I'm going to have to disagree with the President on this one point...

[John1956PA]

8. Agreed. In the 1980s, Reagan was too enthusiastic in providing missiles to the mujahideen.

From a 2014 article at https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/09/20/349549267/when-the-u-s-backs-rebels-it-doesnt-often-go-as-planned :

. . .

Afghanistan: This major CIA operation spanned the 1980s, as the Afghan rebels, or mujahideen, steadily chipped away at the occupying Soviet army. When the Soviets withdrew in 1989, it was considered a huge success and also seen as a factor in accelerating the Soviet Union's decline.

But then the U.S. and everyone else abandoned Afghanistan. The ensuing chaos among the well-armed rebel factions proved fertile ground for the eventual rise of the Taliban, which in turn played host to al-Qaida.

Now, more than 30 years after the CIA's initial intervention, the U.S. is withdrawing combat troops from a country that remains fragile and plagued with violence.

. . .