Editor’s Note:

The breathtakingly fast collapse of the Afghan National Army should not intoxicate strategists in Moscow. They cannot reproduce the falling dominoes of 1975. In that year, Moscow-supported movements swept to power, first in Cambodia, then in Vietnam, and finally in Laos. Yes, in Ukraine today, the Western-supplied and trained Armed Forces have corruption and morale problems. Yet, Ukrainian soldiers know they defend their nation against an external attack. Although Russia’s President Putin cherry picks historical facts, there is one uncomfortable truth he should mull before crossing borders during the mid-September Zapad military exercises. From 1944 to 1953, twice as many Soviet personnel were killed in Western Ukraine — 30,676 – than were killed during the 1980s Soviet occupation of Afghanistan — 14,453. With Best Regards, Jim Brooke