CIA backed Mujahideen freedom fighters preparing to launch a mortar attack against Soviet occupational forces during the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. For 10 years (27 December 1979 – 15 February 1989) the U.S. and other NATO countries provided diplomatic praise, financial aid and weapons for the very same people who would later be known as the Taliban.

A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to fighting an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign nation through either the use of physical force, or nonviolence. Depending on the perspective of a state’s government, a resistance movement may or may not be labeled a terrorist group based on whether the members of a resistance movement are considered lawful or unlawful combatants and their right to resist occupation is recognized. Ultimately, the distinction of labeling a resistance movement as terrorists is a made by the attacking country’s government.

During WWII the French Resistance was acclaimed by the Allied nations as a resistance movements and helped them fight and kill the attacking and occupying German armed forces. Those Allied nations included the United States, Britain and Canada. All 3 countries and their ruling governments supported the French Resistance by providing both funding and weapons. The United States, Britain and Canada knew that the weapons they provided to the Resistance would be used to kill as many Germans as possible in order for France to regain its freedom from the German occupation. In those days the French Resistance were cheered on and diplomatically regarded as heroes. The French Resistance were responsible for acts of sabotage which today we regard as terrorists bombings. Back then the United States, Britain and Canada openly supported and condoned what we now regard as terrorists attacks and bombings. The French Resistance fought to regain their freedom from the German military occupation of their country by blowing up German military assets, resulting in numerous German soldiers deaths as well as French civilians deaths - from collateral damage. Today the United States, Britain and Canada are the attackers and no one in the U.S. Britain and Canada are properly identifying the Afghan Resistance as a resistance movement. Because the U.S., Britain and Canada are now the Axis Powers the people in the Afghan Resistance movement are erroneously labeled as terrorists.

The Afghan Resistance fighters are not terrorists. They are freedom fighters. Freedom fighters are people who are using physical force in order to cause a change in the political and or social order. This is done in response to oppression or perceived oppression by an internal or external body. The United States, Britain and Canada are the oppressors. The Afghan people and their legitimate ruling party called the Taliban are the victims of our oppression and because of our war of aggression towards their country and people the Afghan Freedom Fighters are actively using physical armed attacks in order to regain their freedom.

People who were once described as “freedom fighters” are now referenced as assassins, rebels, insurgents, or terrorists. This leads to the aphorism “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”. The degree to which this occurs depends on a variety of factors specific to the struggle in which a given freedom fighter group in engaged. During the Cold War, the term freedom fighter was used frequently by the United States and other Western Bloc countries to describe rebels in countries controlled by communist states or otherwise under the influence of the Soviet Union, including rebels in Hungary, the anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua, UNITA in Angola and the multi-factional mujahideen in Afghanistan and Jammu and Kashmir.

The Soviet Hind was one of the most feared Soviet Helos during the Soviet War in Afghanistan until the United States CIA changed the outcome of war by supplying the Afghan Freedom Fighters with the U.S. made shoulder fired Stinger missile.

Upon becoming President, Reagan moved quickly to undermine Soviet efforts to subdue the government of Afghanistan, which the Soviet Army had invaded in 1979. Islamic mujahideen guerrillas were covertly supported and trained, and backed in their jihad against the occupying Soviets by the CIA. The CIA sent billions of dollars in military aid to the mujahideen to help them in their fight to regain their country’s freedom from the Soviet military occupation. Throughout the 1980s many movies were made that portrayed the mujahideen as noble and courageous freedom fighters. Actors Sylvester Stallone, Timothy Dalton, Chevy Chase, Dan Ackroyd, and Tom Hanks used the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan to enhance their careers as well as foster U.S. and global support for the mujahideen freedom fighters and their war against the oppressive Soviet occupation of Afghanistan with movies like “Rambo III” (vigilante Vietnam War veteran John Rambo helped mujahedeen rebels fend off Soviet invaders in Afghanistan), “The Living Daylights” (Timothy Dalton as James Bond finds himself in Soviet occupied Afghanistan where he rescues himself, his girlfriend and a mujahideen commander), “The Beast” (In this picture, a Soviet tank crew is lost in the Afghan desert, pursued by vengeful mujahideen guerrillas.), “Spies Like Us” (A comedy about two totally incompetent applicants, Emmett Fitzhume (Chevy Chase) and Austin Millbarge (Dan Ackroyd), are chosen from a CIA recruitment program. They are parachuted into Pakistan and eventually end up in Afghanistan, chased by the Soviets, where they learn they are being used as decoys to draw out the Soviet defenses.), and “Charlie Wilson’s War” (the 2007 movie about the real-life Congressman Charlie Wilson and his relentless efforts to increase CIA support for anti-Soviet Afghan insurgents. Tom Hanks plays the role of Congressman Wilson.).

Reagan praised the mujahideen as freedom fighters battling an evil empire, stating, “To watch the courageous Afghan freedom fighters battle modern arsenals with simple hand-held weapons is an inspiration to those who love freedom. Their courage teaches us a great lesson—that there are things in this world worth defending. To the Afghan people, I say on behalf of all Americans that we admire your heroism, your devotion to freedom, and your relentless struggle against your oppressors.” (March 21, 1983)

The Afghan Resistance is dedicated in fighting our invasion and military occupation of their sovereign country using the same physical force and armed tactics as the French Resistance used in WWII yet they are regarded as terrorists. We are hunting to extinction (genocide) the Afghanistan people’s freedom fighters. Like the French people before them the Afghan people are engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom for themselves and for their people. Where are all the movies stars and political leaders today? Why are we not supporting the Afghan people again in their fight to regain their freedom? After all the Taliban are the Afghan peoples’ freedom fighters who are battling the evil United States. After all the poorly armed Taliban are courageously battling the modern arsenals of the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Canada. After all the Taliban are fighting for something that is worth defending - their freedom and the freedom of their country. To the Afghan people, I say on behalf of all the people of the free World that we admire your heroism, your devotion to freedom, and your relentless struggle against your oppressors.