Gorbachev thought the invasion had been a mistake, and he wanted to get the Afghan albatross off the Soviet neck; but, instead of ordering an immediate and unilateral withdrawal, he told his generals to win the war as quickly as possible by any means necessary. Like Richard Nixon, who had sought “peace with honor”4 in Vietnam, Gorbachev wanted to get out of Afghanistan with at least the appearance of a victory: he couldn’t afford to look weak going into the sensitive nuclear negotiations he had set in motion.
