SA was and is a major backer of al-Q, yes. But, as Rashid pointed out, Afghanistan under the Taliban was where the juice got made, so to speak (Pakistan too). I quote Rashid, again, from his book (page 140):
"The Arab-Afghans had come full circle. From being mere appendages to the Afghan jihad and the Cold War in the 1980s they had taken centre stage for the Afghans, neighbouring countries and the West in the 1990s. The USA was now paying the price for ignoring Afghanistan between 1992 and 1996, while the Taliban were providing sanctuary to the most hostile and militant Islamic fundamentalist movement the world faced in the post-Cold War era. Afghanistan was now truly a haven for Islamic internationalism and terrorism and the Americans and the West were at a loss as to handle it."
DP