Did Hollywood film Rambo 3 predict the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan? Know the truth

In the aftermath of Taliban’s takeover of Kabul last week, several old pages of history are being revisited to make sense of the current state of Afghanistan. One such reference that has been among top viral stories on social media is the curation of the hit 1980s Hollywood action blockbuster Rambo’s third part which is set in Afghanistan amid the Soviet invasion.

While the movie franchise is a piece of fiction that revolves around an American mercenary John Rambo, played by action star Sylvester Stallone, the premise was based on historical events.

In the movie Rambo 3, the famous mercenary goes to Afghanistan to help “freedom fighters” in the country stand up against the Soviet forces. In the movie, Rambo is tasked with the objective to plan a rescue mission for a friend called Colonel Sam Trautman, being held captive by the Soviet army in a high altitude camp in the mountains of Afghanistan.

A few clips from the movie and an alleged end-scene featuring a tribute to “brave mujahedeens of Afghanistan” have been going viral on social media with several claims.

One video is a dialogue between the hostage Colonel Trautman and Russian Colonel Alexei Zaysen, the main villain of Rambo 3, during the former’s interrogation. During the dialogue the American colonel warns his Russian counterpart that initiating a war in Afghanistan wasn’t a wise decision. Trautman reminds Zaysen of history and how the Afghan fighters, even if poorly armed, never give up. The fictional colonel also brings up the reference of Vietnam to suggest that such fighters cannot be defeated.

Another viral video is from when John Rambo aka Sylvester Stallone witnesses the geography of Afghanistan for the very first time. Rambo is introduced to the country by an Afghan local who tells him about the bravery of the countrymen over the ages in standing up to various invasions by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, England and now Russia.

Several users have been commenting that the sentences from the film have turned out be in line with the facts of today.

Another big claim is an alleged tribute to Mujahideen fighters at the end of the movie. The alleged credit features a line saying “This film is dedicated to the brave Mujahideen fighters of Afghanistan.”

However, the actual tribute across all prints of Rambo 3 is “This film is dedicated to the gallant people of Afghanistan”, crediting the Afghan people and not Mujahideen fighters. There are claims that the tribute was changed as the Soviet forces started withdrawing from Afghanistan days before Rambo 3 was launched. Some users claim the tribute was changed post the 9/11 attacks on US soil that shook the world.

Rambo 3, in which Rambo fights the Russians in Afghanistan, was the most expensive film ever made. Unfortunately for Stallone, it came out just days after the Soviets had begun their withdrawal. His original ending, in which Rambo stays to help the mujahideen, was scrapped. pic.twitter.com/WITnQRt6zz

— Dan Hopper (@evohopp) August 21, 2021

This is the ending credit of the 1988 American movie 'Rambo 3', in which Sylvester Stallone goes to Afghanistan to help the Mujaheddin against Soviet Russia.

After 9/11 in 2001, the ending credit was later changed to "the gallant people of Afghanistan." pic.twitter.com/6FImKg2LzH

— Advaid(@Advaidism) August 13, 2021

In the film Rambo 3, the bravery of ill-equipped Mujahideen fighters standing up to the Soviet forces is one of the highlights. These Mujahideen fighters, to whom Taliban owes its roots, originated during the Soviet invasion. The founder of the Taliban, Mohammad Omar, was trained in one of these Mujahideen camps set up in Pakistan. The US’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Saudi Arabian General Intelligence Directorate are said to have funded and backed these fighters being trained by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI).