Thread by @_whitneywebb

Resharing an old article I wrote on Afghanistan so people can familiarize themselves w the real reasons the US invaded in 2001:
1. The Taliban turned sour on the UNOCAL pipeline deal 2. The Taliban fatwa banning opium cultivation
It was about drugs + oil
mintpressnews.com/us-afghanistan…

The US supported the Taliban, hoping to create a "second Saudi Arabia" in Afghanistan and offered them covert support for years. The Taliban dumped UNOCAL (now part of Chevron) + started to favor a non-US oil company for a major pipeline in '98 and that's when things turned sour.

The US govt created, armed + financed Afghanistan’s Mujahideen forces, which included those who would go on to create both Al-Qaeda + the Taliban. It is one of the longest + most expensive covert programs in CIA history. Where's the accountability in the US for this policy?

The CIA has a multi-decades-long history with the illicit opium/heroin trade. The Taliban banning opium cultivation in 2001 was arguably the last straw. They said they would reverse it if the US attacked. FYI, the first US boots on the ground in 2001 were CIA, not DoD.

The Taliban offered bin Laden to the Bush administration, they didn't even bother to negotiate it. 9/11 was the public pretext, not the real reason that the US invaded and occupied for 20 years. There is likely an ulterior motive to the Biden withdrawal too, time will tell.