I sit next to a Russian guy in work, and he tells me that the way Afghanistan is reported in US media is eerily similar to Soviet media’s reportage on Afghanistan during the 80s.<\/p>\n
They were told they were going in to support sensible people with whom they had much in common against religious maniacs and despotic tyrants. Their initial invasion was a success. Nonetheless, as troops stayed there longer, and longer, it was still reported as A Good Thing. Occasionally though, news of perplexing helicopter and airplane crashes, car bombs, stray rockets and a few dead Russian soldiers. And the media never really got a handle on explaining the complex and ever-shifting tribal loyalties. And year after year, the casualities mounted.<\/p>\n