Re: Jihad and the state
In essence, President Zardari is saying the samething Sec. of State Hillary said a few weeks back that, Taliban/Mujahideen were a joint creation of CIA/Saudis and ISI was the middle-man that facilitated the delivery of Funds and Arms to frontlines.
CIA and Saudis heavily funded them and armed them to the teeth with latest weapons that were able to taken down low flying choppers/crafts. Stringers became THE tool combined with a goal of Jihad for the Mujahideen who were lacking, if anything, advanced weaponry. By doing that, USA was able to deliver USSR the final blow and topple it as a superpower and earn payback for Vietnam where America lost miserably due to Russian involvement. Saudis were just happy to contribute to a cause, as were Pakistani ISI to be able to keep Russians away from reaching Afghan-Pak border (potential of invasion to Pakistani land was very real as well).
Everyone worked for their own interests, the ones that got stuck with the infrastructure and mindset deficit were Pakistanis and Afghanis. It's been business as usual for USA and Saudi Arabia since then until 9/11, when it was time once again for the region to become a personal priority, and here we are today........