The former US presidential candidate and ex-secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, compared the Russian military operation in Ukraine to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
Hillary Clinton said that a similar outcome like when Washington backed Mujahideen fighters might be achieved by helping to arm Kyiv’s resistance. In an MSNBC interview on Monday, she said,
“Remember, the Russians invaded Afghanistan back in 1980 (sic), and although no country went in, they certainly had a lot of countries supplying arms and advice and even some advisers to those who were recruited to fight Russia.”
The Afghanistan war did not end well for the Soviet Union despite its military superpower status. Clinton added with a smile,
“There were other unintended consequences, as we know, but the fact is that a very motivated and then funded and armed insurgency drove the Russians out of Afghanistan,”
allegedly referring to the fact that arming radical Islamists in Afghanistan gave rise to 9/11 attacks in the US and Al-Qaeda.
The “Operation Cyclone” program of the CIA funneled billions of dollars in weaponry to the Islamist fighters in Afghanistan in 1980.
Even the aid to the Mujahideen continued to flow in until long after the Soviet troops had completed their withdrawal in 1989 to help the insurgents battle the Afghan government forces in a civil war. invasion
Hilliary Clinton has also hesitantly acknowledged that the Afghanistan-Ukraine comparison is highly problematic as the terrain and urban fighting in Ukraine are nothing like what the Soviets faced in Afghanistan.
Clinton has also repeatedly accused Russia of helping Donald Trump steal the 2016 presidential election from her in the past.
Clinton argued that weaponry should be supplied to both volunteer fighters and the Ukrainian government. She said that the arms and ammunition should be able to get through Ukrainian borders with the help of neighbouring countries.
“Let’s be clear that Russia is an overwhelming military force, but of course, they did it in Afghanistan as well,” said Hilliary after adding that even with an adequate air force, it took years for Russia to defeat anti-government forces in Syria.
Edited By- Kiran Maharana
Published By- Pawan Rajput
