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U.S. used Russian advice in Afghanistan-Powell

WASHINGTON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. military has used Russian advice in its campaign in Afghanistan but is fighting a different conflict than the Soviet Union did in the 1980s when it faced a united nation, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Monday.

The Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and became embroiled in an ultimately unsuccessful decade-long war with Afghan guerrilla fighters.

The Soviet campaign scored early successes, including the quick occupation of the capital Kabul. But experts said the Soviets made critical mistakes in alienating the Afghan people and fighting guerrilla battles against mujahideen who made lightning raids on Soviet supply lines and garrisons before withdrawing to hide in caves and homes of ordinary Afghans.

"They have given us a great deal of advice," Powell said on the CNN program "Larry King Live." "We have gone to school on their experience."

The United States has used its overwhelming air power to pave the way for the ground troops of the rebel Northern Alliance, complemented by limited numbers of U.S. special forces, to oust the ruling Taliban Islamic militia from much of Afghanistan.

Powell said the United States' battle in Central Asia, undertaken to find Saudi-born Islamic militant Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network following the Sept. 11 assaults on New York and Washington, is different from that waged by tens of thousands of Soviet troops over more than nine years.

"They were fighting a nation that was united against them, and they tried to do it with blunt force," Powell said. "We are fighting a nation that really isn't in the hands of the Taliban -- they didn't really want this kind of regime over them.

"And so you can see those fissures start to break it up into its different components: Pashtuns, Northern Alliance, Tajiks, Uzbeks, all sorts of folks who are now very happy to see the Taliban regime go."

Northern Alliance forces are in control of much of the country, including the capital Kabul. Taliban troops have largely withdrawn to the movement's stronghold at Kandahar for an apparent final stand in the south.

U.S. Marines have set up a base in southern Afghanistan to carry on the hunt for bin Laden and his protectors.