The Taliban's first military success came in 1994 when they captured the city of Kandahar.
The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
So that's the timeframe for Taliban power.
The claim of US support stems from US arms shipments to the Mujahadeen in the early 1980's (note that) when the Mujahadeen were fighting the Soviets.
The later rise of the Taliban came as a reaction against the Mujahadeen who had beaten the Soviets and who were then seen as oppressive and insufficiently pro-Islamic.
It's hard for me to see how the US "created" the Taliban, but through pretzel logic some folks make that claim.
Excellent point. We supported the muj there in the eighties. Taliban ruled in the nineties, and they were a reaction to the in-fighting among the various militias we had supported during the Afghan War against Russia.
In fact, the Northern Alliance that we used to topple the Taliban were remnants of the militias we had supported during the eighties. We abandoned them after the war, and they were chased into the remote valleys by the Taliban. So, in effect, the truth is the opposite of what the M-I-L is saying. When we decided it was time for the Taliban to go, we simply reestablished contact with our old friends among the Northern Alliance, and helped them take back the country.
The U.S. could be accused of neglecting Afghanistan after the Soviet defeat and not taking a leadership role to rebuild the country and bring stability to it, but that would have involved some kind of U.S. intervention, possibly even leading some kind of international peacekeeping force. I doubt that's what your liberal m-i-l had in mind, though.
BTW, the U.S. was not behind Al Qaeda, either, another liberal myth. You can blame the Saudis for funding that operation, which originally was just a support organization to train and supply fighters going into Afghanistan from a Pakistan base.
It very simple its called Joe Wilsons War. The liberals did not want to spend money rebuilding Afganistan so we left just like the libs want us to do in Iraq. Same crapola as Vietnam we should not support our friends and allies. They forget it took us almost 100 years before we could stand tall in the saddle. You dont build a nation in less than 50 to 100 years thats a fact.
While we sent them humanitarian aid, they were plotting to bring down the World Trade Center. But, yes, people still say the whole thing was our fault and we deserve the blame. Go figure.
If it makes the US look evil, this is seen by such folks as confirmation. They start from the assumption that the US is evil, and look for evidence to support their preconceived notion. They assume this because they fancy it makes them look broad minded and intelligent.