The Quagmire That Awaits.(Vladimir Pesterev)(Brief Article)(Interview)

Col. Vladimir Pesterev (Ret.) shares his experiences and reflects on the dangers of a ground war in Afghanistan

Col. Vladimir Pesterev (Ret.) was the commander of a motorized rifle division during the unsuccessful 10-year Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Wounded twice, first by a sniper's bullets and then when his armored personnel carrier rolled over an antitank mine, he quickly learned the dangers of a ground war in Afghanistan--one that claimed the lives of at least 13,000 Soviet soldiers. He shared his memories of the debacle with NEWSWEEK's Eve Conant in Moscow last week. Excerpts:

CONANT: There is a possibility that the United States and NATO may send ground troops into Afghanistan. How dangerous could that prove to be?

PESTEREV: The U.S. would be fighting a different enemy than we fought, but the terrain has not changed, nor has the style of warfare. First of all, you must learn to fight like the Afghans do. They use ambushes or military diversions to attack. There is no "front." There is only guerrilla war. They can shoot from any bush, or any building, and you cannot tell where the fire is coming from. When you are in the mountains, they may be shooting from one side but the echo comes from all over the gorge. If they are in a cave you cannot get at them. Planes and helicopters won't help.

What are conditions like in Afghanistan this time of year?

Soon there will be winds and storms. Planes and helicopters cannot be used because there is no visibility. Dust and sand rise up 300 meters, and nothing can be seen from above. In the mountains it's very cold; even in the summertime, if you climb high you will see snow. Food can be thrown from helicopters, but what can be done about water? Rubber containers break when they hit rocks. Our soldiers would lick the rocks because there would be no water otherwise. If any men were sent below to fetch water, there would be an ambush and one or two men would be killed. If the helicopters flew lower they would just be shot down.

At the time you were fighting the Afghans, they had U.S. military support. If there is a ground war now, the Taliban would be fighting alone and would also be fighting their own internal opposition, the Northern Alliance. Wouldn't that make the conflict easier?