Afghanistan comes full circle as NATO seeks Russian help

Esprit de Corps ^ | March 13, 2008 | Scott Taylor

[Bokababe]

It's pretty odd for NATO to be asking Russia for help -- particularly with Afghanistan?

But I do recall that Rambo mention.

[G8 Diplomat]

Wow...that IS ironic. NATO asking their arch-nemesis who they told to get out of Afghanistan for help. Nye mozhe biyt! (Impossible!)

[rbg81]

Asking Russian help? In Afghanistan?
We must actually want them to tell us to go pound sand.

[Billthedrill]

Not so very strange by that area's standards. This is, after all, what Kipling named the Game of Kings. Alliances shift, fade, and reform, and we've been dusting some people to whom the Russians owe a very great deal of pain for Beslan. HERE is a thread Dog posted in which we grease some Chechens. We didn't go looking for them, they came looking for us. Too bad.

[Fabozz]

I try to fit in up here in the People's Republic of Washington, but it's so confusing to pretend to be a liberal:

• I'm supposed to say the US is evil because the Iraq war was "unilateral," which means that Russia wasn't among the 50+ nations contributing to the effort. But US is also evil because Russia is among the nations contributing to the Afghanistan war effort.
• The US is evil because we're contemplating military intervention against the oppressive Muslim government of Iran, and we're also evil because we're not contemplating military intervention against the oppressive Muslim government of Sudan.
• The US is evil because we supported Muslim Kosovo's declaration of independence. The US is also evil because we don't support Muslim Palestine's declaration of independence.

I think I'm just going to give up and say "the US is evil" in response to anything at all.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Thank God the great Ronald Reagan brought the EVIL EMPIRE to its knees in Afghanistan and sent them retreating back to Russia, in humiliation and defeat.

[edcoil]

Afghanistan would not let the russians back in. They last time they were there, they were barbaric.

[Bokababe]

Hey, Fab, I’m just as confused by this as you are!

[wildandcrazyrussian]

Interesting article, but I think the author is wrong on a couple of points: 1) the "Cold War enemy" was never Russia, just the Soviet Communist dictatorship over the Russian people; 2) the USSR lost 15,000 not 50,000, 3) he is probably not aware of the assistance rendered by Russia to the Northern Alliance in overthrowing the Taliban in 2003 or so. Also the Warsaw Pact did not have "Communist countries", but "Communist-CONTROLLED countries", a crucial difference, the same way we would never call Norway and Poland "Nazi countries".

I think that if NATO needs Russia so much, they should do so only on the condition that NATO withdraw from the Serbian province of Kosovo-Metohija and let the Serbs defend their ancestral homeland from the Muslims.

[G8 Diplomat]

Great points, I agree.

[Bokababe]

"Thank God the great Ronald Reagan brought the EVIL EMPIRE to its knees in Afghanistan and sent them retreating back to Russia, in humiliation and defeat."

Well, I am certainly elated that the Soviet Union is dust, and it did happen on RR's watch, but Afghanistan was the Soviets' downfall and our involvement in that started before RR -- think Zbigniew Brzezinski under Carter, just before RR took office. Then Democrat Charlie Wilson started helping the mujahadeen in 1980.

[Chode]

did anybody bother to ask the Afghans what THEY thought of that idea???

[Tailgunner Joe]

Russia will likely give us what we want. Their new NATO liaison Dmitri Rogozin is a strong nationalist who doesn’t want China expanding their reach into central Asia any more than we do. KGB Putin supports his red comrades in Beijing of course and has pursued a stupid and suicidal policy of allowing the Chi-coms into central Asia to help force the USA out. Instead the Russians should bring us in to contain China. We’ve already returned to Uzbekistan. Rogozin likely sees that having NATO in Central Asia is in Russia’s best interests, and our withdrawal would only be in the interests of Iran and the Taliban.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Uh-huh, Jimmy Carter and the Democrat Party brought down the Soviet Union. What a laugh. Sell that line of BS somewhere else sister.

[G8 Diplomat]

"the brave mujahedeen in Afghanistan."

Mujahadeen is the plural of mujahid, which means "one who does jihad" in Arabic, just FYI. Muslims vs. communists. They were fighting the Russians because they were infidels, and that's what Muslims are supposed to do. We were fighting the Russians because they were communists. If you ask me, both sides are undesirable, but the USSR certainly posed much more of a threat back then. Besides, we did go back and topple the Taliban regime later anyway....sort of. The survivors fled to Pakistan instead.

[Billthedrill]

Man, Rudyard wasn’t kidding about that Game Of Kings stuff, was he? Many thanks for the excellent information. BTT.

[CJ Wolf]

WTF

[Billthedrill]

Ugh. I have been reminded that Kipling used the locution "The Great Game" in Kim. That correction gives me a chance for a Bump To the Top... ;-)

[SiVisPacemParaBellum]

After a quick smoke break, they discussed the feasibility of Russians in Afghanistan...

[endthematrix]

Doesn’t surprise me. NATO included Russia in Partner in Peace under Clinton. Heck I thought Russia was going to be IN NATO...well the jury is still out on that.