What we see in both the Soviet-Afghan War and the rise of al-Qaeda is the emergence of a radical version of Islamism that developed a violent jihadist ideology in an effort to resist and defeat the two great superpowers of the Cold War. The United States may have supported this ideology during the Soviet-Afghan War because it was a convenient tool in undermining its Cold War nemesis, but, eventually, some of the mujahideen turned from ally to enemy. By the time of 9/11, the Muslim terrorist, with some assistance from the United States’ Cold War tactics, had replaced the Soviet communist as public enemy number one.

XREF: Echoes the familiar 'blowback' thesis linking covert US support in Afghanistan to later anti-American terrorism, connecting to wider scholarship on unintended consequences of Cold War policies. Builds on: "Al-Qaeda emerged directly from the anti-Soviet Afghan resistance."

Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Intro…, loc. 259