The creation of the Mujahideen and the eventual rise | 1being

The creation of the Mujahideen and the eventual rise | 1being

The creation of the Mujahideen and the eventual rise of the Taliban can be traced back to the Cold War, specifically to the Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989). The CIA played a key role in supporting the Mujahideen, which later contributed to the formation of the Taliban. Here’s an explanation of how these events unfolded:

Background: The Soviet-Afghan War

In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support the struggling communist government that had come to power in Kabul. The Afghan government faced internal resistance from various Islamist and tribal factions, collectively known as the Mujahideen (meaning “holy warriors”), who opposed the Soviet occupation and the communist regime's policies, which they viewed as anti-Islamic.

Operation Cyclone: The CIA's Role

In response to the Soviet invasion, the U.S., under President Carter and later significantly expanded under President Reagan, saw an opportunity to weaken its Cold War adversary, the Soviet Union. The CIA launched Operation Cyclone, one of the largest and most expensive covert operations in U.S. history. The goal was to support the Mujahideen fighters against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan.

Key elements of this operation included:

  1. Funding: The U.S., along with Saudi Arabia and other allies, funneled billions of dollars into supporting the Mujahideen. Saudi Arabia matched U.S. contributions dollar for dollar, and Pakistan, through its intelligence agency (the ISI), acted as the middleman in distributing this aid.

  2. Training and Weapons: The CIA, working with Pakistan's ISI, helped train the Mujahideen in guerrilla warfare. The fighters were provided with weapons, including Stinger missiles, which were highly effective against Soviet helicopters and significantly turned the tide of the war. These weapons and training were crucial in giving the Mujahideen the capability to challenge the Soviet military effectively.

  3. Global Recruitment: The CIA also facilitated the recruitment of foreign fighters, including many from Arab countries, to join the Afghan cause. These fighters were motivated by jihad (holy war) against what they saw as a godless Soviet invasion. Among these recruits was a wealthy Saudi named Osama bin Laden, who would later go on to form al-Qaeda.

The Soviet Withdrawal and Power Vacuum

The war, fought mostly in Afghanistan's rugged mountainous regions, became a costly quagmire for the Soviets, much like Vietnam had been for the U.S. After nearly a decade of fighting, the Soviets withdrew in 1989, having failed to crush the Mujahideen insurgency. The withdrawal left behind a weak and fragmented Afghan government that eventually collapsed in 1992.

With the Soviets gone, Afghanistan descended into civil war as various Mujahideen factions, who had been united against the Soviet enemy, turned on each other in a power struggle. The country was in chaos, with warlords controlling different regions, leading to widespread instability and suffering.

Rise of the Taliban

In the early 1990s, in response to the chaos, a new group called the Taliban (meaning "students" in Pashto) emerged. Many of its members were former Mujahideen fighters who had fought in the Soviet war, but they were also mostly young Pashtun men who had been educated in Islamic madrassas (religious schools) in Pakistan. These madrassas were often funded by Saudi Arabia and preached a strict form of Sunni Islam known as Deobandism, with elements of Wahhabism.

The Taliban, under the leadership of Mullah Omar, promised to restore order and impose strict Islamic law (Sharia) to bring stability to Afghanistan. They quickly gained support from local populations who were tired of the violence and corruption of the warlords. By 1996, the Taliban had captured the capital, Kabul, and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Links to the CIA and Mujahideen

While the CIA did not directly create the Taliban, the support for the Mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan war played an indirect role in the Taliban’s rise. Here’s how:

  1. Empowering Islamist Fighters: The funding, arms, and training provided to the Mujahideen by the CIA and its allies empowered Islamic militants. These fighters later became influential in the Taliban’s formation or served as models for the next generation of Taliban recruits.

  2. Instability After the War: The U.S. largely disengaged from Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal, leaving a power vacuum and a shattered society. The lack of follow-up support for post-war rebuilding created conditions in which radical groups like the Taliban could thrive.

  3. Pakistan’s Role: The Pakistani intelligence service (ISI), which had been a key intermediary for CIA funds and resources during the Soviet war, continued to support the Taliban after the Mujahideen era. Pakistan saw the Taliban as a strategic ally to counter Indian influence in the region and maintain control over Afghanistan’s political landscape.

  4. Radicalization: The recruitment of foreign fighters during the Soviet war, many of whom were radicalized during their time in Afghanistan, led to the growth of global jihadist networks. These networks later became aligned with the Taliban, and figures like Osama bin Laden became closely tied to the Taliban regime in the late 1990s.

Conclusion

The CIA’s support of the Mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan War, though aimed at weakening the Soviet Union, had unintended long-term consequences. It empowered Islamist militants, created a chaotic post-war Afghanistan, and laid the groundwork for the rise of the Taliban. The instability and radicalization that followed have had lasting effects, including the eventual sheltering of al-Qaeda by the Taliban, which led to the 9/11 attacks and the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.