Posted by 3JordanS on September 21, 2009 at 11:30pm
Many of us must be thinking, "How does Afghanistan have so many weapons?" Well, I asked myself the same question, so, naturally, I went to go find the answer. And yes, this is a current event because it explains the history of past events that are relating to the current situation that is happening in the Middle East.It all started with the Soviet-Afghan War in 1980-1989. The Soviets attempted to take over Afghanistan, but the Mujahideen, "freedom fighters", fought back. The war lasted about 10 years and it tore apart Afghanistan's government and destabilized the region.The Mujahideen, either infuriated at the Soviets for invading the Middle-East or unhappy with the fact that the Soviets were trying to put up their atheist Communist government. The Mujahideen may have felt threatened and felt that in order to protect their religion, they would have to fight back. The Mujahideen came from Afghanistan and other regional musilm countries.
The US began lending the militants money under Jimmy Carter. The money given the significantly increased when Ronald Reagan, a republican, became president. Charlie WIlson, another Republican, was the driving force behind this increase. The money was used to buy guns from neighboring countries that manufactored guns.The reason the area is so contested is the fact taht it was just recently ravaged by war with no stable government in place. Another reason is that with the Soviet war going on, is that the fighting has left tanks, guns, and explosives lying around, ready for militant use. Also, the US and other countries have directly suplied them with money so that they may buy more weapons.
In Wrap-up, many of the weapons that the militants use against our soldiers are Cold War aged weapons, such as AK-47's and SKS's. Although these guns are inaccurate, they are incredibly durable. The way they got these was from the caches of weapons the Soviets left behind and from the bodies of dead soldiers. They even have captured tanks and artillery from abandoned or overran bases. They now use these guns agaisnt us in the War on Terror. Altough these guns are old, dusty, and inaccurate, don't think for a second that theyb cant kill. For the way these guns are used, it doesnt matter what kind of gun it is. for they will use their prized Battle-Stategy. Attrition. It obviously worked on the Soviets, who says it cant work on us?
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