afghanistan was
a liberal republic

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run by President Daoud Khan,

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who got on marvelously
with the Soviets.

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At the time,

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Moscow was Kabul\"s
main economic partner.

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The USSR was actively involved

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in the country\"s
construction drive,

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and hundreds of Soviet advisors

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were sent to Afghanistan.

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The honeymoon
between the two countries

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paradoxically came to an end

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the day the communists
seized power in Kabul,

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on the 27th of April, 1978.

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(crowd noise)

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The People\"s Democratic Party
of Afghanistan,

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led by Nur Muhammad Taraki,

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seized power by means
of a bloody coup d\"état.

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Despite Taraki\"s
communist credentials,

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the Soviets were furious.

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It took the Kremlin
several months to accept

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this ill-timed revolution.

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The Secretary General
of the Soviet Communist Party,

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Leonid Brezhnev, finally did so

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to escape the disapproval
of other socialist powers

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around the world.

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In December 1978,

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eight months
after seizing power,

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President Taraki
finally arrived in Moscow

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to sign a friendship treaty
between the two countries,

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an economic and military treaty

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which secured Soviet aid
for the new communist regime

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in Afghanistan.

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The transition from feudal
to socialist society

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was to be brought about
by agrarian reform.

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This was the Afghan communists\"
first failure.

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This excessively brutal reform,

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which failed to take ancestral
traditions into account,

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was not well received
by land owners in the provinces.

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The second stumbling block
was educational reform.

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The government in Kabul
decreed that school

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was compulsory for girls.

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The religious authorities
violently opposed this measure.

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The mullahs who opposed
the communists

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were cracked down on harshly.

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Attacking religious leaders
can be very dangerous,

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as the Soviets knew
only too well.

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Especially as in February 1979,

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a revolution in neighboring Iran

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had just brought
Ayatollah Khomeini to power.

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Right on Afghanistan\"s doorstep,

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a veritable theocracy
was being established:

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an Islamic republic
run by the mullahs.

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At the Kremlin,

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events in Iran
were observed very closely.

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This revolution was
a real slap in the face

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for the American enemy,

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as it brought down
the Shah\"s regime,

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which was supported
by Washington.

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(crowd chanting)

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The Soviets repeatedly
tried to calm

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the anti-religious fervor
of the Afghan communists,

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but to no avail.

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On the 15th of March, 1979,
in Herat,

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a town in the west
of the country,

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an entire division of the
regular Afghan army rebelled.

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It was under the command
of Captain Toran Ismail,

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who would thereafter
become famous

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under the name Ismail Khan,

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as a warlord
of the Afghan resistance.

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The Herat uprising
in which 30,000 died

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was a serious concern
for President Taraki.

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He phoned the USSR
prime minister, Alexei Kosygin.

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The conversation conserved
in the Kremlin\"s secret archives

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is an edifying one.

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Nur Muhammad Taraki
requested Soviet military aid,

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advocating
a discreet intervention

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by the Red Army on Afghan soil.

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Kosygin was very reticent.

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\"I don\"t want to annoy you,
but it\"s very difficult

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to intervene discreetly.

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The whole world would find out,

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and within a couple of hours,

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everyone would be screaming
that the Soviet Union

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had invaded Afghanistan.\"

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But President Taraki was not
short of convincing arguments

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and ideas.

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\"Just send in tanks
driven by Soviet soldiers

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from Central Asia.

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Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Turkmenis,

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there are lots of these
people in Afghanistan.

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If they put on
Afghan army uniforms,

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they won \"t be noticed.\"

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President Taraki\"s idea
took root.

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The KGB and the GRU,
foreign military intelligence,

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started to round up
Soviet soldiers

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to form a battalion,
which would later become famous

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as the Musbat,
the Muslim Battalion.

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The secret formation
of the Muslim Battalion

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in May 1979 shows that the KGB

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was starting to get ready,
but ready for what?

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At the time, no one knew,

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but they were sure of one thing:

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The situation
in the Afghan provinces

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was becoming extremely serious,

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especially close to
the Pakistan border,

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where a large number
of anticommunist combatants

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had taken refuge.

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It was at this point
that this still-undeclared war

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drew in new protagonists:

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the United States
and its ally, Pakistan.

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The head of the ISI,
General Akhtar,

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came to us for...
With a request for assistance.

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This was in the middle
of \"79, and, uh,

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you know, in order to conduct
a covert action abroad

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in modern times,
you have to have

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the authorization
of the president,

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which is contained
in what is called

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a presidential finding,
which he signs.

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And he signed the finding,
that was Jimmy Carter,

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in the summer of \"79,
to give non-lethal aid

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to the mujahideen,

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who were in contact
with the ISI,

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and they were revolting against
the Communist Party rule,

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which had begun in \"78.

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(shouting in unison)

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Already by the summer of 1979,

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Afghanistan was in a state
of total civil war.

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In Kandahar, Herat,
and Panjshir,

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all through the provinces,

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resistance groups
were in a state of readiness.

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But it was in Kabul,
at the heart of communist power,

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that the next act
of this tragedy would play out.

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Look at these two men,

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President Taraki
and his prime minister,

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Hafizullah Amin.

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Two friends
and comrades in arms,

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two Marxist leaders who
believed they could establish

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a socialist state
in record time.

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On the 11th of December, 1979,

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Taraki returned
from a trip to Moscow.

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He was welcomed
by his prime minister,

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Amin visibly very happy
to see the president home again.

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Three days later, the same Amin

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had Taraki suffocated
by secret service officers.

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Amin seized power without
giving Moscow any warning.

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He was henceforth
at the helm of a country

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plunged in civil war.

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The purges that followed
were brutal.

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Amin had all
high-ranking officers

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loyal to Taraki either
imprisoned or executed.

