The Kremlin succeeded in making its presence in Syria stable, financially affordable and generally acceptable to the Russian public. The White House failed to do the same in Afghanistan
The U.S. intervention in Afghanistan was launched in October 2001 to be nearly two decades long. Russia’s military operation in Syria was launched in September 2015, and it has been going on for six years. Both powers justified their interventions ...
... present from 1979 to 1997, was centered around both a jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan and the possibility for Sunni groups to contain Iranian influence at the time. It was effective against Russia in Afghanistan, but this phase was not very successful elsewhere and failed in... ... lives on.
Andrey Kortunov, Michel Duclos:
Four Dreadful Scenarios for Tomorrow’s Syria and What We Can Do To Avoid Them
The third phase of Jihadism is conducted under... ... the initiative of two ideologues and tacticians who share the same given name, Abu Musab al-Suri and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Abu Musab al-Suri was a Syrian Muslim brother...
... worries of Eastern Europeans.
Accordingly, the next year should provide an answer for the following question: Is fear of Russia and percieved threat in Europe sufficient for increasing defense capabilities of the European NATO members in the first ... ... back at best. At worst, one can fail as the U.S. did in Vietnam. You just cannot combat these guys from the sky!
3. Whither Afghanistan?
Well, it's pretty simple. A president of Kabul is not a president of Afghanistan. Almost entire south-east ...