US Cold War arms policy directly aided the rise of the Taliban

Evidence

Hirschkind and Mahmood show that the Taliban’s restrictive policies toward women impacted those living in urban areas more than those residing in rural ones, because the lives of women living in rural areas were already in line with these policies. They also note the majority of people in Afghanistan reside in rural areas, and there has always been some flexibility in the dress code. Rural women who work in wheat fields alongside men rarely wear the burqa and are not reprimanded (Hirschkind and Mahmood 2002). Furthermore, if one were to review the history of Afghanistan, one could see how U.S. foreign policy aided in the rise of the Taliban. 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). — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 46

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader theme of US foreign policy creating the conditions it later constructs as irrational terror — echoes Stampnitzky framing. — 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; U.S. Cold War arming of extremists enabled the Taliban’s rise (+2 more)
• recurring: this claim recurs 5 times within its source

Broader Connections

• U.S. Cold War arming of extremists enabled the Taliban’s rise #corroborates (0.95)
• US Cold War aid armed the extremist groups that later became the Taliban #builds-on (0.60) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 46
• The Taliban functioned as Pakistan’s proxy, not a genuine anti-imperialist movement #qualifies (0.40) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 368