U.S. Cold War arming of extremists enabled the Taliban’s rise

Evidence

The United States was responsible for arming conservative Islamic groups to fight against the Soviet Union in the Cold War, devoting aid to the most violent and extremist groups because they were viewed as strong fighters against the Soviet army (Hirschkind and Mahmood 2002). Yet the impact of imperialism and colonialism on Muslim societies, including the oppression of Muslim women, becomes considerably less visible when cultural practices such as religion are held solely to blame. — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 46 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

In the context of the Cold War, the United States had two objectives in the Middle East: to control the flow of oil and to keep the Soviet Union out. After an initial period when it tried to bring radical secular nationalists into the fold, it turned against them. This meant cultivating all forces that could counter radical secular nationalism and communism. At the top of this list were the Islamists. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 219 (#expands, via linked claim)

KMPRUDE grew and was absorbed into something bigger called LCPROWL, which engaged in psychological warfare and spun off a network, or “Technical Service,” of paramilitary and sabotage teams whose job was to hoard weapons, train with CIA trainers, make liquidation lists of prominent Communists and Socialists, and wait for World War III. — Nicholson Baker, Baseless- My Search for Secrets in the…, 992 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: US support for the mujahideen inadvertently seeded the creation of al-Qaeda — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 257; US facilitated Muslim violence when it served Cold War interests — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 288; The rescue narrative about Afghan women erased US complicity in Taliban empowerment (+7 more)

Related

• US Cold War aid armed the extremist groups that later became the Taliban (similarity 0.93)
• US Cold War arms policy directly aided the rise of the Taliban (similarity 0.89)
• The rescue narrative about Afghan women erased US complicity in Taliban empowerment (similarity 0.86)
• US facilitated Muslim violence when it served Cold War interests (similarity 0.86)
• CIA-trained Afghan militants later turned their violent skills against the United States (similarity 0.82)
• US support for the mujahideen inadvertently seeded the creation of al-Qaeda (similarity 0.82)
• Pakistan’s Cold War clienthood aligned it against Third World anti-imperial sentiment (similarity 0.81)
• Cold War logic led the US to fund Islamists even after Iran’s revolution (similarity 0.81)
• The US alternately armed and opposed Islamist forces to preserve its regional domination. (similarity 0.81)
• US Cold War policy armed the very Taliban it later blamed (similarity 0.81)
• The US forged relations with the Taliban to access Caspian energy resources (similarity 0.81)
• US-trained Afghan militants produced blowback against America as imperial power (similarity 0.80)
• CIA-trained Afghan militants constituted direct blowback against US empire (similarity 0.80)
• American Cold War strategy cultivated Islamists against secular nationalism (similarity 0.80)
• Eisenhower’s doctrine secretly armed Islamist groups against secular nationalists. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• US Cold War aid armed the extremist groups that later became the Taliban #corroborates (0.95) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 46
• American Cold War strategy cultivated Islamists against secular nationalism #expands (0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 219
• LCPROWL engaged in paramilitary and sabotage operations during the Cold War. #expands (0.70) — Nicholson Baker, Baseless- My Search for Secrets in the…, 992
• The Taliban functioned as Pakistan’s proxy, not a genuine anti-imperialist movement #complicates (0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 368
• The US forged relations with the Taliban to access Caspian energy resources #complicates (0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 258