Bahro's views do not accord with those of Socialist Challenge. Jramework that of communism, and he therefore relies on conceptual tools which paradoxically, of Stalinist origin.
Thus his criticism Russian action is that it threatens 'detente and peaceful coexistence', as if this policy originated by Stalin was a prerequisite for democratic socialist advance.
Socialist Challenge considers that the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan at this stage, far from aiding the fight for socialism in that country, could only lead to the victory of pro-imperialist and obscurantist forces and a bloodbath of left forces in Afghanistan.
I PREVIOUSLY believed and indeed have written Soviet military action against the Prague reform was the greatest crime of the Soviet leadership since the Second World War.
This is no longer quite correct, though if sanity had Prague, in Warsaw, or even in East Berlin, and Moscow had subsequently shown at least a trace of adaptation to this new reality on the western periphery of East Europe, then there would have been Afghanistan.
Whatever may have been in the minds of the Kremlin gerontocracy, this is a crime against peace that goes far beyond Afghanistan, place and in time. It is a crime against détente and disarmament.
It puts. the subjugation Prague Spring into the goes even beyond Deng Hsiao-ping's shameless 'lesson' to the Vietnamese.
Back in 1968, the flagrant Soviet breach of international law had a defensive motivation that opinion everywhere could at understand. In all countries of the Soviet bloc the Novotnys trembling with fear for their positions of power, shaken to the marrow and to their Moscow centre.
By flexing their military muscles right from the beginning of the Spring movement, they themselves produced Ine mood Inl could subsequently have led to that country breaking with the Warsaw Pact.
His Euroare, that the survived invasion both shade, and public least were Occupying Russian troops on parade in Kabul Afghanistan may well become the Soviet leadership's Vietnam, showing nakedness the face of great-power chauvinism and particularly important to bear in mind that these leaders, isolated as they are people, are so little aware of the world as it really is today that they are honestly terrified by the They are entirely serious in feeling misunderstood. I would quite believe saying. it if someone told me that one of them SCL. however, residue of confidience Ine non-capitalist foundation of the Soviet Union and providing support for the rise of the underdeveloped peoples.
In the summer of 1968 we hoped they would not dare invade, we certainly saw this as possible. With Afghanistan we had necessarily reckon with the possibility of invasion but we did not see this as likely. The grim reality has taught us a lesson.
It is as if the Moscow Politburo actually wanted to confirm what the Chinese and Herr Strauss have been These men in the Kremlin, far too old in every sense, must have known that their action would destroy the atmosphere needed for détente and arms control, and provide the arms lobby on the other side with powerful argunents for the hext round of the arms race, which already planning.
They must have known that they though would give the finishing touches to the other side's plans, already drawn to up, to 'secure the sources of oil'.
What is only too clear, however, is that they do not attach even the slightest importance to the psychological factor of the gradual yet progressive movement oolOr to the innumerable up against une uninmioitea power interests.
Their partner in negotiations is the Pentagon alone. And the result is that the countries of the obiect. defend themselves with one hand also exploitation, " against Moscow instead of with both world's peoples How has been extreme omous intelligentsia.
If not indirectly, neighbour false as to bestow exhibition believe, way to them.
Shah.
misfortune, and its people.
revolution, to the Kabul Soviet may lead superstructure. was of course the Soviet Afghan clearly of public resistance both the people in the West put play of particular, Third haye - Fernbach - .." want to ascribe them, and still do not want to ascribe them - that of being one of two superpowers waging their deadly rivalry on the backs of the .did the tragedy Afghan people come about? For more than 20 years, the Soviet Union building up its positions there by alternate use of (objective) anti-imperialist solidarity and conventional power politics The internal contradictions of this backward country were deep enough to generate an autonnational revolutionary resistance movement. which, given the country's conditions, could only find its core and its leadership in the intelligentsia, including the military directly then at least Afghanistan's powerful intervened to preordain and deform the parts of this move a false aeth And ana suar.
model time scale In 1978, Nur Mohammed Taraki and his comrades did not make a revolunon, tney arreclea á pulsen, se on their people this of a revolution above. With good intentions, I still they decreed an agrarian reform that destroyed the peasants' of life, that they gained nothing from the land newly granted effect, the peasants of Afghanistan found themselves in a similar position to the peasants of Iran under the dictatorship of the WaN concelved benefit turned out an unmistakeable for the whole country The Afghan game was lost as soon as it began, particularly given the coincidence in time of the Iranian WalCh gave unbeatable support to the Islamic resistance, this quite naturally linking up with the traditionalist forces internationally It is not to the Americans that the invaders will lose Afghanistan, but to the Moslems. This is a lesson we can only wish on them. Here, as opposed Prague Spring the Soviet leaders have made a hefty mistak even from the most orthodox standpoint of the apparatus.
For this reason Kabul may well have more direct consequences for the Union internally It is still impossible to see where the madness of pouring oil into the flames of Islam Kabul underlines how badly the peoples of the Soviet Union and the country's allies need to pension off their Novotnys and to fundamentally their entire political Left organisations in the West must speedily jettison the role of res ponsible politicians who give cover to leaders even in their adventure Anyone who supports this intervention shows that he or she is of the same kidney as the bureaucratic apparatus The forces of reason in the West now face a great responsibility: not to support in any way the escalation of tension being pursued by ruling circles Soviet Union and the United States; and in West Germany to East European treaties achieved in the heyday of the socialist-liberal coalition Peace, détente and disarmament - today more than ever!
This article was translated by David