8/17/2019 Americas Funding of the Taliban
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http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/05/16/the-double-game
The ery ne!t month" the #o iet $nion in aded %&ghani'tan.
(re'ident)immy *arter" in a panic" o&&ered +ia &our
hundred million dollar' in
economic and military aid. +ia re,ected the o&&er"
calling it peanut' theterm o&ten ari'e' in (aki'tani criti ue'
o& %merican aid" but it mu't ha erankled the peanut &armer
in the hite ou'e. +ia wa' 'mart to hold out.$nder *arter3'
'ucce''or" 4onald 4eagan" $.#. aid nearly uintupled: aboutthree
billion dollar' in economic a''i'tance and two billion in military
aid.The 4eagan %dmini'tration al'o pro ided three billion dollar'
to %&ghan
,ihadi'. The'e &und' went through the 'ticky hand' o&
the nter-#er ice'ntelligence directorate" the 'py branch o& the
(aki'tani %rmy. #tarting in
1 78" the .#. . wa' headed by 9eneral amid 9ul" a cunning and
bitterlyanti-%merican &igure. The .#. . became 'o glutted with
power and moneythat it &ormed a 'tate within a 'tate" in the
word' o& enazir hutto" who
became (aki'tan3' (rime ;ini'ter in 1 77. #he e entually
&ired 9ul" &earingthat he wa' engineering a coup.
;ilton earden" a &ormer *. .%. 'tation chie& in
(aki'tan" once de'cribed 9ul to mea' ha ing a rococo per'onality. n
200o. 2?3 e &ormed a tight" 'mug 'mile. They all 'aid
ekmatyar.
@ater" 9ul helped o er'ee the creation o& the Taliban"
reportedly u'ing mainly #audimoney. The .#. . openly 'upported the
Taliban until #eptember 11" 2001. #ince then"the (aki'tani go
ernment ha' di'a owed the group" but it i' widely belie ed that
it'till pro ide' Taliban leader' with 'a&e harbor in Auetta"
where they 'tage ,ihadagain't e'tern &orce' in
%&ghani'tan.
%&ter the #eptember 11th attack'" (aki'tan abruptly became
%merica3' key ally in thewar on terror. $nder (re'ident 9eorge .
u'h" the $.#. ga e billion' o& dollar' to
(aki'tan" mo't o& it in unre'tricted &und'" to combat
terrori'm. (er ez ;u'harra&" who 'er ed a' (re'ident between 1
and 2007" now admit' that during hi' tenurehe di erted many o&
tho'e billion' to arm (aki'tan again't it' hobgoblin enemy"
ndia. hoe er wi'he' to be angry" let them be angry why 'hould we
bother?;u'harra& 'aid in an inter iew on the (aki'tani tele
i'ion channel B!pre'' >ew'.