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It was at this point that
the Soviets started to wonder

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who this Hafizullah Amin
really was.

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(cheers, applause)

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I think it was probably
part of the drama

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that was playing out in Moscow.

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They came up
with a list of things

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that the Americans were doing,

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one of them
that Amin was their guy,

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that the Americans
were gonna move

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short-range missiles
into Afghanistan,

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and any number
of other embellishments

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that simply weren\"t true.

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I don\"t think
anybody in Washington

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or in the United States
government,

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paid much attention
to Afghanistan at that time.

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But there is no evidence at all

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that Amin actually
was connected with the CIA.

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There is an evidence
that Amin was trying

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to play both against each other,

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because he felt his position
was very precarious

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and his position was not stable.

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Was Amin an agent
of the Americans or the Chinese,

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or quite simply a loose cannon?

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At KGB headquarters in Moscow,

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everything was being considered.

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Agents in Kabul
described a situation

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which was daily getting worse.

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Yuri Andropov, head of the KGB,

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passed on some
very alarming memos

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to Leonid Brezhnev.

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One of the memoranda
which was very, very important

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for Brezhnev where
Andropov essentially creates

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this sense of urgency,

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where we have to do
something now,

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before Amin\"s government
turns to the Americans.

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Yet it was Leonid Brezhnev

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who, as Secretary General
of the Communist Party,

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embodied supreme power.

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It was up to him to take
the most important

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decisions of state,

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especially as regards
foreign policy.

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(applause)

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♪

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On the 12th of December,

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a select Politburo
meeting took place.

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It was at this meeting
that the decision was taken

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to eliminate the Afghan leader
Hafizullah Amin,

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whom they judged to be
out of control.

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At the time,
the young Mikhail Gorbachev

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was just a deputy member
of the Politburo

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and had no say in the decisions

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of the supreme office.

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And here is the Old Guard.

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Ustinov, Minister of Defense;

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Andropov, head of the KGB;

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and Gromyko,
Minister of Foreign Affairs.

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It was their decision
and theirs alone

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to commit the Red Army
to this disastrous enterprise.

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For the previous ten years,

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the so-called détente
had been in place

00:15:04.550 --> 00:15:07.182
between the Soviet Union
and the United States.

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Brezhnev was very
attached to it,

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and most of the Politburo
understood that

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the slightest
military intervention

00:15:13.083 --> 00:15:15.549
could shatter this
fragile equilibrium.

00:15:15.550 --> 00:15:17.316
Yet these three men
managed to rally

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the other members
to their cause,

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which consisted of carrying out

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a coup d\"état against Amin

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and sending in a contingent
of the Red Army

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to prop up the new power regime.

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This is the document
confirming the decision

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to intervene in Afghanistan.

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A quite unique piece of paper,

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it\"s just one handwritten sheet,

00:15:36.517 --> 00:15:38.616
something unheard of
for a document

00:15:38.617 --> 00:15:40.049
of such importance.

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Furthermore, the decision itself

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is worded very vaguely,

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merely conferring
on the three men

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the power to take
the necessary measures

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for restoring order
in Afghanistan.

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Yet even the word
\"Afghanistan\" does not appear,

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the country being designated
simply by the letter \"A.\"

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Drawn up on
the 12th of December, 1979,

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it was only countersigned
on the 26th of that month

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by the other members
of the Politburo,

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with the exception of Kosygin,

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who never approved of it.

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The coup d\"état aimed
at eliminating President Amin

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could now go ahead.

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Thanks to Coca-Cola,

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Amin survived
the poisoning attempt.

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So the KGB decided
to launch a military assault

00:17:42.350 --> 00:17:43.982
on the presidential palace.

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Operation Storm
was launched at 7:15 p.m.,

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its aim to finish off the job

00:17:49.350 --> 00:17:52.182
and eliminate Amin.

00:17:52.183 --> 00:17:55.750
(explosions, gunfire)

00:18:58.716 --> 00:19:01.516
♪

00:19:01.517 --> 00:19:04.449
In the night of the 27th
to the 28th of December,

00:19:04.450 --> 00:19:08.882
100,000 Red Army soldiers
poured into Afghanistan.

00:19:08.883 --> 00:19:10.116
According to
the official wording,

00:19:10.117 --> 00:19:12.715
it was a limited contingent
aimed at upholding

00:19:12.716 --> 00:19:15.849
the communist regime
in Afghanistan.

00:19:15.850 --> 00:19:18.082
It was this man, Babrak Karmal,

00:19:18.083 --> 00:19:19.682
who took the reins of power.

00:19:19.683 --> 00:19:23.216
Chosen by Moscow,
he patiently awaited his moment

00:19:23.217 --> 00:19:25.282
in a military base.

00:19:25.283 --> 00:19:28.716
♪

00:20:13.783 --> 00:20:15.449
How could the Kremlin
Old Guard have believed

00:20:15.450 --> 00:20:17.782
that sending in troops
would improve the chances

00:20:17.783 --> 00:20:20.715
of peace with the Afghan people?

00:20:20.716 --> 00:20:23.416
The results would be
the exact opposite,

00:20:23.417 --> 00:20:25.249
with an eventual
knock-on effect

00:20:25.250 --> 00:20:27.183
around the world.

00:21:00.883 --> 00:21:03.416
(amplified chanting)

00:21:03.417 --> 00:21:05.182
It was at exactly this moment,

00:21:05.183 --> 00:21:07.249
as foreign troops
entered the country,

00:21:07.250 --> 00:21:09.682
that the situation
took on a new dimension.

00:21:09.683 --> 00:21:11.949
What had been
an Afghan civil war

00:21:11.950 --> 00:21:13.549
was now declared a holy war,

00:21:13.550 --> 00:21:18.682
affecting the entire
Muslim world.

00:21:18.683 --> 00:21:22.782
No one in the USSR was aware
of what was going on.

