1982: U.S. President Ronald Reagan dedicates the Space Shuttle Columbia to the resistance fighters — the jihadists — in Afghanistan. He proclaimed: “Just as the Columbia, we think, represents man’s finest aspirations in the field of science and technology, so too does the struggle of the Afghan people represent man’s highest aspirations for freedom. I am dedicating, on behalf of the American people, the March 22nd launch of the Columbia to the people of Afghanistan.” Watch his announcement on YouTube.

1983: “To watch the courageous Afghan freedom fighters battle modern arsenals with simple hand-held weapons is an inspiration to those who love freedom,” President Reagan publicly declared on March 21, 1983.

1985: “These gentlemen are the moral equivalent of America’s Founding Fathers.” — President Reagan, introducing the Afghan mujahedeen leaders to the media at the White House. Two such moral equivalents, Osama bin Laden and Taliban chief Mullah Mohammed Omar, later became America’s nemesis.

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