Were the Stinger AA launchers really the "game changer" in the Soviet War in Afghanistan?

by Luftwaffe3413

I have noticed that the success of the Mujaheddin is mostly credited to the CIA's program of funding them with these launchers because it negated the presence of Mi-24 choppers? But is this really true? Were there other factors that contributed to the military defeat of the Soviets?

kieslowskifan

In general, the Stingers had little to do with the Soviet withdrawal; the Soviet leadership was leery of invading Afghanistan almost from the beginning and Gorbachev made a decision to withdraw a year before the Stingers deployed. So while they had an impact on tactical aspects of the war, it is a mischaracteriztion to call them a game changer.

Not to discourage further discussion, but these threads go into greater depth here:

What effect did the implementation of the Stinger missile have on the outcome of the Soviet-Afghan War?

How did the Soviet Union react to the United States supplying weapons to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan in 1986?