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PUSHTUN 627
of 1979 approached, and the tribes sent out another culturally oriented signal to
Kabul.
Normally, local annual feuds pause in time for the spring planting or herd
migrations. But the tribes continued to fight and escalated the fighting in the
spring and summer of 1979. Now, they were saying, we are fighting to overthrow.
At this time, Afghan military units (all draftees) began to desert. Many joined
the Mujahidin (freedom fighters).
In order to salvage the DRA (among other reasons), the Soviet Union invaded
Afghanistan on December 24, 1979, and established a puppet regime under the
Parchami (Banner Leader), Babrak Karmal. But the Soviet leadership had forgotten—or
ignored—the history and culture of Afghanistan. Twice in the nineteenth
century (1838-1842, 1878-1880) Afghan tribes and ethnic groups united
regionally to drive the invading British from their country. Relatively speaking,
few Afghans were involved in the fighting before the Soviet invasion; afterwards,
they all became involved.
Pushtun kin units were based on regionally oriented, vertically structured,
segmentary lineages. Neighboring lineages compete on the off-agricultural season.
Part of this competition includes the blood feud. But when an outside,
horizontal force threatens the vertical lineages, these neighboring kin units unite
to resist. Traditional enemies such as the Nangal and Jadran in Paktya united to
fight against the Soviets in 1980, just as they did when the British invaded their
area in 1880.
Soviet tactics thus helped accelerate the localization and expansion of regional
power. Conventional tactics have failed to destroy the Mujahidin or gain control
of Afghanistan. The most effective Soviet tactics involved the use of the Mi-24
helicopter gunships. These armored weapons systems systematically roamed up
and down selected valleys, destroying villages with their massive firepower, a
process of "rubbleization" which resulted in migratory genocide. As of August
1982, Afghan refugees in Pakistan totalled about 3 million, becoming the world's
largest refugee population. The majority were Pushtun.
"Rubbleization" has not worked. Guerrilla leaders, their villages destroyed
and their families safe in Pakistan, returned to their own areas to fight. Because
they no longer had to worry about the safety of their families or the sanctity of
their villages, groups coalesced into larger units and expanded their zones of
activity. Although disparate ethnic groups may seldom cooperate, they do maintain
closer communication and on occasion have fought alongside one another.
A new leadership is emerging inside Afghanistan. Although the war is being
fought under an overall Islamic banner, most of the leadership, both outside and
inside, is more modernist than fundamentalist in orientation. Young men, often
trained in the Soviet Union or by Soviet military advisers, have risen to dominance
in many regions. Most still consult the traditional spin geray, but the
mantle of power is gradually slipping in the direction of the younger military
commanders.
Whether the Soviets leave Afghanistan or not, Pushtun culture (and that of