20:25 Jan 29 

called "political correctness".The author's words have an air of its consistency, please, don't forget that "opposition" are the politicians.Nobody had intended to kill them or remove them from political arena completely - there's no democracy without the opposition.Simply the opposition wouldn't have been able to reply with
such substantual gravity without the modjaheads, it would be powerless.

22:16 Jan 28 

as Dean Marting sings, everybody made a typo somehow, everybody made a typo sometimes. Not a big deal, you know...

22:14 Jan 28 

I just fail (still) to understand your point or, rather, it seems quite academic – and somewhat moot – to me. Ok, let's take your point face value: there WAS an official opposition in the country; and getting rid of the M's would've gotten rid of it (the opposition, that is) too. Are you kidding us? The Soviet Union had INVADED Afghanistan militarily and kept the entire country at the gunpoint. Even if the Soviets set up a token opposition there to make an appearance of democracy, one would think that they could get rid of THAT opposition with, without, instead and regardless of what they were doing with the armed opposition. Therefore, to interpret the question so as to suggest that the existence of the puppet Afghani opposition was predicated on the survival of the M's, is, in my view – please pardon me – patently absurd and ultimately besides the point... I mean in the context of this question. Or do I still miss something very salient?

21:34 Jan 28 

Mikhail Kropotov, good point. Maybe this misprint bewildered the Asker, and if it were not for the misprint, there would not have been this heated discussion about enemies and opposition.

18:30 Jan 28 

Just to clear things up, it should read поконЧЕно, not поконЕЧно.

18:15 Jan 28 

What was said:
если бы Советской Армии как подобает была поставлена задача на полное уничтожения моджахедов, то с оппозицией было бы покончено.

There were mojahedeen, whose complete destruction was not set as a due task, as the soldier said. And there was an opposition (not an enemy), which would have been done with (which would have been eliminated), if the task of destroying mojahedeen completley had been set.

We may guess what the soldier meant, but we have only what he said. And only what he said should be translated.

17:54 Jan 28 

Vaddy Peters, right, the Soviet Union established a government in the country, with conspicuous democratic attributes, like elections. for instance, And there was an opposition, supported by the mojahedeens.

17:10 Jan 28 

opposition to the local government is meant here

17:04 Jan 28 

Though by no means an expert, I'm not aware of any sort of "official" formal/institutional opposition to the Russians within the country. All the "opposition" was military. They were the enemy, whether Uzbek or Pathan, or Tajiks, or whatever. Or do you mean the US? Well, if so, killing out all the M's wouldn't have been the end of the US, would it have? :) Be it as it may, I don't think there is any need for splitting hairs over the issue: it's a soldier speaking, not a political commentator. And what he means is that should they have exterminated all M's it would've been the end for their adversary in the country, whoever, in-complex, that adversary may've been. "Final solution" a'la Russe... :(