I'm not sure this is a true story. I never heard this directly from anyone who was in a position to know. I do know the Russian Spetsnaz from the 70s and 80s were brutal and effective killers, and having met two who emigrated here, I would not want to tangle with the ones from that period unless I was 600 yards away with my scoped rifle or a radio. So in spirit it's true.
The Soviet organization picked brutal and sadistic "native" leaders through most of the period and supplied and groomed them well. They provided arms, money, training, women, prestige, info on their opponents. Hez-and other clients had incentive to toe the line. The motives may have changed in 79 but not much.
Buckley's killers were trained by the Russians. Heroin addiction - and there are worse drugs - are very effective - and work if you don't plan to trade prisoners. There is a reason some US POWs never came home from Vietnam or Korea.
The invasion of Afghanistan set off the ripples we are dealing with today. In many ways the GWOT is part of the history of the unravelling of the Communist movement - and the client states and non-state actors from that period. In retrospect, the victory at Warsaw was the high water mark for the Soviets and the Winter War was the turning point. Hitler's invasion of Russia and the ameliorating impact of lend-lease breathed life into a dying beast.
I do agree that our strategic ROEs should be based on context of our enemy. Hamas is not a state actor. It's a collection of thugs with slick marketing more like an inner city overrun by drug lords who get cash from an outside source. They are a large extortion ring getting essentially state funded tribute. As far as I am concerned, they are rogue enemy combatants. The GO ROE for those from the Cold War was very clear, unless otherwise briefed.
www.latimes.com
