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To: pater tenebrarum who wrote (123460)	9/18/2001 6:50:37 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (6) \| Respond to of 436258

Well, in point of fact we were not "enforcing our do-goodism." We were begged to help, by people who were desperate, and we gave our help. As did the Saudi Arabians and the Chinese. Neither of whom were keen on the idea of the Soviets being that much closer to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. The Soviets fought the Afghani from 1979-1990. They gave up, but the Soviet-backed government survived until 1992. The Taleban did not come on the scene until 1994, and they captured Kabul in 1996. There are over two million Afghani refugees in Pakistan today, and I don't know how many others elsewhere, but a lot of them are here. I know personally people who fought against the Soviets. They are religious, but they are not fundamentalists. I respect the Islamic religion, and I respect Muslims. As for US involvement in the region - we buy oil in the Middle East. We pay good money for the oil. The people we pay the money to are happy to trade oil for money. That's one. We are allied with a number of countries in Asia. That's two. We have economic interests in the region, other than oil, and it is in our interest to maintain peace in the region. That's three. It's not "our" do-goodism, Heinz. You live in a European country. I don't recall your home country condemning the United States for getting involved in peace-keeping in the former Yugoslavia. Please point it out if I missed it. BTW, we give Afghanistan $100 billion a year in humanitarian aid. I wonder how much Russia gives.;^)

To: pater tenebrarum who wrote (123460)	9/18/2001 8:48:23 PM
From: LLCF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

<the Soviet system was doomed anyway, although no-one believed that in '79/'80. > Actually it's 'no one in a position to do anything about it' believed it 'enough' to take the right course. The economic boondogles of Soviet government have been chronicled for decades with it's imminent demise predicted. A good portion of that Reagan defense buildup was simply a waste and many semi-mainstream political rags were calling it such. DAK