Mujahideen during Soviet invasion

[ron doe]

What was Ron Paul's position on supporting the mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan? What is the general consensus on having supported them in the "Paul" community?

[eduardo89]

He probably said "we should mind our own business"

[ron doe]

I'm non-interventionist, but the collapse of the Soviet Union, our rival Communist superpower, was good was it not? I think is safe to say that this was basically a success.

If anything, it was that we had no good exit plan that was problematic.

[ron doe]

I'm non-interventionist, but the collapse of the Soviet Union, our rival Communist superpower, was good was it not? I think is safe to say that this was basically a success.

If anything, it was that we had no good exit plan that was problematic.

[TheLibertarianNationalist]

I'm non-interventionist, but the collapse of the Soviet Union, our rival Communist superpower, was good was it not? I think is safe to say that this was basically a success.

If anything, it was that we had no good exit plan that was problematic.

There were many cases of American interventionism that benefited America and the world. Even today, our presence in South Korea and Taiwan are essential in preventing a Communist take over and a Chinese Empire. You don't have to be a dogmatic non-interventionist to be a Ron Paul supporter. In fact Ron's son, Rand Paul, agrees with intervention to a certain extent. So do Justin Amash and Jeff Flake.

[pcosmar]

There were many cases of American interventionism that benefited America and the world.

Dubious claim..


And Communism is not anywhere in the world. IT DOES NOT EXIST. What does exist is varying flavors of socialism.
And that has been true of the US since the 1900s.

[Pericles]

S Korea and the ROC are willing to defend themselves, and selling the weapons that make it more able for them to do so is consistent with a non intervention strategy.

Supplying trainers and advisers is acceptable, as long as the allies are defensively oriented.

Sending in the US Army to defend people who will not defend themselves is a waste of the lives of our citizens.

American Volunteer Group operations should be the way to go for those who feel strongly about helping other vountries.

[moonshineplease]

I'm non-interventionist, but the collapse of the Soviet Union, our rival Communist superpower, was good was it not? I think is safe to say that this was basically a success.

If anything, it was that we had no good exit plan that was problematic.

The no exit plan thing is a sham. President of the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard Haas was on John Stewart's show about a year ago when the subject of Afghanistan came up. Haas said our biggest problem was that "we took our eye off the ball in Afghanistan" and stopped paying attention to it. Stewart replied with a simple question that put a massive hole in that rationale by asking when it WOULD be okay take our eye off that country...Haas, of course, had no answer.

[ron doe]

Well, whether the Soviet Union was Communist is not really very relevant; the US eliminated a rival superpower with intervention in Afghanistan.

@moonshineplease, I see your point about the no exit plan (there was really no way to exit cleanly). I think it has to admitted though that our success in Afghanistan in the 80's had well outweighed the cost.

[heavenlyboy34]

Well, whether the Soviet Union was Communist is not really very relevant; the US eliminated a rival superpower with intervention in Afghanistan.

@moonshineplease, I see your point about the no exit plan (there was really no way to exit cleanly). I think it has to admitted though that our success in Afghanistan in the 80's had well outweighed the cost.

Silliness. There's never a need to "eliminate" anyone unless they pose a real threat. The Soviets had been allies with the US regime since WWII. The Cold War was just a big prick-waving contest between egomaniacal sociopaths who wanted to dominate huge chunks of the world. (whether or not the ICBMs were a true threat is debatable. IMO the USSR was way too weak to ever even try to carry out a "hot" war)

ETA: The "success" in Afghanistan has outweighed the cost? Srsly? Do the maths for me to prove your claim.