US President Donald Trump, who is known for making surprise, tactless statements, has endorsed the Soviet Union’s aggression against Afghanistan. Speaking at his Cabinet meeting in White House, Trump said the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan “because terrorists were going into Russia,” and to stop them, Russians were right to be there.
Trump’s bizarre remarks are a patent contempt for Afghan nation and their countless sacrifices, especially the Mujahedeen who fought against the Soviets. Trump’s absurd justification has raised eyebrows in Afghanistan. The 1979 invasion and occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union is not that far to require a historical look-back. An entire generation of that time is still alive, and they have all witnessed what have happened by then. There is no evidence to prove that Moscow attacked Afghanistan to “stop terrorists from going to the Soviets” because Afghan Mujahedeen had no transnational ambitions. The Soviet Union also known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) invaded Afghanistan to prop up the communist regime in Kabul, and then gain access to a warm water port through Afghanistan to the Arabian Sea. In addition to the then pro-Soviet Afghans, even Russians no longer try to justify the invasion. They all unanimously describe it an invasion and a mistake that led to the downfall of the USSR. It is extremely strange that an American president, most importantly a Republican, justifies the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. Those whom Trump labels as terrorists are the very Mujahedeen who have received more support from the United States than any other nation, and whom a US government led by a Republican president, Ronald Reagan, called freedom fighters. After the determination and a strong sense of pride and autonomy of the Afghan people, it was the American military, financial, and political support that succeeded the Afghan Jihad against the Soviet aggression.
Besides being a flagrant disrespect for the heroic struggle of Afghan nation against the Soviets, Trump’s statements also send a message that the US is not a reliable ally. The superpower advocates for, and considers you an ally and freedom fighter as long as your actions serve its agendas. However, the moment it accomplishes its goals, it begins to use names for you as Trump has used for the Afghan Mujahedeen. Trump’s comments should have wakened Afghans, especially the politicians, to that fact. It was a real awakening call for Afghan leaders that is expected to alert them no longer to turn their back on their own people for the sake of the United States.
