They have constructed extensive military and logistical facilities to support their forces and have tied Afghanistan ever closer to the Soviet economic system. The Soviet occupation and the internal turmoil in the country have caused the flight of more than a quarter of the population. Nearly 3 million refugees are in Pakistan. mainly in tent camps on the border in the Northeast Province and Baluchistan. As many as 1 million Afghan refugees may also be in Iran. Considering the scorched earth policy employed by the Soviets. a tactic used elsewhere by them and their surrogates. and the high altitude bombing that they annually conduct in the spring. it should be quite clear to everyone that the Soviet occupation forces are carrying out a campaign of terror against the Islamic people of Afghanistan. I believe. therefore. that it is appropriate and necessary that the United States urgently reevaluate its Afghan policy to determine whether there is more that our Government can do to help the Afghan people resist tyranny and the foreign occupation of their sovereign country.
Keywords matched
refugees