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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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Gorbachev: Take It From Me, Leave Afghanistan

'No prospect' for military victory, says former Soviet president

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(Newser) – Mikhail Gorbachev—the man who pulled the Soviet Union's troops out of Afghanistan after a decade of stalemate—says the US should do the same. "There is no prospect of a military solution," he tells Bloomberg. The nation is too fragmented among clans, dooming even a troop surge to failure, he says. “They should be preparing the ground for withdrawal rather than additional troops.”

Vladimir Kotenev, Mikhail Gorbachev and his daughter Irina Virganskaya attend the MTV Europe Music Awards Free Your Mind Award presentation on November 8, 2009, in Berlin.
Vladimir Kotenev, Mikhail Gorbachev and his daughter Irina Virganskaya attend the MTV Europe Music Awards Free Your Mind Award presentation on November 8, 2009, in Berlin.   (Getty Images)
Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev.   (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber,Pool)
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14 comments
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Blackbird
Nov 10, 09 5:10 PM CST
Very true, unfortunately there will never be victory there. Reply
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+6
IN RESPONSE:
bewilderbeast
Nov 11, 09 7:34 AM CST
Most of these posts are glaring examples of how American logic has been perverted since the days you were NOT ALLOWED to speak out against your illegal invasion of other countries (yes, not allowed. Nor did you. You didn't). @Blackbird says "unfortunately there'll never be victory". If you did achieve "victory" - WHAT THEN? @ronimaca and @divetrader say "get Bin Laden" - WHAT THEN? Do you think there's only one person that hates what America is doing? @Jayster agrees you should GTFO, but adds his own crazy murderous scheme as an alternative. @freethemall says we can't "abandon Afghanistan to the Taliban". That's like someone else saying they have to invade America and kill some of your children to rescue you from the Republicans. EIGHT YEARS and TRILLIONS of dollars later the warmaking corporations have STILL got you all talking (and worse, thinking) shit!
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ronimaca
Nov 10, 09 5:28 PM CST
We should leave because there is no way to win, Gorbachev is totally right. They have their way of life, it is very different then ours. Gorbachev has been there done that. But, Obama is right to going in now give it one more stab at getting Binny and if Afganies want us out of there they should help us with all their might and we will get out, leave to their way of life and just walk away. America finally settling the score with the only one that order the attack on 9/11. Reply
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+1
nick
Nov 10, 09 6:17 PM CST
Gorbachev is so right!. Hell, by 2016 the Generals will still believe that victory is just around the corner and will still be asking for 40,000 more troops. Reply
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+5
DeniseVB
Nov 10, 09 6:22 PM CST
Wasn't Russia in Afghanistan for a totally different reason? Oh yeah, and Carter boycotted the '80 Olympics for that reason? Hmmm, hmmm, hmmmm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Summer_Olympics_boycott Reply
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