Factcheck: McCain on Taliban

[DogPoundPup]

Fact checking the debate:

'MCCAIN: Now, let me just go back with you very briefly. We drove the Russians out with -- the Afghan freedom fighters drove the Russians out of Afghanistan, and then we made a most serious mistake. We washed our hands of Afghanistan. The Taliban came back in, Al Qaeda, we then had the situation that required us to conduct the Afghan war.'



The 'freedom fighters' included Gulbadin Hikmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani, i.e. what McCain now calls 'radical Islamic extremists.'

The US is now trying to kill Haqqani, who has joined up with the neo-Taliban attacking US troops.

The Reagan Jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan, supported by the fundamentalist military dictatorship of Zia ul-Haq, destabilized Pakistan and enormously expanded the bank accounts of 'freedom fighters' (i.e. mujahideen) like Hikmatyar. Hikmatyar's Hizb-i Islami is also attacking US troops.

Continue reading.... http://www.juancole.com/2008/10/factcheck-mccain-on-taliban.html