US Cold War aid armed the extremist groups that later became the Taliban

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

Categorization

• XREF: Challenges the ‘saviing Muslim women’ framing endemic to neoconservative foreign policy discourse that Said and Lewis critiqued. — connects to: 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; US Cold War arms policy directly aided the rise of the Taliban — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 46 (+7 more)
• SEED: Article angle: the United States co-created the Taliban via proxy war, and this fact vanishes when culture (religion) is blamed alone.

Broader Connections

• CIA aid to Afghan mujahideen predated the Soviet invasion by six months #expands (0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 249
• The Taliban functioned as Pakistan’s proxy, not a genuine anti-imperialist movement #complicates (0.70) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 368
• Cold War logic led the US to fund Islamists even after Iran’s revolution #expands (0.65) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 247
• American Cold War strategy cultivated Islamists against secular nationalism #expands (0.55) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 219