Fyi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tankie funnily enough the first print mention seems to be in the graun attacking the Morning Star:

"The first time 'Tankie' was written down was in the Guardian in May 1985, in an article describing the Morning Star crowd: 'The minority who are grouped around the Morning Star (and are variously referred to as traditionalists, hardliners, fundamentalists, Stalinists, or "tankies"—this last a reference to the uncritical support that some of them gave to the Soviet "intervention" in Afghanistan).'" - https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2016/08/what-exactly-are-trots-and-tankies

'More to the point is that USSR was protecting it's own Warsaw Pact interests in that action, with much less bloodshed than the NATOstan aka US of A has proliferated through out the globe for decades.' - well yes, the US and other capitalist countries have been guilty of far worse crimes, but that doesn't mean invasions/occupations under the banner of socialism are justified, or in reality much different from other states acting to protect or expand their economic interests. (I'm assuming the wiki claims of leftist groups in the UK supporting the various soviet invasions are correct and not just smears - could be wrong...)

'Do also consider it was not labelled tyranny when Vietnamese were napalmed etc. Never mind Libya and Iraq bombing/invasion etc. ' - true dat.

cheers,
I