&gt; <i>it would probably look relatively similar to what it does today.</i><p>So, speculatively, even without the US supporting the mujahideen in the 80s, the Soviets would have eventually left, Taliban or something similar would have kind-of-won the civil war, and Afghanistan would be about the same chaos as it is now. So why is US blamed for &quot;destabilizing Afghanistan&quot; and &quot;unintended consequences&quot;, if the area would probably be similarly unstable even in this alternate timeline? And if bin Laden and such are anti-American in our universe, even after having received American support in the 80s, they surely would be anti-American in the alternate timeline, too?<p>So if the US meddling didn&#x27;t change anything for the worse, why all the blame?