this is interseting...the lessons the russians learned from the Afgan invasion...

The lessons the Soviet military drew were concise:

Insufficient intelligence;
The ability of small units to use terrain against large formations;
"Complete disregard" for the local populace and its reactions;
Failure to win the populace over to the regime;
Placing all reliance on a "military solution";
Long term combat operations degrading the military.

In short, the United States is fighting its own version of the war that, according to the the foreign policy intellectual establishment, either brought down or hastened the fall of the USSR.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070105X.shtml