Not entirely surprising. The Taliban is mostly comprised of Afghan refugees who were raised in the madrassas of Pakistan. These were funded by the gulf states a

Not entirely surprising. The Taliban is mostly comprised of Afghan refugees who were raised in the madrassas of Pakistan. These were funded by the gulf states and the CIA and controlled by the ISI. With foreign money the Taliban bribes the tribal leaders. The tribe is the fundamental political unit in Afghanistan and always has been. In the early invasion US special forces found every foreign fighter was carrying something like 10k USD. The 'pitch' is as follows. The Taliban are Afghani's returning home to help their people. They have the legitimacy of islam and bring money to support the locals. They are neither fringe nor unpopular.