Chapter 39: The Enormous Mire

  "We only met yesterday, but Lieutenant Muhamed has made a very deep impression on me," said Bowers. "You are a true warrior and we in America support heroes like Lieutenant Muhamed."

  Bao'er stretched out his hand and shook hands with Muhammad.

  Two hands clasped tightly together, two faces wore a smile, as if they were old friends.

  It wasn't until two minutes later that the two of them let go, Muhammad put his hand on my back and slapped it twice with force. I was like, ouch! This guy's got some strength!

  At the same time, Baoer on the opposite side also made the same action, with his hands behind his back, and his mouth seemed to be twitching.

  "Come, Mr. Borel, sit down." Musa Aff said with a smile, as if he had seen nothing.

  When Bao'er turned around and sat down, Muhammad could see that the guy's hands were a bit swollen. It seemed that his own strength was still greater.

  "We don't have time for idle talk," Bowers said. "I've come this time on the orders of the President. The Stinger missile is something we've just developed, and its performance isn't very stable yet, I'm afraid it can't be provided to the Afghan guerrillas. The TOW anti-tank missile is complicated to operate, and I'm afraid the guerrillas won't be able to master it. However, our CIA has obtained 300 RPG-7s through secret channels, all of which can be provided to your team. The RPG-7 can penetrate the main armor of Soviet tanks, and can also shoot down helicopters from the sky."

  It is undeniable that the RPG-7 is a mature and simple weapon, and its presence can be seen in every war. However, this thing is just used in large quantities, but as for its effectiveness, it cannot be compared to the Toxic Dart.

  RPG-7 is an uncontrolled rocket-propelled grenade, after launching, it is in the process of inertial flight, whether it can hit the target, except for the shooter's experience, the rest is just praying to God. If you make a most familiar analogy, this thing is similar to playing a firework.

  It takes dozens of rocket shells to bring down a helicopter, and if it were just launching rockets, that would be fine. The key is that after the shooter launches, he cannot bring down the helicopter, so he can only be killed by the helicopter. Helicopters are the natural enemy of infantry, as simple as an eagle catching a chicken.

  Muhammad is unwilling to take lives to fill, three hundred RPG-7s, no sincerity.

  "Mr. Bowers, this war that is happening in the land of Afghanistan, you know what it means?" Muhammad asked Bowers.

  When Muhammad heard the question, Bao'er replied without hesitation: "The Soviet Union disregarded international norms and brazenly invaded a sovereign state, which is a violation of the United Nations Charter. The international community has expressed extreme opposition to the Soviet Union, while the Afghan people, undaunted by the Soviet Union's strong power, resolutely took up arms to defend their homes and country. We in the West all support the Afghan people, and the Afghan people's guerrilla war is just."

  Mr. Bao shook his head: "Mr. Muhammad, politics are all dirty, don't talk about how sacred they are, why doesn't your country support those wars in Africa?"

  "Watch your tongue, Lieutenant Muhammad," Musharraf said, although by military rank, Musharraf outranked the man in front of him, Baur was representing America, especially now that Baur reported directly to the President of the United States on the situation here and requested support for weapons. This person absolutely could not be offended. Pakistan had even allowed this guy to open a bar on the street to support him.

  Mohammad bowed his head immediately: "Sorry, Mr. Baoer, my words unintentionally offended the dignity of your country, I just wanted to say that the Afghan war won the support of the Western world because of the Soviet Union. In essence, this is a war between the West and the Soviet Union, just conducted through the hands of the Afghan people. What do you think, am I right?"

  This was the first conversation between Baoer and Muhammad, which brought a great shock to Baoer. Even after more than a decade, when Muhammad had become a dominant force and drifted away from the United States, Baoer still regarded Muhammad as a highly respected opponent, a strong rival with sharp political insight.

  Muhammad was not only a soldier but also possessed absolute political talent.

  "For the Western world, helping the Afghan people and winning this war would be a victory against the Soviet Union." Mohammad said: "It was for this reason that I was sent to Afghanistan to help train the guerrilla forces there. However, such views are not entirely accurate; the significance of the Afghan War goes far beyond just defeating the red Soviet Union, it has deeper meanings!"

  Muhammad glanced at Bao'er, who was staring at him with a pair of shining eyes. Muhammad couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction in his heart. Ah, I don't believe that even a smooth talker like you can't be moved.

