The way I remember it is that the US was supporting EVERY GROUP willing to fight the Russians, including Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks..., also known collectively as "muhadjedin"... etc. These groups include some of those currently known as the "Northern Alliance", who have opposed the Taliban.
Hawk,
I recommend you read Robert Kaplan's book which covers that period, just newly re-released, Soldiers of War. Reporting at the time, he argues that the US funneled the large majority of its money through the Pakistan government and it, in turn, funded the fundamentalists of the time, some of whom are still around. You are right, though, the Taliban did not exist at the time. And, interestingly enough, bin Laden does not appear in Kaplan's book at all, originally published in 90 or 91
Since we didn't create the Afghan resistance, what obligation did the US have in "nation-building" in Afghanistan after the Russian's withdrew?
The verb "create" is a tough one in that sentence but it's clear, again from Kaplan's reporting, that we funded groups which were opposed to our longer term goals in the interests of our alliance with Pakistan.
John |
