Taliban, an American invention.

"Let’s get our troops out of Afghanistan. Our troops are being killed by the Afghans we train and we waste billions there. Nonsense! Rebuild the USA."

These were the words of the 45th POTUS Donald Trump in 2013 and it was one of the promises made by him during the presidential campaign.

In his recent visit to India, James Mattis, the Secretary of Defense of the U.S stated that the country is going to withdraw its troops from Afghan soil.

So why are U.S troops deployed in Afghanistan in the first place?

U.S.A which considers itself to be a flag bearer of "Peace" claims that its presence in Afghanistan is meant to fight the rebels and to reestablish the government and bring back "Peace" and "Stability" to the region. But, the history says otherwise.

(Just for the record, America's contribution to the UN peace keeping forces is around 80 troops while Bangladesh's contribution is around 8000)

A little background:

After the second world war the U.S and U.S.S.R got engaged in a rat race to establish their supremacy which is often referred to as the 'Cold War'.

In the Quest of gaining the global dominance both the countries started to compete in every field.

Although there was no clear winner in the Cold War, it had brought about some breakthroughs in the fields of science and technology, telecommunication, space race etc..

At the same time the Cold War left some pretty nasty scars like terrorism and instability in the middle east.

Afghan-U.S.S.R relationships:

After witnessing the success of India's Nuclear test code named 'Smiling Buddha' in 1978, Daud Khan, the then Prime Minister of Afghanistan sought help from its long old ally the Soviet Union to counter Pakistan's and Iran's influence in its sate politics and border skirmishes.

Although, the Soviet Union was initially reluctant in providing Military aid, Taraki, the president of Afghanistan was successful in negotiating for the Soviet support. As a result Soviet forces were deployed in Afghanistan.

The Soviets refused further intervention even after repeated requests from Afghan leaders as it would lead to negative political repercussions.

Good old Charlie:

Senator Charlie Wilson(Texas), a former Navy lieutenant and a self proclaimed flamboyant womanizer found some "irregularities" in the intelligent reports on Afghanistan and decided to do something against the Soviet intervention.

Around the same time there was group of Mujahideen (Pashto translation for Fighters) who called themselves Taliban (which in Pashto stands for Students) operating from Northwestern borders of Pakistan were fighting against the Soviet backed Afghan government.

'The Land of Opportunity'(U.S) found this as an opportunity. Good old Charlie(the gentleman with binoculars) acted as an ambassador.

Operation Cyclone:

Operation Cyclone was the code name of the program started by the CIA to fund and finance the Mujahideen and Jihadi rebels of Afghanistan. It was one of the longest and most expensive covert CIA operations ever undertaken.

The U.S.A didn't want to directly intervene as they were weary of any direct intervention after the defeat in the Vietnam war(which by the way was also a self inflicted wound by the U.S). America was looking for a mediator. Pakistan which was licking its wounds from a humiliating defeat in the hands of India grabbed this opportunity and acted as a mediator. The program relied heavily on the Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, who had a close relationship with Wilson. Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan was an intermediary for funds distribution, passing of weapons, military training and financial support to Afghan resistance groups.

With the money, weapons and training the Talibans started an insurgency and fought against the Soviet backed Afghan government. For anyone who wanted to fight a "Holy War" Afghanistan presented itself as an opportunity, the notable one is a Saudi civil engineer, son of one of the wealthiest businessmen of Saudi. His name is Osama Bin Laden.

"These gentlemen are the moral equivalent of America's founding forefathers" -Reagan on Talibans(1985).

The Talibans benefited from expanded foreign military support from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other Muslim nations and made Afghanistan a liability for the Soviets. The Russian troops were finally withdrawn in 1989.

The Pakistan used these 'Students' against India. Although they wrecked havoc in India, they also gradually affected the cultural and social dynamics of the ‘Host’ state which lead to deterioration of its own security situation in the coming years in the form of Pakistan Taliban, LeT etc..

Meanwhile, Taliban, took over the nation of Afghanistan, enforcing its strict religious rules. Only Pakistan, Saudi and UAE officially recognised the Taliban Government. The state was not recognised by the UN. Taliban state offered sanctuary for the people like Osama, who went on establishing the first terrorist group, Al Qaeda.

And the Jihadists who thought that these methods weren't brutal enough fled to Iraq and Syria and established ISIS.

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If you still find it difficult to believe.

“Pakistan has stood very firmly with the U.S. in the Soviet war, which was a wrong decision. It was a proxy war. We were used and discarded, It is a collective sin or mistake that we made. You should not have left the way you did after the end of the Cold War, we have made mistakes.”

-Khawaja Muhammad Asif.

Nothing is more soothing than Pakistan blaming America for terrorism.