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Soviets' Past Key in Afghan Plan
Saturday, September 29, 2001
By Deborah Seward / The Associated Press

Hiding places, daunting terrain face U.S. forces

MOSCOW -- AP
Maj. Gen. Alexander Popov was prepared for the high mountains, bitter winter cold and blistering summer heat. But when the Soviet army crossed into Afghanistan in 1979, he didn't know the caves would be so deep, the tunnels so long or the Afghans so clever at hiding in the daunting terrain that defied so many invaders in the past.

Popov and other former Soviet officers say top flight intelligence will be key to whatever operation the United States and its allies might undertake against Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden, the chief suspect in the terror attacks in New York and Washington, is believed to be hiding.

"Strictly from my experience, I want to say that for the preparation of such an operation, above all, full-scale intelligence in all forms and methods is needed," Lt. Gen. Boris Gromov, who led the Soviet retreat from Afghanistan, said in written answers to questions from The Associated Press.
(More: The Journal Gazette News Source)
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