"We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war"
- Zbigniew Brzezinski
About this Quote
This quote by Zbigniew Brzezinski is referring to the Soviet-Afghan War, which started in 1979 and lasted up until 1989. The war was a proxy conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States, with the Soviets supporting the Afghan government and the United States supporting the Afghan Mujahideen. Brzezinski is suggesting that the United States need to use the chance of the Soviet-Afghan War to provide the Soviet Union its own Vietnam War. This would suggest that the United States would have the ability to use the same techniques and strategies that it utilized in the Vietnam War to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. By doing this, the United States would have the ability to put pressure on the Soviet Union and weaken its hang on Afghanistan. Brzezinski's quote is a tip of the value of using the right strategies and techniques in order to achieve victory in a dispute.
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