Rivkins, just for your edification I have just extracated this info from Google (two parts) :
MUJAHIDIN VICTORY: THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN Afghanistan Table of Contents The Demise of the Soviet Union, 1991 With the failure of the communist hardliners to take over the Soviet government in August 1991, Najibullah's supporters in the Soviet Army lost their power to dictate Afghan policy. The effect was immediate. On September 13, the Soviet government, now dominated by Boris Yeltsin, agreed with the United States on a mutual cutoff of military aid to both sides in the Afghan civil war. It was to begin January 1, 1992.
The post-coup Soviet government then attempted to develop political relations with the Afghan resistance. In mid-November it invited a delegation of the resistance's AIG to Moscow where the Soviets agreed that a transitional government should prepare Afghanistan for national elections. The Soviets did not insist that Najibullah or his colleagues participate in the transitional process. Having been cut adrift both materially and politically, Najibullah's faction torn government began to fall apart.
During the nearly three years that the Kabul government had successfully defended itself against mujahidin attacks, factions within the government had also developed quasi-conspiratorial connections with its opponents. Even during the Soviet war Kabul's officials had arranged case-fires, neutral zones, highway passage and even passes allowing unarmed mujahidin to enter towns and cities. As the civil war developed into a stalemate in 1989, such arrangements proliferated into political understandings. Combat generally ceased around Qandahar because most of the mujahidin commanders had an understanding with its provincial governor. Ahmad Shah Massoud developed an agreement with Kabul to keep the vital north-south highway open after the Soviet withdrawal. The greatest mujahidin victory during the civil war, the capture of Khost, was achieved through the collaboration of its garrison. Hekmatyar's cooperation with Tanai, the Khalqi Defense Minister is discussed above.
Interaction with opponents became a major facet of Najibullah's defensive strategy, Many mujahidin groups were literally bought off with arms, supplies and money to become militias defending towns, roads and installations. Such arrangements carried the danger of backfiring. When Najibullah's political support ended and the money dried up, such allegiances crumbled.
Afghanistan Table of Contents
Source: U.S. Library of Congress
and:
Who are the Taliban of Afghanistan? October 5, 1996 Web posted at: 10:45 p.m. EDT (0245 GMT) From Correspondent Anita Pratap
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- From students to conquerors, the Taliban Islamic militia have come a long way, and fast.
In just two years, the Taliban have captured more than TWO-THIRDS OF AFGHANISTAN FROM THE MUJAHEDEEN WARRIORS WHO HAD FOUGHTSOVIET OCCUPATION(my upper case). The Taliban's success has much to do with the unpopularity of the Mujahedeen in recent years.
(21 sec./830K QuickTime movie) The Taliban emerged as a reformist force -- honest, fierce and devoutly Islamic. Most had gone as refugees to Pakistan, where they studied in the religious schools. The Taliban are widely alleged to be the creation of Pakistan's military intelligence. Experts say that explains the Taliban's swift military successes.
They emerged as the new rulers of this war-ravaged nation when they captured the Afghan capital, Kabul, last month.
Kabul is important because of its strategic location. It is the gateway to the Indian subcontinent to the south and to central Asian republics to the north.
Through history, many groups have invaded Kabul, and the latest conquerors, the Taliban, are set to leave their stamp on the city by imposing a fundamentalist regime guided by their own interpretation of Islamic law.
They decree amputations and executions for criminals, and impose severe restrictions on women. They also have banned television, which they see as a symbol of Western decadence.
Not much is known about the 35-year-old founder of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Umar, a cleric who fought as a Mujahedeen. But his political aims are clear: He is determined to create his version of an Islamic Afghanistan.
