US facilitated Muslim violence when it served Cold War interests

Evidence

Finally, for all of the concerns expressed by Western political and public figures about Islam’s violent tendencies, these concerns were all but absent in certain episodes involving Muslims and violence prior to 9/11. During the Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s, the United States was actively involved in training the mujahideen in guerilla warfare tactics. In the same decade, the United States assisted Saddam Hussein and Iraq’s military in the Iran-Iraq War. This assistance included intelligence about Iranian military deployments, the means to develop chemical weapons, and diplomatic support to protect Iraq from UN condemnation in the use of poisonous gas against Iran. When it has served American interests, particularly in winning the Cold War and extending political and military influence in the Middle East, the US government has had no qualms about facilitating and contributing to violence in Muslim-majority regions. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 288

Categorization

• XREF: Coheres with the chapter’s red scare/green menace framing — the same actor condemns or enables violence by interest. — connects to: Post-war Middle East events made violence central to US Muslim depictions — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 521; US support for the mujahideen inadvertently seeded the creation of al-Qaeda — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 257; Cold War logic led the US to fund Islamists even after Iran’s revolution — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 247 (+24 more)
• SEED: Angles toward an essay on selective moral outrage in foreign policy based purely on alignment rather than principle.

Broader Connections

• Cold War logic led the US to fund Islamists even after Iran’s revolution #exemplifies (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 247
• US Cold War aid armed the extremist groups that later became the Taliban #exemplifies (0.85) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 46
• U.S. Cold War arming of extremists enabled the Taliban’s rise #exemplifies (0.85)
• US hostility to Islamism depended on whether it served US interests #expands (0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 233
• US Cold War arms policy directly aided the rise of the Taliban #exemplifies (0.80) — , Selod, Saher - Forever Suspect_…, 46
• US imperial interests, not Islamist actions, determine Islamist ally or enemy status #expands (0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 278
• The US held contradictory Islamist allies and enemies simultaneously #expands (0.75) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 214
• American Cold War strategy cultivated Islamists against secular nationalism #expands (0.70) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 219
• US Cold War aid coerced political allegiance through carrot-and-stick incentives. #expands (0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 143
• Pakistan’s Cold War clienthood aligned it against Third World anti-imperial sentiment #corroborates (0.50)