Afghans blast Trump’s praise of the 1979 Soviet invasion

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan officials on Thursday blasted President Donald Trump’s praise of the 1979 Soviet invasion and occupation, which he described as a fight against terrorism, breaking with decades of Republican anti-communist beliefs.

In Trump’s revisionist history of Afghanistan, “the reason Russia was in Afghanistan was because terrorists were going into Russia,” he said during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. “They were right to be there. The problem is, it was a tough fight.”

It was a surprising break from U.S. conservatives dating back to President Ronald Reagan, who saw the invasion as an attempt to spread communism and aided insurgent forces fighting Soviet troops.

The comments raised eyebrows with officials in Afghanistan, at a time when Kabul has been frustrated with Trump’s sudden announcement of a plan to withdraw up to half of U.S. troops as peace talks with Taliban insurgents continue without Afghan government involvement.

A statement from President Ashraf Ghani’s office described the battle against the Soviets as a “national uprising for gaining freedom” and noted that the Soviet invasion was condemned by the United Nations and the United States at the time.

“All presidents of America not only denounced this invasion but remained supporters of this holy jihad of the Afghans,” the statement said.

Trump’s invitation for Russia and India to join the fight against the Taliban — along with Pakistan, where the militants have enjoyed safe haven — further complicated matters, an Afghan lawmaker said.