00:21:22.783 --> 00:21:25.049
Pravda published
a simple dispatch

00:21:25.050 --> 00:21:27.316
announcing that
in response to a request

00:21:27.317 --> 00:21:28.649
from the Afghan government,

00:21:28.650 --> 00:21:30.682
Soviet troops
had entered the country

00:21:30.683 --> 00:21:32.249
to repel foreign aggression.

00:21:32.250 --> 00:21:34.749
The communiqué ended
with the following words:

00:21:34.750 --> 00:21:36.583
\"Having been judged
by his people,

00:21:36.584 --> 00:21:41.616
Amin was sentenced to death
and executed.\"

00:21:41.617 --> 00:21:44.116
Until that morning
of the 28th of December,

00:21:44.117 --> 00:21:45.915
no one in Moscow had even known

00:21:45.916 --> 00:21:48.716
the operation was underway.

00:22:53.584 --> 00:22:55.882
A few days after
the troops entered the country

00:22:55.883 --> 00:22:57.815
on the fourth of January, 1980,

00:22:57.816 --> 00:23:01.149
American President
Jimmy Carter reacted publicly

00:23:01.150 --> 00:23:03.216
with a televised address.

00:23:03.217 --> 00:23:07.282
This is a callous violation
of international law

00:23:07.283 --> 00:23:10.216
and the United Nations charter.

00:23:10.217 --> 00:23:11.682
It is a deliberate effort

00:23:11.683 --> 00:23:14.416
of a powerful,
atheistic government

00:23:14.417 --> 00:23:18.316
to subjugate
an independent Islamic people.

00:23:18.317 --> 00:23:19.649
Jimmy Carter felt, I think,

00:23:19.650 --> 00:23:24.715
a huge personal insult
from Brezhnev,

00:23:24.716 --> 00:23:28.649
whom he thought
he had gotten to know

00:23:28.650 --> 00:23:29.283
a little bit.

00:23:29.284 --> 00:23:33.882
So when the Soviets
invaded Afghanistan in 1979,

00:23:33.883 --> 00:23:36.316
Carter made
the unfortunate statement,

00:23:36.317 --> 00:23:37.749
looking very naive, saying,

00:23:37.750 --> 00:23:39.316
\"I\" ve learned more
about the Soviet Union

00:23:39.317 --> 00:23:41.982
in the past 24 hours
than I\"ve learned

00:23:41.983 --> 00:23:42.750
in my entire lifetime.\"

00:23:42.751 --> 00:23:47.915
Carter was rather relaxed
about the Soviet Union

00:23:47.916 --> 00:23:53.049
and believed, naively,
that he could go

00:23:53.050 --> 00:23:57.249
to the bargaining table
and sort things out

00:23:57.250 --> 00:24:00.483
in a way that would
if not end the Cold War,

00:24:00.484 --> 00:24:05.716
at least ameliorate it
and make it safer.

00:24:07.083 --> 00:24:09.649
The reaction around the world
was unanimous.

00:24:09.650 --> 00:24:12.749
In January 1980,
the USSR was condemned

00:24:12.750 --> 00:24:14.483
by the majority
of the member countries

00:24:14.484 --> 00:24:16.915
of the UN, including
those Muslim nations

00:24:16.916 --> 00:24:20.815
not traditionally aligned
as allies of the Soviets.

00:24:20.816 --> 00:24:23.616
Carter froze
the ratification of treaties.

00:24:23.617 --> 00:24:25.549
The détente between
the two blocs

00:24:25.550 --> 00:24:29.682
was well and truly in pieces.

00:24:29.683 --> 00:24:33.649
And then very quickly,
Carter said,

00:24:33.650 --> 00:24:37.416
\"Okay, we\" re gonna not go to
the Moscow Olympics next year,

00:24:37.417 --> 00:24:40.616
we\"re gonna cancel
some consular agreements

00:24:40.617 --> 00:24:42.216
and some grain deals.\"

00:24:42.217 --> 00:24:46.116
And that was sort of
the overt thing.

00:24:46.117 --> 00:24:50.349
And then he told the CIA, \"Okay.

00:24:50.350 --> 00:24:53.516
It\"s time for you
to get to work over there

00:24:53.517 --> 00:24:56.549
and provide\"...
And this is the change...

00:24:56.550 --> 00:25:03.316
\"lethal assistance
to the Afghan resistance.\"

00:25:03.317 --> 00:25:04.449
Just five years earlier,

00:25:04.450 --> 00:25:09.250
we\"d ended our own
Vietnam nightmare.

00:25:09.916 --> 00:25:12.416
This idea of comparing
the nightmare of Vietnam

00:25:12.417 --> 00:25:15.116
to that of Afghanistan
came from Jimmy Carter\"s

00:25:15.117 --> 00:25:17.882
defense advisor,
Zbigniew Brzezinski,

00:25:17.883 --> 00:25:21.484
known as a fierce
anti-communist.

00:25:22.584 --> 00:25:27.149
I remember the day
the Soviets walked into Kabul

00:25:27.150 --> 00:25:29.149
and occupied Afghanistan.

00:25:29.150 --> 00:25:33.782
I gave the president a memo
which had the sentence in it,

00:25:33.783 --> 00:25:37.316
\"We now have the opportunity
to give the Soviet Union

00:25:37.317 --> 00:25:40.815
its Vietnam,\"
and we acted accordingly,

00:25:40.816 --> 00:25:42.649
for the first time
in the history

00:25:42.650 --> 00:25:43.815
of the entire Cold War.

00:25:43.816 --> 00:25:47.849
Brzezinski came in and
completely muddled

00:25:47.850 --> 00:25:50.282
that policy, because
he was so anti-Soviet

00:25:50.283 --> 00:25:53.316
with his own
East European background.

