Historical Context: The Soviet Invasion

Since Hosseini wrote a historical fiction, his writings aren’t full of facts and information. Although most of the facts that he includes are true, he lacks detail to back up the facts. I was grateful for this type of writing style because I dislike non-fiction books. At the same time, I wanted to learn more because the Soviet invasion has been mentioned in The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns yet I don’t know much about it. Like any other teenager that wants to learn information, especially for a project, I turned to Google.

                During my searches, I found a rather interesting article that captivated my attention with its casual nature.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/charlie-wilson-congressman-whose-support-for-the-mujahideen-helped-force-the-soviet-union-out-of-afghanistan-1898180.html

The article was about a Congressman in the United States. Charlie Wilson used his power to secretly channel weapons into Afghanistan to help the Mujahedeen ward off the Soviet invaders. Charlie, however, was not the cleanest man. “He relished women, booze and, from time to time, cocaine” (Rupert Cornwell). Being a former navy lieutenant in the Cold War and a Pentagon intelligence officer, Charlie was intrigued by the struggles faced by Afghani refugees during the invasion. Using his power as a House budget subcommittee member, Charlie sent hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Stinger missiles and rifles to the Mujahedeen. His efforts did not go unwasted. “Three years later, Moscow concluded that the war was unwinnable and pulled out…Pakistan’s former prime minister Zia ul-Haq replied, ‘Charlier did it’ ” (Rupert Cornwell). Although Charlie was unlawful in a Wolf of Wall Street style with the cocaine and strippers, he was later recognised as an “Honoured Colleague” by the CIA.

                I feel that this article is an accurate representation of the occurrence of the Soviet Invasion. The Russians invaded Afghanistan to expand their Red Nation and America responded to the invasion by giving money and guns to the local rebel forces. Charlie Wilson is the classic American governor. He is crude and bawdy yet he gets involved in wars that America has no business for doing. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, the locals are wondering when their savior is going to come and stop the war. America didn’t have official involvement in the war so, through the local’s eyes, the war continues to rage onwards.