Today, the CIA’s official museum features the Stinger missile as a game-changer that was one of the key factors in the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan.

But this official vindication hides the real story.

For six years, the CIA’s own Deputy Director, John J. McMahon, was the single most powerful obstacle preventing the mujahedin from getting any effective anti-aircraft weapons.

In Chapter 8 of Normal Channels: Blocked or Compromised, I detail the multi-year political war waged by a small grassroots lobby, the Federation for American Afghan Action (FAAA), to expose and overcome this systemic blockage.

This chapter reveals the shocking, firsthand account from a high-level CIA official of why McMahon blocked the aid—a story that begins with his stunning admission: “I have just talked to my KGB counterpart.”

This is the story of how that 6-year logjam was finally broken by public pressure, how the decision was “cosmetically” undermined by the administration, and how the bureaucracy “mutated” to sabotage the victory, leading to a disastrous 11 misses out of 12 shots when the Stingers were first used.

I have posted a free preview of the chapter, including the full “KGB counterpart” quote, on my Substack.

Click Here to Read the Free Preview of Chapter 8 on my Substack

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