00:25:53.317 --> 00:26:00.516
So the origins of that
were in January of 1980.

00:26:00.517 --> 00:26:06.016
Then Brzezinski goes out and
talks to Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq,

00:26:06.017 --> 00:26:08.715
the president of Pakistan,

00:26:08.716 --> 00:26:11.249
and he goes up to Michni Point,

00:26:11.250 --> 00:26:15.749
looking into Afghanistan there
from the Khyber Pass,

00:26:15.750 --> 00:26:19.116
and he picked up
that Kalashnikov

00:26:19.117 --> 00:26:23.016
and sort of pointed
into Afghanistan.

00:26:23.017 --> 00:26:26.449
And at that moment,
the American commitment

00:26:26.450 --> 00:26:30.483
was vividly demonstrated.

00:26:30.484 --> 00:26:33.649
That land over there is yours.

00:26:33.650 --> 00:26:35.882
You\"ll go back to it one day,

00:26:35.883 --> 00:26:37.616
because your fight will prevail

00:26:37.617 --> 00:26:41.483
and you\"ll have your homes
and your mosques back again,

00:26:41.484 --> 00:26:43.815
because your cause is right,

00:26:43.816 --> 00:26:45.616
God is on your side.

00:26:45.617 --> 00:26:47.849
(applause)

00:26:47.850 --> 00:26:49.016
(shouts of celebration)

00:26:49.017 --> 00:26:54.049
He wanted to be known
as one who\"s in charge

00:26:54.050 --> 00:26:54.683
of this operation,

00:26:54.684 --> 00:26:58.449
and at the level
of the haute politique,

00:26:58.450 --> 00:27:02.849
he was in charge,
but in reality, operationally,

00:27:02.850 --> 00:27:05.449
it was the CIA
that was running it.

00:27:05.450 --> 00:27:08.549
We had no presence
in Afghanistan.

00:27:08.550 --> 00:27:13.349
Who had the presence
and the access

00:27:13.350 --> 00:27:16.316
to the Afghanis themselves?

00:27:16.317 --> 00:27:17.649
It was the Pakistanis.

00:27:17.650 --> 00:27:21.882
When we approached
the Pakistanis,

00:27:21.883 --> 00:27:24.649
we said, \"We\" re with you
on this thing,

00:27:24.650 --> 00:27:26.949
and we\"ll pull together
a team.\"

00:27:26.950 --> 00:27:30.749
Like-minded countries...
The Saudis, the Chinese,

00:27:30.750 --> 00:27:34.449
the Egyptians, the British,
the Americans,

00:27:34.450 --> 00:27:35.483
and the Pakistanis.

00:27:35.484 --> 00:27:39.249
The first thing we did was
we bought a huge number

00:27:39.250 --> 00:27:43.749
of Enfield 303 rifles
from the British.

00:27:43.750 --> 00:27:47.049
And within, you know,
a couple months of the invasion,

00:27:47.050 --> 00:27:49.949
we had delivered these
into Pakistan.

00:27:49.950 --> 00:27:53.416
And at that time,
it was the preferred weapon

00:27:53.417 --> 00:27:55.583
of an Afghan.

00:27:55.584 --> 00:27:57.383
And so, that began it,

00:27:57.384 --> 00:27:59.682
and it began
with $10 million here,

00:27:59.683 --> 00:28:01.982
and then Congress
started getting involved,

00:28:01.983 --> 00:28:04.316
and then another
$20 million there.

00:28:04.317 --> 00:28:07.216
And it grew over the years.

00:28:07.217 --> 00:28:10.715
The CIA\"s program for arming
the Afghan mujahideen

00:28:10.716 --> 00:28:13.949
was given the code name
Operation Cyclone.

00:28:13.950 --> 00:28:16.416
The Pakistani president,
Zia-ul-Haq,

00:28:16.417 --> 00:28:18.316
a sworn enemy of the USSR,

00:28:18.317 --> 00:28:19.982
agreed to let
his secret services

00:28:19.983 --> 00:28:22.516
act as intermediaries
for the CIA.

00:28:22.517 --> 00:28:25.815
But he insisted
on absolute secrecy.

00:28:25.816 --> 00:28:28.449
There were to be
no American boots on the ground

00:28:28.450 --> 00:28:30.416
inside Afghanistan.

00:28:30.417 --> 00:28:32.483
All the logistical assistance
and training

00:28:32.484 --> 00:28:34.349
of the mujahideen in Pakistan

00:28:34.350 --> 00:28:36.282
had to be provided
by the Pakistanis,

00:28:36.283 --> 00:28:41.417
the CIA merely financing
and overseeing the operation.

00:29:06.850 --> 00:29:10.216
It was just over the Afghan
border in Pakistan itself,

00:29:10.217 --> 00:29:12.182
where thousands
of refugees flooded,

00:29:12.183 --> 00:29:14.815
that the resistance
was organized.

00:29:14.816 --> 00:29:17.549
For better or worse,
they were the ones

00:29:17.550 --> 00:29:24.483
that basically chose
the group together

00:29:24.484 --> 00:29:27.249
to comprise
the seven-party group.

00:29:27.250 --> 00:29:30.682
And that meant people
like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar,

00:29:30.683 --> 00:29:32.282
as well as more moderate groups.

00:29:32.283 --> 00:29:35.316
But these were, from
the Pakistanis\" point of view,

00:29:35.317 --> 00:29:39.149
the ones that could be
militarily effective.

00:29:39.150 --> 00:29:40.915
And it\"s true.

00:29:40.916 --> 00:29:44.715
The Afghan resistance was split
into seven political groups

00:29:44.716 --> 00:29:46.483
represented by
their commandeers,

00:29:46.484 --> 00:29:50.182
the most radical of whom
were Hekmatyar, Sayyaf,

00:29:50.183 --> 00:29:50.983
and Rabbani,

00:29:50.984 --> 00:29:53.049
all members
of the Muslim Brotherhood

00:29:53.050 --> 00:29:54.882
and backed by Saudi Arabia.

