well didn't realize we were up on the end of the season already next week. Seems like things are right in the middle. Another off the charts scene last night in the car when the Afghani was gleefully explaining how he gutted the young Russian soldiers to Phil and Liz. Imagine what was going though their head at that point especially Phillip who's son could very well have been one of them? Really sad the season is coming to an end, I love this show and looking forward to watching every week. will be interesting to see how they leave it with Paige. Surprised Phil is clinging to Martha so much. I mean since the bug was found and they have something planted on the mail robot isn't she pretty much useless to him at this point? I would think her leaving would be a perfect exit to that operation.
Seems like a huge risk to have Liz and Paige travel to Russia. From a plot standpoint I get it, in that it is likely to ground Paige in her past and give her some incentive to join her parents, but I just could not imagine the Soviet Union (or the US for that matter) taking that risk at that time with someone so deeply embedded.
Agree on the Martha sub-plot. I'm not sure what Philips's angle is, unless it is just to get Martha through this investigation. Does he think abandoning her will make her crack? Aside from a physical description of him I'm not sure what else she could provide. I'm wondering if him revealing himself now is only to further a more complex lie to keep her invested and silent.
One of the best shows on tv right now in my opinion.
Another thing is that from general reading I was always under the impression that at least at the beginning of the CIA effort in Afghanistan it was done by true believers who had to strap together resources from different groups both foreign and domestic to be effective. They did this sometimes despite or even to some degree behind the backs of the people on the top floor of CIA headquarters. It would have been very hard for the Soviets to penetrate such a group unless they got lucky (which happens). In any case the Stingers didn’t enter into the equation until late in the War from what I know. So I guess “The Americans” is again guilty of a somewhat sketchy time line; albeit still very entertaining.
I agree, Philip doesn't seem to be feeling it lately. He's been reluctant to kill off different people (like the SA student), so I'm not sure if it's feelings for Martha, or just general objection to running around and killing people who he thinks don't have to die.
If you ever read Milt Bearden's book - he was a CIA case officer for Afghanistan in the late '80s - virtually all of the American involvement in Afghanistan was via Pakistan. Since Pakistan controlled the border crossings where the materiel was smuggled in, they called the shots. The US had very little direct contact with any of the mujahideen groups. Pakistan insisted that all money and supplies be funneled through them to be distributed as they saw fit. As a result, the ISI channeled most of the aid to groups they favored, like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's or Jalaluddin Haqqani's (whose Haqqani Network was the group holding Bowe Bergdahl). These two generally spent more time fighting other mujahideen groups than the Soviets. The Americans largely favored Ahmad Shah Massoud, a much more moderate and more capable commander, but he was not a favorite of the ISI so he received little of the aid.
Eh, I just know what Bearden's book said, and I did a little research to fill in the gaps when the series started the Afghanistan angle. The book is a great read. It's about the cat and mouse game between the KGB and CIA in general - Afghanistan is only part of it.
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