In the 1980s, American covert aid and Stinger missiles helped Afghan mujahedeen drive Soviet troops out of Afghanistan. The US celebrated the victory, closed its embassy in Kabul in 1989, and, despite admonitions of some of the Northern Alliance leaders, left the country to its own devices. The Soviets lost; mission was accomplished; we were out. Just over a decade … Continue reading Afghanistan: Heeding History’s Lessons