US-led war lasts 9 yrs and 50 days, as long as Soviet war

(26 Nov 2010) SHOTLIST ++AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING++ Kabul - 25 November 2010 1. Wide of International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) compound 2. Mid of US flag 3. Various of soldiers receiving special Thanksgiving meals 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Lieutenant Colonel Robert T. Romer, US Army Commander: "We all have families back home who we love and miss, but we also have our deployed families here so we are going to go ahead and celebrate it and come together, have a little bit of day of remembrance." 5. Various of US soldiers eating Thanksgiving meals Kabul - 23 November 2010 6. Various set up shots of Wadir Safi, professor at Kabul University, former Civil Aviation Minister 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Wadir Safi, professor at Kabul University: "The similarity is this that it belongs to the psychology and characteristic of the Afghan nation that they never wanted the foreign yoke and the foreign people and the foreign military especially to come and rule this country to do whatever they like. So the Americans also did not reach the same goal for whatever they had come." 8. Cutaway of Safi's hand 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Wadir Safi, professor at Kabul University: "If they don't change their policy, if they don't reach their goals, if they don't come to the agreement with the armed opposition of the government, then it is not far that the Afghan people will be fed up with the presence of these foreign forces." Marjah District, Helmand Province - 18 September 2010 10. Helicopter flying overhead 11. Various of US and Afghan Army forces engaged in battle with the Taliban fighters Kabul - 23 November 2010 12. Various of market in downtown Kabul 13. Various of women shopping, wearing burqas 14. SOUNDBITE (Dari) Mohammad Agha, Kabul resident, Vox pop: "Both the Soviets and the Americans are infidels. Soviets came for nine years and 50 days and when they saw that they couldn't occupy our country, they left. Now, nine years and 50 days has been completed again. The international troops should leave our country because day-by-day bad things are increasing more than good things. The future of Afghanistan is in our hands." 15. SOUNDBITE (Dari) Abdul Shakoor, shopkeeper, Vox pop: "There is no difference between Soviets and Americans. There was cruelty and hitting and now it's the same thing. Americans should go back to their country." 16. SOUNDBITE (Dari) Hassan Raza, Kabul resident, Vox pop: "My wish is that they get out of here so that we can have a calm life." Marjah District, Helmand Province - 18 September 2010 17. Various of US and Afghan forces engaged in battle with the Taliban fighters STORYLINE The Soviet Union couldn't win in Afghanistan, and now the United States is about to have something in common with that campaign: nine years, 50 days. On Friday, the US-led coalition will have been fighting in Afghanistan for as long as the Soviets did in their attempt to build up a socialist state between 1979 and 1989. The two invasions had different goals - and dramatically different body counts - but whether they have significantly different outcomes remains to be seen. What started out as a quick war on 7 October, 2001, by the US and its allies to wipe out al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and the Taliban has instead turned into a long and difficult campaign. About 100-thousand NATO troops are currently fighting a burgeoning insurgency while trying to support and cultivate a nascent democracy. On Thursday, spirits were lifted in the International Security Assistance Forces compound in Kabul, as soldiers were treated to a special Thanksgiving meal. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...