00:29:54.883 --> 00:29:56.049
They were also
the main beneficiaries

00:29:56.050 --> 00:30:00.116
of American aid, since they were
the Pakistanis\" favorites.

00:30:00.117 --> 00:30:02.282
The CIA had no choice
but to comply

00:30:02.283 --> 00:30:04.916
with Islamabad\"s choices.

00:30:25.183 --> 00:30:29.915
The other group...
Of course, Massoud was, uh,

00:30:29.916 --> 00:30:33.049
was favored by us
and by the British,

00:30:33.050 --> 00:30:36.082
who had a direct
contact with him.

00:30:36.083 --> 00:30:39.383
The Sayyaf group, which was
I think the third group,

00:30:39.384 --> 00:30:42.682
was mainly financed
by the Saudis.

00:30:42.683 --> 00:30:45.483
We tried to monitor
independently

00:30:45.484 --> 00:30:47.116
what was going
to these various groups,

00:30:47.117 --> 00:30:49.449
but it was difficult.

00:30:49.450 --> 00:30:51.882
You know, the bulk
of the fighting

00:30:51.883 --> 00:30:53.049
and the brunt of the fighting

00:30:53.050 --> 00:30:54.583
was borne by
the Afghans themselves.

00:30:54.584 --> 00:30:57.915
So in their sense,
it was an indigenous instance,

00:30:57.916 --> 00:31:00.282
assisted by outside parties,

00:31:00.283 --> 00:31:01.782
in terms of technology,

00:31:01.783 --> 00:31:03.249
in terms of resources,

00:31:03.250 --> 00:31:04.483
in terms of weapons,

00:31:04.484 --> 00:31:05.915
in terms of training.

00:31:05.916 --> 00:31:10.016
But even without these inputs,

00:31:10.017 --> 00:31:13.249
the resistance would have
carried on.

00:31:13.250 --> 00:31:16.649
This is a point that
most people seem to miss.

00:31:16.650 --> 00:31:20.715
They believe that it was
the provision of assistance

00:31:20.716 --> 00:31:22.715
and the technology
and the resources,

00:31:22.716 --> 00:31:25.049
and the training and the money

00:31:25.050 --> 00:31:26.782
that did the job... no.

00:31:26.783 --> 00:31:29.849
The increasingly well-armed
and trained mujahideen

00:31:29.850 --> 00:31:32.216
were starting to pose
serious problems

00:31:32.217 --> 00:31:33.183
for the Red Army.

00:31:33.184 --> 00:31:36.082
The Soviet soldiers were
surprised by the effectiveness

00:31:36.083 --> 00:31:38.682
of the resistance
in the provinces.

00:31:38.683 --> 00:31:42.517
♪

00:32:56.750 --> 00:32:58.449
In Moscow in early 1980,

00:32:58.450 --> 00:33:02.483
preparations were underway for
the Olympic Games that summer,

00:33:02.484 --> 00:33:04.349
a genuine source
of pride and joy

00:33:04.350 --> 00:33:06.082
for the Soviet citizens.

00:33:06.083 --> 00:33:08.249
They were already aware
that the United States

00:33:08.250 --> 00:33:11.049
and 65 other countries
were going to be

00:33:11.050 --> 00:33:12.549
boycotting the Games,

00:33:12.550 --> 00:33:14.416
but no one really knew why.

00:33:14.417 --> 00:33:15.949
This was because, officially,

00:33:15.950 --> 00:33:17.715
there was no war in Afghanistan.

00:33:17.716 --> 00:33:22.350
For the moment, the secret
was still well under wraps.

00:34:09.350 --> 00:34:11.516
But in Moscow,
one solitary voice

00:34:11.517 --> 00:34:12.749
dared to break the silence.

00:34:12.750 --> 00:34:14.815
The voice belonged
to Andrei Sakharov,

00:34:14.816 --> 00:34:17.950
winner of the Nobel Prize
for physics.

00:34:54.183 --> 00:34:57.449
Andrei Sakharov\"s open letter
drew an angry reaction

00:34:57.450 --> 00:34:59.249
from the Kremlin,
and he was sent

00:34:59.250 --> 00:35:02.149
into internal exile
to the town of Gorky.

00:35:02.150 --> 00:35:04.282
A few years later,
having been elected

00:35:04.283 --> 00:35:05.316
a deputy of the people,

00:35:05.317 --> 00:35:08.583
Sakharov reaffirmed the reasons
for his earlier action

00:35:08.584 --> 00:35:10.816
loud and clear.

00:35:33.117 --> 00:35:41.117
♪

00:37:10.183 --> 00:37:13.116
But the traumas the Soviets
were starting to undergo

00:37:13.117 --> 00:37:14.982
were as nothing
compared to the nightmare

00:37:14.983 --> 00:37:18.616
being suffered
by the Afghan people.

00:37:18.617 --> 00:37:19.915
In the space
of just a few months,

00:37:19.916 --> 00:37:23.449
the Red Army\"s intervention
had turned into all-out war,

00:37:23.450 --> 00:37:25.483
with civilian victims
already numbered

00:37:25.484 --> 00:37:28.050
in the tens of thousands.

00:37:52.850 --> 00:37:54.782
The war was now
spilling well beyond

00:37:54.783 --> 00:37:56.282
Afghanistan\"s borders,

00:37:56.283 --> 00:37:58.649
as the call to jihad
against the infidels

00:37:58.650 --> 00:38:01.016
resounded throughout the world.

