The main people responsible for the rise of the fundamentalists were the Pakistani ISI. The Taliban were not supported by Reagan, as the Soviets left in 1989 and the Taliban emerged in 1995 in the Madrassas of Pakistan. Most of those people were supported by Pakistan, not the US. It's popular to say that the US abandoned Afghanistan, but there wasn't a government for us to support. The factions that fought the Soviets turned on each other after the USSR pulled out. This is what allowed the Taliban (supported by the ISI) to take over. When they did, they forced a lot of the older Mujahideen into exile or into the ranks of the Northern Alliance.

Read what I wrote - I said Reagan praised them for being Freedom Fighters. The CIA as well a Pakistani Intelligence armed, funded & trained them in the 80's - this is something the US Governments has not denied. Do a little more homework, the freedom fighters of the 80's are the SAME people as the Taliban of the 90s. I guess the next thing you will say is that the US did not support Saddam Hussein & Iraq in the Iran - Iraq War!

Ok, You are wrong. Most of them are not the same. Abdul Hak never joined the Taliban. Massoud never joined the Taliban. Gulbidden Hekmetyer never joined the Taliban. The Taliban was created in Pakistani Madrassas about 6 years after the Soviets left. Most of the people we supported wound up fighting the Taliban in the Northern Alliance, before 9/11 and our ops there.

I guess you forgot about the Iran Contra scandal where we happened to sell weapons to Iran.

So you are saying the US did not train & arm Bin Laden in the 80's? The Taliban is Pakistani, and none of the anti-Soviet Freedom Fighters are involved? The US did not support the Freedom Fighters in the 80s? The US did not support Iraq (and yes I remeber Iran / Contras)? I bet you voted for Bush & believe in WMDs! Put your head back in the sand, I'm out!

I'm sorry, but it really seems that you're picking out the parts of my post you don't like and making up the rest.