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The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) worked in tandem with Pakistan to create the "monster" that became Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, said a leading U.S. expert on South Asia, Selig Harrison, from the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars.
Harrison, who has written five books on Asian affairs and U.S. relations with Asia, has had extensive contact with the CIA and political leaders in South Asia. Harrison was a senior associate of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Between 1974 and 1996.
Speaking at the conference in London (U.K.) in March 2000 on "Terrorism and Regional Security: Managing the Challenges in Asia," Harrison said: "The CIA made a historic mistake in encouraging Islamic groups from all over the world to come to Afghanistan." The U.S. provided $3...