Lefty Douchebags: Reagan Created the Taliban or Something

For the past few weeks the media has been telling us Obama is the latest incarnation of Ronald Reagan, so you would think Reagan has now become some sort of icon for the left. Yet now to celebrate Reagan's 100th birthday, the fine folks at Think Progress pivot and give us ten reasons why conservatives should hate Reagan. They report this as if nobody was around during the 1980s to remember anything Reagan did. For example, did you know Reagan signed a tax increase into law? Shocking, but true. And bet you didn't know that unemployment actually ticked up a bit in 1982 before the economy took off and created millions of jobs (they forget to mention that part). But the dumbest bit comes when they try to have us believe that Reagan himself was directly responsible for creating the Taliban and Osama bin Laden. So I guess we should all hate Reagan now.

10. Reagan helped create the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. Reagan fought a proxy war with the Soviet Union by training, arming, equipping, and funding Islamist mujahidin fighters in Afghanistan. Reagan funneled billions of dollars, along with top-secret intelligence and sophisticated weaponry to these fighters through the Pakistani intelligence service. The Talbian and Osama Bin Laden — a prominent mujahidin commander — emerged from these mujahidin groups Reagan helped create, and U.S. policy towards Pakistan remains strained because of the intelligence services’ close relations to these fighters. In fact, Reagan’s decision to continue the proxy war after the Soviets were willing to retreat played a direct role in Bin Laden’s ascendency.

This is how the left celebrates Reagan's birthday. By distorting history to try and get Republicans to suddenly hate the guy. By the way, guys, it's spelled ascendancy.

Just pathetic.

I can't wait for some celebration of Bill Clinton where Think Progress details how he let bin Laden get away time after time leading up to 9/11.

Happy birthday, Gipper. Don't let the idiots ruin your day.

Update: A good read from Kyle Smith. He reminds us of something the left would rather avoid.

Americans may not know the numbers, but they know Reagan left the country a far stronger place than he found it. No liberal dared ask, in 1984 or 1988, the famous question the Great Communicator posed in 1980 — “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Today no lefty dares ask, “Should a president be like Reagan?”