Partly inaccurate american c**p (spoilers)

as a piece of film fine
as an historical record mainy innacuracies...

1. Soviets lost in afghanistan mainly because communism collapsed back home and they lost the will to fight a protracted war. So both the Americans and Fundamentalist Arabs taking credit is an exagerration. The main fighters were afghans and Arabs played very little in the fight against the soviets. So when certain fundy groups (islamic or neo con) take credit for destroying the Russian empire its like taking credit for killing a terminally ill person lol

2. Americans didnt give a flying c**p about the Afghans they just used the fighters in a proxy war against Russia. The film does touch on this , but all that sympathy for Afghan Women and kids is rubbish, America was busy doing the same thing in Latin America at the same time

3. The Fundy backlash wasn't an accident it was well known and even manipulated to serve American interests . America was totally happy with Gulbadeen Hekmatyar and Rabbani etc and didnt care where the weapons ended up. They also fully knew a new enemy was needed after communism collapsed to justify american expansionism..

4. The stinger is an American Missile system under licence from Germany and switzerland, so the part about using stockpiled soviet weapons to avoid american help being known was kack for the most part. Also a handful of well paid Soviet spies could find out all the info they need...

5. There is nothing that can't be bought in Pakistan / Afghanistan so an aging 6 foot Arab running an illusionary terrorist organisation and avoiding capture is pure fantasy

okay just to go a bit deeper (Spoilers)

for the non Muslims out there

1. The Adhan or Islamic call to prayer is not constantly on in the background it happens 5 times a day and also people dont randomly pray just off camera, most go to a mosque at an allocated time. Even in refugee camps...

2. The pakistani Army is secular and big whisky swiggers in fact Murry in Pakistan has one of the biggest breweries in the region and alcohol is freely available in army and rich circles...

3. Pakistanis who for most part are of the Hanafi Madhab (method) of Islam do not put their hands on their heart after greeting, they hug from one side like Chechens, Turks etc

4. The crowds do not shout Allah u Akbar when an American official gives a speech, unless someone (Muslim) shouts Takbir first

5. Western women do not have to cover unless up in the north west frontier but even then only in some regions. Plenty of Pakistani women do not cover or observe Hijab

6. Pakistani / Afghan women do not make the apache type warbling with their tongues this is an Arab thing


7. General Zia ul Haq did not look like Om Puri he looked like Terry Thomas

8. Finally Tom Hanks does not have such a firm butt...however I could be wrong