Did the U.S.A Government really give $53Million to the Taliban in the late 90s?

I see the grammar/spelling mistake in my question (*edit[or IS it]) but seems I am not permitted to edit the question (even although it has no answers) Maybe the Mods will kindly pull my question again and will allow me to edit the grammar after several hours & multiple answers :)

The US did support the Taliban and trained them as well. As to the amount of money that was spent (it was in the millions) I am not sure of the exact amount.

Someone else on the boards…...can elucidate I am sure.

The US gave the Taliban $43 million in 2001 for their decision to stop growing opium poppies:

“Yet the Bush administration did more than praise the Taliban’s proclaimed ban of opium cultivation. In mid-May, 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell announced a $43 million grant to Afghanistan in addition to the humanitarian aid the United States had long been providing to agencies assisting Afghan refugees. Given Callahan’s comment, there was little doubt that the new stipend was a reward for Kabul’s anti-drug efforts. That $43 million grant needs to be placed in context. Afghanistan’s estimated gross domestic product was a mere $2 billion. The equivalent financial impact on the U.S. economy would have required an infusion of $215 billion. In other words, $43 million was very serious money to Afghanistan’s theocratic masters.”

Source

The US government supported the Taliban, as well as numerous other Afghany rebel groups against the Soviets in the 80’s (they talk about it in the movie Charlie Wilson’s War). Essentially we wanted Afghanistan to be the Soviets Vietnam, and it worked, they abandoned it and ran back to their crumbling empire. We gave the Taliban, and Osama Bin Laden himself intelligence, weapons, training, etc.

That was one of the reasons he hated America. When the Soviets left, so did we. We didn’t help them rebuild or establish some kind of central government… and they descended into a long civil war… which the Taliban emerged victorious from.

I would be surprised if we only ever gave them $53M. We supported groups through the 80’s and 90’s who eventually became the Taliban and parts of Al Qaeda.

It turns out that you can’t arm fanatics and then expect them to quit being fanatics when they overthrow your common enemy.

I just hope we’ll remember that lesson for Libya, but somehow I doubt it.