"In one of the tragic ironies of history, the enemy we know today as al-Qaeda was brought together largely by the actions of the United States. In December [25] 1979, Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan, fearful that their puppet Communist government was falling, and that, should it fall, the United states would be able to step in and establish its own sphere of influence at the southern border of the Soviet Union."
– Bob Graham with Jeff Nussbaum, Intelligence Matters, 27