--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Western world doesn't really give…" description: "\"The Western world doesn't really give enough credit to the importance in history of the Soviet invasion and the subsequent war in Afghanistan. For us i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/michael-scheuer-7471_afghanistan_the-western-world-doesn-t-really-give-en_3001142.png" --- # The Western world doesn't really give enough credit to the… ![“The Western world doesn't really give enough credit to the importance in history of the Soviet invasion and the subsequent war in Afghanistan. For us it was a sideshow of the Cold War. For the Islamic world it was an unprovoked infidel invasion of a Muslim country not unlike Iraq.” quote by Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/michael-scheuer-7471_afghanistan_the-western-world-doesn-t-really-give-en_3001142.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/michael-scheuer-7471_afghanistan_the-western-world-doesn-t-really-give-en_3001142.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f94/michael-scheuer-7471_afghanistan_the-western-world-doesn-t-really-give-en_3001142.png) > “The Western world doesn't really give enough credit to the importance in history of the Soviet invasion and the subsequent war in Afghanistan. For us it was a sideshow of the Cold War. For the Islamic world it was an unprovoked infidel invasion of a Muslim country not unlike Iraq.” [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The West undervalues the Soviet invasion’s historical importance, viewing it as a Cold War side story, while the Islamic world sees it as an unprovoked attack. **In simple terms:** West downplays Soviet invasion; Islamic world sees it as unprovoked. Key Takeaway Recognize differing historical perspectives. Themes history perception geopolitics Western bias Mood critical analytical Type political historical When to use this quote - foreign policy study - educational curricula - media critique Key Concepts regional narratives political analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect current policy? - What lessons can be learned? A Different Perspective Bias can simplify complex events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afghanistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Cold war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-war/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Credit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credit/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Infidel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infidel/) [Infidel Invasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infidel-invasion-4766411/) [Invasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invasion/) [Invasion Muslim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invasion-muslim-4766410/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Islamic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islamic/) [Islamic World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islamic-world/) [Sideshows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sideshows/) [Soviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Afghanistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-afghanistan-336076/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) [Western world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“While nobody can pretend that Christian religious practice is thriving in most of Europe, the situation is nothing as grim as some recent accounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-jenkins/while-nobody-can-pretend-that-christian-religious-practice-is/) [Philip Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-jenkins/) > [And the fact that the Muslim world, over the course of a decade, rallied and defeated a superpower is an extraordinary symbol in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/and-the-fact-that-the-muslim-world-over-the-course-of-a-decade/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [ He \[Osama bin Laden\] is clearly an odd combination of a 12th-century theologian and a 21st-century CEO. He runs an absolutely unique organization in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/he-osama-bin-laden-is-clearly-an-odd-combination-of-a-12th-century/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [The second part of that war was that Muslims came from all over the country to Pakistan, and they met each other. For the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/the-second-part-of-that-war-was-that-muslims-came-from-all-over-the/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [We now have some years of very reliable polling by Western firms in the Islamic world, in multiple Islamic countries. And invariably, the question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/we-now-have-some-years-of-very-reliable-polling-by-western-firms-in/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [But more important, I think, is the criticism bin Laden has made publicly over the past 10 years that Muslim governments cannot even protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/but-more-important-i-think-is-the-criticism-bin-laden-has-made/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [I have never believed you go to war in Iraq, you go to war in Afghanistan, and believe that you can deal with those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/i-have-never-believed-you-go-to-war-in-iraq-you-go-to-war-in/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [To me, you can't win. You can't win. There's a war in Iraq; there's no way that they're ending that. The war in Afghanistan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/to-me-you-can-t-win-you-can-t-win-there-s-a-war-in-iraq-there-s-no/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [Especially right after 9/11. Especially when the war in Afghanistan is going on. There was a real sense that you don't get that critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/especially-right-after-9-11-especially-when-the-war-in-afghanistan-is/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [You know what I had a problem with? The war - the war in Afghanistan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/you-know-what-i-had-a-problem-with-the-war-the-war-in-afghanistan/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [The war in Afghanistan, the first war of the twenty-first century, shows the United States doing what it wants to do, not caring