00:38:01.017 --> 00:38:03.349
Spurred on by this man,
Abdullah Azzam,

00:38:03.350 --> 00:38:06.882
a Palestinian scholar
and advocate of global jihad,

00:38:06.883 --> 00:38:09.616
recruitment centers
for voluntary combatants

00:38:09.617 --> 00:38:11.815
opened in many countries.

00:38:11.816 --> 00:38:12.783
From his base in Pakistan,

00:38:12.784 --> 00:38:15.882
Azzam coordinated the network
of jihadist fighters

00:38:15.883 --> 00:38:18.949
drawn from all over the world.

00:38:18.950 --> 00:38:20.815
Some people came from outside

00:38:20.816 --> 00:38:24.416
to fight alongside
the mujahideen.

00:38:24.417 --> 00:38:30.882
People came Philippines,
people came from Middle East.

00:38:30.883 --> 00:38:32.982
People came from India,

00:38:32.983 --> 00:38:34.849
and people came
from America itself,

00:38:34.850 --> 00:38:39.216
the Muslims of America,
and Europe, and the Far East.

00:38:39.217 --> 00:38:42.117
But they were few
and far between.

00:39:10.916 --> 00:39:14.449
And so, the Afghan resistance
became the breeding ground

00:39:14.450 --> 00:39:15.849
for worldwide jihad.

00:39:15.850 --> 00:39:19.516
It was in the Afghan mountains
that a certain Osama bin Laden

00:39:19.517 --> 00:39:22.715
from a wealthy Saudi family
cut his battle teeth

00:39:22.716 --> 00:39:25.017
fighting infidels.

00:39:28.384 --> 00:39:32.583
At the time, Washington wasn\"t
in the least bit concerned

00:39:32.584 --> 00:39:34.149
about jihad.

00:39:34.150 --> 00:39:34.883
On the contrary.

00:39:34.884 --> 00:39:37.549
In 1983, Ronald Reagan
decided to go public

00:39:37.550 --> 00:39:39.416
about the United States\"
involvement

00:39:39.417 --> 00:39:41.483
in the war in Afghanistan.

00:39:41.484 --> 00:39:44.282
From the Afghanistan
freedom fighters,

00:39:44.283 --> 00:39:47.782
a young lady underwent
torture for four months

00:39:47.783 --> 00:39:51.616
while being held by the Soviets.

00:39:51.617 --> 00:39:54.016
There\"s a man here
whose wife was killed

00:39:54.017 --> 00:39:55.815
in front of their two children.

00:39:55.816 --> 00:39:57.949
Former justice
of the supreme court

00:39:57.950 --> 00:40:00.282
of Afghanistan, and
they\"re here to try and tell

00:40:00.283 --> 00:40:02.316
the outside world,
the free world,

00:40:02.317 --> 00:40:04.949
what\"s really going on
in Afghanistan.

00:40:04.950 --> 00:40:07.915
And then, at that point,
Reagan broke the secrecy

00:40:07.916 --> 00:40:10.082
and he just announced
that we\"re gonna give

00:40:10.083 --> 00:40:12.682
the mujahideen
everything they wanted.

00:40:12.683 --> 00:40:15.616
And so, it no longer
became a secret

00:40:15.617 --> 00:40:17.516
that the US was doing that.

00:40:17.517 --> 00:40:18.450
The rules had changed,

00:40:18.451 --> 00:40:21.849
and we weren\"t just fighting
to bleed the Soviets,

00:40:21.850 --> 00:40:25.082
we were... or to give them
their own Vietnam.

00:40:25.083 --> 00:40:27.449
We decided
that President Reagan,

00:40:27.450 --> 00:40:30.082
after he took office,
and Bill Casey,

00:40:30.083 --> 00:40:32.149
who was the director of the CIA,

00:40:32.150 --> 00:40:34.549
said, \"Let\"s go
win this thing.\"

00:40:34.550 --> 00:40:39.149
And so, Casey called me
to his office and said,

00:40:39.150 --> 00:40:40.782
you\"re going to Afghanistan...

00:40:40.783 --> 00:40:42.016
Or to Pakistan,

00:40:42.017 --> 00:40:44.282
and we\"re going to try to win.

00:40:44.283 --> 00:40:46.649
The two blocs were
back in Cold War mode,

00:40:46.650 --> 00:40:50.815
fighting a war of influence
and communications.

00:40:50.816 --> 00:40:52.715
The Americans
were arming the rebels,

00:40:52.716 --> 00:40:55.116
while the Soviets
were ordering the Afghan leaders

00:40:55.117 --> 00:40:59.549
to organize anti-American
protests in Kabul.

00:40:59.550 --> 00:41:01.983
(chanting)

00:41:03.350 --> 00:41:11.016
You have to understand
that Brezhnev invaded,

00:41:11.017 --> 00:41:12.715
promptly died,

00:41:12.716 --> 00:41:16.282
and Andropov took over
and promptly died,

00:41:16.283 --> 00:41:19.715
and Chebrikov took over
and promptly died.

00:41:19.716 --> 00:41:22.882
And then Gorbachev...
Gorbachev wasn\"t even

00:41:22.883 --> 00:41:27.982
among the signatures on
sending the limited contingent

00:41:27.983 --> 00:41:30.782
into Afghanistan.

00:41:30.783 --> 00:41:34.649
In the three years
between 1982 and 1985,

00:41:34.650 --> 00:41:36.182
the leadership at the Kremlin

00:41:36.183 --> 00:41:37.282
changed three times,

00:41:37.283 --> 00:41:40.583
and the war-mongering
Old Guard at the Politburo

00:41:40.584 --> 00:41:42.682
all but disappeared.

00:41:42.683 --> 00:41:45.882
Coming to power in 1985,
Mikhail Gorbachev

00:41:45.883 --> 00:41:47.982
was convinced
that Soviet society

00:41:47.983 --> 00:41:49.549
was in need of rapid reform.

