Fred Weir, CSM: As Trump doubles down on Afghanistan, Russians shake their heads
The US president's decision to extend the war, reversing his campaign pledges to withdraw from it, stand in sharp contrast to the lessons that Mikhail Gorbachev and the USSR took from the conflict almost 30 years ago.
When President Trump announced earlier this week that on the advice of his generals, he was expanding operations in Afghanistan despite his repeated promises to end US involvement in the 16-year-old conflict, some Russians couldn't help but think back to February 1989, when Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev did just the opposite.
On a blustery day back then, the last of over 100,000 Soviet troops rolled across the unhappily-named "Friendship Bridge" into then-Soviet Uzbekistan, bringing an end to the futile nine-year war to keep Afghanistan in the USSR's orbit. Their return home prompted an explosion of public joy across the Soviet Union, and the withdrawal even spawned a popular song, "We're Leaving!", which briefly dominated the Soviet airwaves.
Though some of his generals and intelligence chiefs counseled him against the decision, Mr. Gorbachev was convinced that the war was unwinnable. The conflict had drained the Soviet economy, killed 15,000 troops, and stirred deep currents of anti-war unrest around the country.
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Afghanistan War News Updates -- August 27, 2017
Afghanistan bomb attack: 13 killed in car blast in Helmand -- BBC
Several Killed By Suicide Car-Bomber In Afghanistan -- RFE
Taliban suicide bomb attack on Afghan forces kills 13 -- Al Jazeera
Deadly airstrikes target Taliban insurgents in Helmand leaving several dead -- Khaama Press
Mullah Omar’s family members, some Taliban leaders returned from Pakistan -- Khaama Press
How Much of Afghanistan Is Under Taliban Control After 16 Years of War With the U.S.? -- NYT
Ex-Intelligence Officers Respond To Trump's Afghanistan Strategy -- NPR
Why Afghanistan actually matters to the United States -- Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner
Can the US bomb the Taliban to the peace table? -- Jamie McIntyre, Washington Examiner
'The Taliban is a very determined enemy': Trump's new Afghanistan plan explained -- David Wroe, Sydney Morning Herald
Deciphering the Taliban -- Diego Solis, Stratfor
If goal in Afghanistan 'is stalemate, we have achieved it,' former US envoy say -- ABC News
What Works in Afghanistan: The country is not always a graveyard of empires. -- Phillip Carter, Slate
U.S. Calculus in Afghanistan Must Factor in Taliban’s Own Equations -- Michael Morell, Cipher Brief
The ‘forever war’ in Afghanistan that the Taliban are destined to lose -- Rosie Dimanno, Toronto Star
The Observer view on US strategy in Afghanistan -- Guardian editorial
Who are the key players in Afghanistan? -- CNN
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