about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/the-war-in-afghanistan-the-first-war-of-the-twenty-first-century/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [Inside the White House there were always extreme amounts of doubt about whether they should be escalating in Afghanistan. In fact, most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/inside-the-white-house-there-were-always-extreme-amounts-of-doubt/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [People say the war in Iraq is a bad war, and the war in Afghanistan is a good war, but what's the difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malalai-joya/people-say-the-war-in-iraq-is-a-bad-war-and-the-war-in-afghanistan-is/) [Malalai Joya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malalai-joya/) > [You thought the war in Afghanistan was OK. You know, I mean, you thought that was something worth doing. We didn't check with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/you-thought-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-ok-you-know-i-mean-you-thought/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## More by Michael Scheuer > [Iraq, for the first time, gives al Qaeda and its allies contiguous safe-haven territory to train and launch attacks into the Levant. First into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/iraq-for-the-first-time-gives-al-qaeda-and-its-allies-contiguous-safe/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [Well, there are certain pockets of improvement. The one that I think is most important is that state and local law enforcement levels have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/well-there-are-certain-pockets-of-improvement-the-one-that-i-think-is/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [You become an anti-Semite. And as powerful as the Israeli lobby is, the Saudi lobby is just as powerful. 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One, Iraq is in the Arab heartland in terms of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/the-whole-importance-of-iraq-is-that-we-have-now-created-two-things/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [Bin Laden does reprehensible activities, and we should surely take care of that by killing him as soon as we can. But he's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/bin-laden-does-reprehensible-activities-and-we-should-surely-take/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [The uniqueness of the unit was more or less that it was focused on a single individual. It was really the first time the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/the-uniqueness-of-the-unit-was-more-or-less-that-it-was-focused-on-a/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [I think it's very instructive to look at a man like Ramsey Ahmad Yousef, who almost brought down the World Trade Center in 1993.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/i-think-it-s-very-instructive-to-look-at-a-man-like-ramsey-ahmad/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [The treatise found that he was perfectly within his rights to use them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/the-treatise-found-that-he-was-perfectly-within-his-rights-to-use-them/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [Every mujahadeen who comes in from outside the country finds an environment where Arabic is spoken. So in that sense, it's a tremendous come-on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/every-mujahadeen-who-comes-in-from-outside-the-country-finds-an/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [We've gone thorough religious wars and civil wars. America has gone through slavery, we've all gone through two world wars, segregation. Ultimately it's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/we-ve-gone-thorough-religious-wars-and-civil-wars-america-has-gone/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) > [I don't know what our capabilities are. If I were there, I think it would be nutty to do that. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scheuer/where-he-was-where-his-cells-were-where-his-logistical-channels-were/) [Michael Scheuer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) [Explore all 91 Michael Scheuer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scheuer/) ## More Afghanistan quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/they-re-criminals-they-brutalized-afghanistan-they-killed-our-people/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-levin/the-terrorist-attacks-of-september-11th-and-the-courageous-actions-of/) [Carl Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-levin/) > [According to a recent Harvard study, $6 trillion, when you include the ongoing healthcare expenses for our wounded soldiers, which is the least they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/according-to-a-recent-harvard-study-6-trillion-when-you-include-the/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [You don't bargain with terrorists. You don't appease terrorists. 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Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-p-schneider/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Thousands of Americans have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq upholding their oaths and defending this nation. Chelsea Manning broke her oath and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/thousands-of-americans-have-given-their-lives-in-afghanistan-and-iraq/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [I have been to Afghanistan many times, even before the Taliban collapsed. I was fascinated by the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-khan/i-have-been-to-afghanistan-many-times-even-before-the-taliban/) [Kabir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-khan/) > [There has been sort of, if you will, a moral interventionism on the part of the United States trying to reshape countries in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/there-has-been-sort-of-if-you-will-a-moral-interventionism-on-the/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The legal system in Afghanistan is very immature and porous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/the-legal-system-in-afghanistan-is-very-immature-and-porous/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) [Browse all 1,159 Afghanistan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Western world doesn't really give enough credit to the importance in history of the Soviet invasion and the subsequent war in Afghanistan. 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