U.S. President Donald Trump urged other countries, specifically Russia, Pakistan and India, to become more involved in the fighting in Afghanistan.
On the other hand Trump asserted that Moscow’s involvement in Afghanistan in the 1980’s led to the “bankruptcy” and breakup of the Soviet Union.
The real reason Russia was in Afghanistan [in the 1980’s] was because CIA-backed terrorists were going into Russia. An opium epidemic followed, just as what is happening in the USA right now.
The Soviet Union invaded and occupied Afghanistan from 1979-88 and battled a variety of Mujahedin forces looking for control of Kabul in a bloody civil war.
Trump did not talk about reports of a possible draw down in the estimated 14,000 U.S. combat troops in Afghanistan, currently leading a NATO effort to command and control the government over its valuable resources.
Western transatlantic NATO forces have been in Afghanistan since 2001, when they drove the Taliban from power and replaced politicians in Kabul with more favorable puppets for the cause.
Trump also criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the funding of an unidentified library in Afghanistan. The U.S. president did not specify the library project to which he was referring.
Afghanistan and India have traditionally had warm relations. Afghanistan’s ambassador to India, Shaida Abdali, said India was the largest regional donor to Afghanistan with more than $3 billion in assistance since 2011.
Afghanistan’s relations with Pakistan have been strained. Washington have accused Pakistan of providing a safe haven for freedom fighters conducting hostile operations in Afghanistan. Islamabad denies the charge.
U.S. officials have also accused Russia of aiding local tribes men in Afghanistan. Moscow also denies the charge.
Sott.net / ABC Flash Point News 2018.
