The Prelude:

Why post-WWII Germany is not 2007 Iraq

Iraq the Foolishness of Imitating post-WWII Germany

The only logical analogy to be made for the current Iraq War – if one needs to be made, is the past war between the US and the Soviet Union.  One of the main battles of the US-USSR policy of confrontation was the Afghanistan War, a component of the Cold War – and officially fought between the Soviet army and the Afghan rebels.

The Soviet War in Afghanistan was used as the the surrogate battlefield for the Cold War between the US and USSR.  The US couldn’t engage the Soviet Union directly during the Cold War because, aside from having no real reason to, it would have resulted in a Nuclear Holocaust.  So the CIA was used to organize and execute the second really overt battle of the Cold War using US and Saudi money with Pakistan acting as the logistical distributer of weapons to the Afghan Rebels – who thanked Allah for the guns, not realizing it was the US and the CIA who enabled their victory over the Soviet army.

The US backed the Afghans by pumping money into the Jihad against the Russians.  This was largely enabled and orchestrated by Congressman Charlie Wilson.  Wilson knew the score in Vietnam concerning the situation of the Soviets pumping money into the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) to defeat the American and South Vietnamese forces.  Soviet weapons and training helped the NVA over-throw the US-backed South Vietnamese government.

In Afghanistan, Wilson wanted to help the Afghan rebels, but he also wanted bleed the Russian Army in Afghanistan, just like the Russians had bled the US Army in Vietnam.

In Vietnam the Soviet Union was able to wage war on the US military (without the threat of nuclear retaliation) via the NVA.  The difference is that the NVA knew this.  They knew where the guns were coming from, while many Afghans believed that their victory was the work of Allah – and maybe it was, but then you might need to accept the notion that Allah was/is working with the US, not a popular way of thinking.

In the Afghan War weapons distribution channels and training were handled by Pakistani Intelligence (ISI).  After the Soviet defeat and withdrawal Afghanistan was left to rebuild on its own.  Since the US never officially overtly directly supported the Afghan War, there was no established responsibility to stay for the rebuilding effort.  The Soviet Union was defeated, the war was over, and US attention turned to other matters.

After the Soviet withdrawal Afghanistan fell into chaos.  War-lords filled the power vacuum, ending in a country filled with Religious warriors with no one to fight and the most technologically advanced leaderless guerilla army the world has ever known.

What does the Afghanistan War have to do with the Iraq War?  Different countries, different armies, different political leaders, what’s the connection?

Jump to 2007

Just exchange a few puzzle pieces on the geo-political chess board.

To make the connection to the current Iraq War, all you have to do is move the geographic location, exchange the USSR and the US – Iraq becomes Afghanistan, and then Iran plays the role of the CIA (a similar game was played during the Vietnam War).

Coming up Next:

How the Afghan War is being Repeated in Iraq – and how Iran is the New CIA