00:41:49.550 --> 00:41:52.982
The period of perestroika
was just getting underway,

00:41:52.983 --> 00:41:55.316
and Gorbachev was prepared
to take a whole series

00:41:55.317 --> 00:41:57.449
of economic
and political measures

00:41:57.450 --> 00:41:58.417
in this direction.

00:41:58.418 --> 00:42:00.782
But the most urgent
measure of them all

00:42:00.783 --> 00:42:03.250
concerned Afghanistan.

00:42:36.783 --> 00:42:40.049
So Gorbachev found himself
in a really, really

00:42:40.050 --> 00:42:41.149
tough situation.

00:42:41.150 --> 00:42:43.949
He was losing money,
he was losing people,

00:42:43.950 --> 00:42:46.483
he was losing domestic
support for the war

00:42:46.484 --> 00:42:48.216
because now, with glasnost,

00:42:48.217 --> 00:42:51.049
everybody heard
about terrible things

00:42:51.050 --> 00:42:54.550
that were going on
in Afghanistan.

00:43:17.183 --> 00:43:18.715
The first effect of perestroika

00:43:18.716 --> 00:43:22.116
was the freeing up
of public opinion in the USSR.

00:43:22.117 --> 00:43:24.049
Previously muzzled,
the Soviet people

00:43:24.050 --> 00:43:26.049
were now free
to express themselves

00:43:26.050 --> 00:43:27.483
and were gradually
becoming aware

00:43:27.484 --> 00:43:29.316
that this war was a catastrophe.

00:43:29.317 --> 00:43:31.383
Gorbachev knew he had
to bring it to an end.

00:43:31.384 --> 00:43:35.617
He also knew to whom he had
to speak about it first.

00:44:06.750 --> 00:44:10.316
But the United States
was very uncooperative.

00:44:10.317 --> 00:44:11.982
Because within
the United States,

00:44:11.983 --> 00:44:14.649
especially when
Reagan came to power,

00:44:14.650 --> 00:44:19.483
um, people who wanted
to bleed the Soviet Union

00:44:19.484 --> 00:44:21.282
in Afghanistan prevailed.

00:44:21.283 --> 00:44:22.915
And so,
the Reagan administration

00:44:22.916 --> 00:44:26.349
was not interested
in the Soviet withdrawal.

00:44:26.350 --> 00:44:31.149
What it wanted to achieve
is the defeat, decisive defeat,

00:44:31.150 --> 00:44:33.449
of the Soviet Union
in Afghanistan.

00:44:33.450 --> 00:44:37.982
By the time I was called in
to go take over the program

00:44:37.983 --> 00:44:42.016
in 1986 on very short notice,

00:44:42.017 --> 00:44:43.649
I was called
to Bill Casey\"s office

00:44:43.650 --> 00:44:46.416
and he said, \"I want you
to go over there

00:44:46.417 --> 00:44:47.417
and I want you to win.

00:44:47.418 --> 00:44:49.349
I\"ll give you a billion dollars,
is that enough?\"

00:44:49.350 --> 00:44:51.016
And I thought, well,
a billion dollars

00:44:51.017 --> 00:44:54.149
sounds like a lot of money
in 1986.

00:44:54.150 --> 00:44:56.616
He says, \"You can have
the Stingers,\"

00:44:56.617 --> 00:44:57.915
which were already approved.

00:44:57.916 --> 00:45:04.715
And, you know, \"I want
you to... we\"re gonna win now.\"

00:45:04.716 --> 00:45:07.049
The famous Stingers which,
according to some,

00:45:07.050 --> 00:45:08.649
changed the course of the war,

00:45:08.650 --> 00:45:09.617
were ground-to-air missiles

00:45:09.618 --> 00:45:14.249
fired from ultra-light
shoulder-mounted launchers,

00:45:14.250 --> 00:45:16.149
enabling a single man
to bring down

00:45:16.150 --> 00:45:19.617
an enemy helicopter
or fighter plane.

00:45:21.617 --> 00:45:23.449
While the Soviets
had clearly announced

00:45:23.450 --> 00:45:24.317
their intention to withdraw,

00:45:24.318 --> 00:45:28.915
the Americans delivered from
500 to 2,000 Stinger missiles

00:45:28.916 --> 00:45:30.650
to the mujahideen.

00:45:33.883 --> 00:45:37.049
The first Stingers
were used at Jalalabad

00:45:37.050 --> 00:45:38.616
in September 1986,

00:45:38.617 --> 00:45:42.349
and they downed
three Russian helicopters.

00:45:42.350 --> 00:45:44.649
And overall,
the Russians suffered

00:45:44.650 --> 00:45:47.815
great losses in helicopters,
I think it was

00:45:47.816 --> 00:45:49.916
something like a thousand.

00:46:02.983 --> 00:46:06.049
American deliveries of Stingers
helped the mujahideen

00:46:06.050 --> 00:46:08.682
inflict the first
battlefield defeat

00:46:08.683 --> 00:46:11.016
on the Red Army.

00:46:11.017 --> 00:46:13.384
(gunfire)

00:46:15.350 --> 00:46:17.882
♪

00:46:17.883 --> 00:46:22.416
In 1986, Moscow decided
to replace President Karmal

00:46:22.417 --> 00:46:26.449
by a man who seemed
better suited to the situation,

00:46:26.450 --> 00:46:29.649
Mohammad Najibullah.

00:46:29.650 --> 00:46:32.282
Gorbachev thought he could
impose his own version

00:46:32.283 --> 00:46:33.682
of perestroika in Afghanistan

00:46:33.683 --> 00:46:37.116
and launched the idea
of a national reconciliation

00:46:37.117 --> 00:46:39.384
of the Afghan people.

00:48:12.517 --> 00:48:16.749
The Soviets were trying
to bring the moderate opposition

00:48:16.750 --> 00:48:18.082
into the government.

