Setting the record straight

Too frequently, letter writers to the E-R inject patently false information. They often exaggerate, twist words, misstate facts, or omit pertinent information. A less charitable respondent than I might call them flat out lies.

A perfect example is Lucy Cooke’s letter (8/19/2021) in which she wrote “Before Carter’s national security advisor, Brzezinski enticed the Soviets into Afghanistan in 1979, to give them their Vietnam, … What if, in 1979, the US had not funded and supported the mujahideen, and Osama bin Laden…”. First, Brzesinski did not entice the Soviets into Afghanistan.

This is roundly refuted by multiple authenticated sources too numerous to list. As to “what if”, the Russians would not have been sent home poorer, demoralized, and defeated, and the Soviet Union might not have broken up (which resulted in freedom for many).

Fact: In 1979, Afghanistan was in the middle of a continuing civil war. The Soviet military and KGB were aligned with the Communist-friendly, brutal, ruling party for some time. The conflict became a proxy war with the U.S. siding with the opposition (to which, OBL belonged). Only after the Soviets began deploying tens of thousands of troops, lethal aid to the opposition was supplied by the U.S.

More recently, Ranney Moss claimed that the Taliban had made an offer to GWB “…on five separate occasions and included an offer to either capture Bin Laden and turn him over to the US or to kill him.” The Taliban never, ever offered up OBL (dead or alive). PERIOD!

— Tom Neill, Chico