Editing Openai/691ee85a-16f4-8004-b4c8-f358beff60b1 (section)

=== Well-documented examples of state support for armed groups ===
* U.S. funding of Afghan mujahideen (Operation Cyclone). The CIA ran a major covert programme to arm, train and fund Afghan insurgents fighting the Soviet occupation (late 1970s–1980s). It channelled money, weapons and training (often via Pakistan’s ISI) to a range of Islamist factions. This is well documented in declassified materials. Office of the Historian<ref>{{cite web|title=Office of the Historian|url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1977-80v12/d76|publisher=Office of the Historian|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>
* Iran–Contra / U.S. support for the Contras. During the 1980s the U.S. covertly supported the Nicaraguan Contras. Congressional investigations (the Iran–Contra reports and related declassified documents) show how funds and arms were moved covertly despite legal restrictions. The American Presidency Project<ref>{{cite web|title=The American Presidency Project|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/excerpts-the-report-congressional-committees-investigating-the-iran-contra-affair|publisher=The American Presidency Project|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>
* U.S. and allied support to Syrian rebel groups (2011 onwards). During the Syrian civil war the U.S., UK and other partners provided varying degrees of non-lethal and (in some programmes) lethal assistance, training and help to selected rebel groups. Some of that aid later ended up being used by more extreme groups or was shared in mixed rebel coalitions — a problem noted in official and parliamentary analyses. Research Briefings<ref>{{cite web|title=Research Briefings|url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06721/SN06721.pdf|publisher=Research Briefings|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>
* UK intelligence engagement in Afghanistan. British intelligence (MI6) also engaged covertly with Afghan resistance groups in the 1980s and has a history of clandestine contacts with a variety of non-state actors. Investigations and reporting have documented this involvement. Declassified UK<ref>{{cite web|title=Declassified UK|url=https://www.declassifieduk.org/how-mi6-backed-right-wing-religious-fanatics-in-afghanistan/|publisher=Declassified UK|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>
* Israel and Lebanese militias (1980s). During the Lebanese civil war Israel backed and coordinated with certain Lebanese militias (e.g., Christian Phalangists). The Sabra and Shatila massacre of 1982 — carried out by Phalangist militiamen while Israeli forces controlled the area — is a tragic example of the risks of state support for proxy militias. Al Jazeera<ref>{{cite web|title=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/16/sabra-and-shatila-massacre-40-years-on-explainer|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=2025-11-20}}</ref>