“Pashtun nationalism is reasserting itself. Its political history spans several hundred years. The Pashtuns are angry at the Americans because, one, they're still being bombed, and two, they perceive that the Americans are backing the Tajik faction, which controls the army and security forces in Kabul.” YearsStillsTwoPoliticalForceSecurityHundredArmyAngryPerceiveNationalismFactionsKabulPolitical HistorySecurity ForcesPashtuns Author:Ahmed Rashid
“It would have been better if the United Nations had sent a team to Mali right away to mediate between the government and the rebels. But where is the political initiative? The Americans make their usual recommendations. They want to train the army for the fight with the rebels. US special forces are already in Mali.” PoliticalFightingTeamSpecialArmyTrainRebelInitiativeUnited Nations Author:Ahmed Rashid
“America does not hold to the colonial tradition. America came, liberated Afghanistan from the Taliban and al-Qaida, came to an arrangement with Hamid Karzai, wanted to organize elections as soon as possible and then withdraw. The Bush administration thought that once there is a democracy, everything else will fall into place. If today you speak to the architects of the 2001 Afghanistan Conference in Bonn, they will tell you that instead of being fixated on elections, we should have built a State in Afghanistan with an army and a police force first.” TodayFallSpeakDemocracyTraditionArmyPoliceElectionAfghanistanArchitectOrganizeTalibanFall Into Place Author:Ahmed Rashid