  Muhammad's power was not based on political sensitivity, but on knowledge of later generations.

  The Afghan war thoroughly bankrupted the Soviet Union. When you are poor, you think of change. Gorbachev wanted to reform, but found that in order to reform the economy, he had to reform politics first. This reform eventually led to the demise of the Soviet Union.

  If there had been no Afghan war, the Soviet Union would still have collapsed, but it could have lasted a few more years.

  Even Musa Aff was looking at Muhammad with a divine gaze, waiting for Muhammad's next words.

  "Afghanistan will be a huge swamp, the Soviet giant having put its foot into this swamp will not be able to pull it out, they will sink deeper and deeper, until they can't even pull their feet out, let alone their entire body. This giant will gradually exhaust itself in this swamp, when it is exhausted, that's when it will disappear." Muhammad made a vivid metaphor.

  Muhammad knew he had already successfully moved Baoer.

  Muhammad didn't speak and Musa Af also didn't, both were thinking, thinking about the new idea that this low-ranking lieutenant Muhammad had brought to them.

  "Now, the biggest threat to Afghan guerrillas is the Soviet Mi-24 helicopter. In this battle in Afghanistan, I constantly encountered threats from helicopters. To eliminate this threat, I took a risk and entered the Jalalabad helicopter base, destroying the helicopters there. The Soviets had to mobilize new helicopters from within the country to continue fighting. One Mi-24 costs $5.5 million, so the loss of over a dozen helicopters is over $60 million. How much oil must the Soviet Union export to make up for this loss?" Muhammad said: "This tactic can only be used once, and the Soviets will strengthen their base defense. We won't have a second chance. If we had Stingers, we could constantly shoot down Soviet helicopters and inflict heavy losses."

  "In modern warfare, it's all about the economy. When the Soviet Union's financial resources are depleted due to the war in Afghanistan, they will find that the money they should have spent on bread was used to build planes and was wasted. The Soviet people will be dissatisfied with their living conditions, and the Soviet Union will fall into a terrible predicament. All of this depends on how much damage the Afghan guerrillas can inflict on the Soviets in the Afghan battlefield." Muhammad said: "We need Stingers, we need TOW missiles."

  It seems that his own persuasion had a good effect, and finally Muhammad said to Powell: "Mr. Powell, please tell our most trusted President of your country that the Afghan Mujahideen need Stingers, need TOW anti-tank missiles, your country only needs to provide weapons, and the Afghan Mujahideen will offer hot blood and life, we are for the same goal, drag down the Soviet Union!"

  "I will pass all these words to the President," said Bao. "You also know that we are a democratic country in the United States, and exporting these weapons requires voting by those people in Congress, sometimes even the President is very embarrassed."

  "Mr. Bower, didn't you just say that the poison stinger hasn't matured yet?" Muhammad said.

  Bao Er discovered that his conversation with Muhammad had always been following the other's train of thought. Actually, he didn't need to come today, but last night he saw Muhammad and wanted to continue a deeper exchange with him.

  "Never mind that now, Lieutenant Muhammad," said Bower. "Tell me about the lovely Ayesha beside you."

  Aisha? Did this guy find out that Aisha was taken in for the night by herself? The CIA really does have eyes and ears everywhere.

  As he came out of the command center, Muhammad felt extremely relieved. Although Powell was going to consult with the US President, Muhammad felt that the US President should agree. The actor-turned-President Reagan had high hopes for defeating the Soviet Union.

  As he walked out of the headquarters, Muhammad's footsteps stopped for a moment. Under the big tree on the street, a girl was standing there, and when she saw Muhammad coming out, her face had a smile.

  "A'isha?" Muhammad looked at the girl and immediately exclaimed: "What are you doing here?"

  "I forgot to tell you, the radio station is closed today, I don't have to go." Aisha said: "I saw you enter here from my room and have been waiting for you outside."

  The reception room of the military region is not far from here. Muhamed also came for convenience. Who would have thought that this girl saw everything.

  Aisha naturally linked her arm with Muhammad's: "I'm hungry."

  "Are you hungry?" Muhammad said: "Okay, let's go have some milk tea."

  Walking on the streets of Baishawu, Muhammad felt the unique fragrance of the girl beside him, constantly flowing into his nostrils. This feeling was just like a first love.