Were we not supporting the wrong side?
It got the Russkies out. Question: Where did they all end up. The good news is that they probably don’t work anymore.
No, the “wrong side” - bin Laden, for example- refused to accept American infidel aide.
We diidn’t start funding the wrong guys until the US decided to drop Shah Ahmed Massood in the 90s in favor of a “strongman,” Hekmatyar, because Massood was friendly to India and opposed to Pakistan and Pakistani-backed Taliban, while Hekmatyar was Pakistan’s choice.
At the time the Clinton admin was trying to kiss up to Pakistan in the hope they would not test their Islamic bomb on his watch.
There were two dominant factions among the Muj...one was primarily Iranian-backed and the other was not. We supported the one not affiliated with Iran...after the end of the Cold War (by which time we had pulled our support) there was a civil war between the two factions, and the Iranian-backed faction (which obviously still had their support) won.