Dmitry Medvedev wrote in an op-ed that the U.S. invasion was a « blood for blood » campaign following the Twin Towers attacks.
The anniversary of the 9/11 attacks should focus minds on the failure of the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan to defeat terrorism, a goal which requires « the entire international community, » former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said. He described the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan as following a « blood for blood » principle backed by the United Nations during which over 20 years $1.5 trillion was « buried » in the country in an outlay that was « absolutely pointless. » In an op-ed for Gazyeta.ru, the Russian president from 2008 to 2012, said the U.S. « did not achieve the main goal that President George W. Bush announced after the September 11 attacks—to defeat terrorism in Afghanistan. « Due to numerous miscalculations of the United States, including in its Middle East policy, terrorists continue to operate on the territory of the country, » he said, noting the particular threat of Islamic State militants in the region and further afield. Medvedev, also an ex-prime minister who now serves as the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, said that Washington had taken pains to portray the U.