00:48:18.083 --> 00:48:22.049
The Soviets were negotiating
with Shah Massoud,

00:48:22.050 --> 00:48:24.349
who was the commander,
legendary commander,

00:48:24.350 --> 00:48:28.682
of the northern territories
in Afghanistan,

00:48:28.683 --> 00:48:30.316
northern part of Afghanistan.

00:48:30.317 --> 00:48:33.616
The United States
supported the most radical,

00:48:33.617 --> 00:48:39.183
the most fundamentalist forces
among the mujahideen.

00:49:05.584 --> 00:49:09.117
(shouting, gunfire)

00:49:55.283 --> 00:49:58.116
At the UN in Geneva in 1988,

00:49:58.117 --> 00:49:59.749
negotiations were concluded.

00:49:59.750 --> 00:50:01.915
Despite the reticence
of the Americans,

00:50:01.916 --> 00:50:03.915
the regional powers
managed to hammer out

00:50:03.916 --> 00:50:06.616
a series of treaties
regarding the resolution

00:50:06.617 --> 00:50:08.815
of the situation in Afghanistan.

00:50:08.816 --> 00:50:09.484
It was now official.

00:50:09.485 --> 00:50:12.649
The Soviet troops
would be leaving the country.

00:50:12.650 --> 00:50:14.549
We were putting the Soviet Union

00:50:14.550 --> 00:50:17.249
in what we now know
were its last days

00:50:17.250 --> 00:50:20.249
under a great deal of pressure.

00:50:20.250 --> 00:50:25.049
And the ignominious
defeat in Afghanistan

00:50:25.050 --> 00:50:27.116
was certainly part of that.

00:50:27.117 --> 00:50:29.449
It was psychologically
significant,

00:50:29.450 --> 00:50:31.982
it was politically significant.

00:50:31.983 --> 00:50:33.749
On the ground,
the Soviet generals

00:50:33.750 --> 00:50:36.416
had long understood
that the war was unwinnable

00:50:36.417 --> 00:50:38.082
and had secretly
begun negotiating

00:50:38.083 --> 00:50:39.715
with certain resistance chiefs,

00:50:39.716 --> 00:50:41.649
especially with
Commander Massoud,

00:50:41.650 --> 00:50:43.949
who was master of the entire
north of the country,

00:50:43.950 --> 00:50:47.116
the territory through which
the withdrawing Soviet troops

00:50:47.117 --> 00:50:49.449
would have to pass.

00:50:49.450 --> 00:50:53.384
♪

00:51:47.384 --> 00:51:50.049
Despite the Afghan army\"s
show of strength,

00:51:50.050 --> 00:51:53.049
President Najibullah
was extremely worried.

00:51:53.050 --> 00:51:55.549
He knew that once
the Soviets had withdrawn,

00:51:55.550 --> 00:51:57.649
he would have to face
the resistance chiefs,

00:51:57.650 --> 00:52:02.416
who had now become fearsome
political adversaries.

00:52:02.417 --> 00:52:03.949
Although the Soviet generals
had managed

00:52:03.950 --> 00:52:06.715
to negotiate a cease-fire
with Commander Massoud

00:52:06.716 --> 00:52:09.082
for the duration
of the troops\" withdrawal,

00:52:09.083 --> 00:52:11.082
they now received
a contrary order

00:52:11.083 --> 00:52:12.949
to deliver a killer blow to him.

00:52:12.950 --> 00:52:16.183
It was an order
from the politicians.

00:53:38.450 --> 00:53:39.183
For 48 hours,

00:53:39.184 --> 00:53:43.049
from the 24th to the 26th
of January, 1989,

00:53:43.050 --> 00:53:45.483
the Red Army carried out
Operation Typhoon,

00:53:45.484 --> 00:53:48.682
shelling Commander Massoud\"s
positions and killing

00:53:48.683 --> 00:53:51.149
over 600 of the mujahideen.

00:53:51.150 --> 00:53:53.949
Yet Massoud patiently bore
this deluge of fire,

00:53:53.950 --> 00:53:58.317
not reacting to this
final attack by the Red Army.

00:54:54.283 --> 00:54:56.316
This shameful act
was the final act

00:54:56.317 --> 00:54:57.649
of this disastrous war,

00:54:57.650 --> 00:55:00.182
an enterprise
which the whole world called

00:55:00.183 --> 00:55:02.616
the Soviet invasion
of Afghanistan,

00:55:02.617 --> 00:55:04.649
but which the Kremlin
right up to the end

00:55:04.650 --> 00:55:09.316
maintained was a deployment
of a limited contingent.

00:55:09.317 --> 00:55:12.850
♪

00:55:37.916 --> 00:55:42.649
♪

00:55:42.650 --> 00:55:45.383
The figures from this war
are staggering.

00:55:45.384 --> 00:55:49.349
1,200,000 dead
on the Afghan side,

00:55:49.350 --> 00:55:51.282
15,000 on the Soviet,

00:55:51.283 --> 00:55:53.649
and six million refugees.

00:55:53.650 --> 00:55:55.349
A country in total ruin.

00:55:55.350 --> 00:55:57.616
And today,
the never-ending conflicts

00:55:57.617 --> 00:55:59.616
still continue in Afghanistan,

00:55:59.617 --> 00:56:01.949
a land known
since time immemorial

00:56:01.950 --> 00:56:04.116
as the graveyard of empires.

00:56:04.117 --> 00:56:06.216
It was the war
that changed the world

00:56:06.217 --> 00:56:09.416
and was the starting point
for yet another war,

00:56:09.417 --> 00:56:12.982
the outcome of which
no one yet knows.

00:56:12.983 --> 00:56:20.983
♪

00:56:47.883 --> 00:56:55.883
♪