Velshi: Given the right tools, resistance can overcome much greater force

American-supplied Stinger missiles were a key factor in the Soviet Union’s defeat in Afghanistan in the 1980s. In 1978, Afghanistan’s centrist government was overthrown by Russian-backed military officers. They formed a new government backed by the Soviet Union. The government would have fallen if the Soviets hadn’t invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979. The Mujahideen – which is what the American-backed Muslim guerilla fighters were called - were no match for the military might of the USSR. But back in Washington D.C., Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson was working to fund the Mujahideen and eventually got stinger missiles onto the shoulders of the Afghan rebels, allowing the Mujahideen to neutralize Soviet air power. It taught the lesson that, given the right tools, resistance can overcome much greater force.March 12, 2022