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The Taliban which was created circa 1995/6 had very little to do with the Afghan mujahedeen of the 1979/1980s. After the Russians withdrew we began pulling out too and left a vacuum in Afghanistan with only a feeble government in place in a land with wasted infrastructure that was unable to project influence beyond Kabul, much like the Iraqi government, only even less prepared.

With the exception of Mullah Omar, the Taliban were made up almost entirely of young pukes who had no experience in the Russian-Afghan war. In the vacuum left behind by Russia and the US it wasn't long before warlords, often just arab mujahedeen who took Afghan wives, staked out territories beyond Kabul's control and thieves struck up quite an industry robbing travelers. Omar and his young "students," embarked on a "social justice" movement of their own to combat the abuses of the unpopular warlords in their immediate area and in that way were able to win hearts and minds of actual Afghans. For a while the Taliban were an improvement over the chaos and crime. Pakistan started hiring Taliban to make the thief-infested roads safe for Pakistani goods, which they did.

Then Pakistan, afraid of Massoud's warm feelings towards India and what that might mean for Pakistan's desire to gain control of Afghanistan, started to fund, arm and organize the Taliban with the intent of minimizing the Afghan government under Massood and with the intent of creating an alternative to it.

Pakistan began lobbying Washington against Massoud, a nationalist whom they viewed as an obstacle to future integration with Pakistan. The Clinton administration, trying to woo Pakistan's Bhutto, obliged. Maybe they hoped that letting Pakistan have such influence in Afghanistan was a way to prevent Pakistan from testing a bomb. In any case the Clinton admin decided Massood was "not aggressive enough" and began backing Hekmatyar instead to please Pakistan.