“I met a lot of the senior Taliban, and I asked them precisely [about Mullah Omar]. The most common answer was he is humble. And that was very true. We never had reports of Mullah Omar living luxuriously or making money in large quantities or anything like that.” AnswersCommonMetsHumbleMaking MoneyReportsQuantitySeniorTalibanVery TrueOmar Author:Ahmed Rashid
“I think within a year or so, perhaps, if 9/11 had not happened, in Afghanistan would have been a very broad-based general uprising against the Taliban.” IfsThinkingYearsHas BeensHappenedBroadsAfghanistanTalibanUprising Author:Ahmed Rashid
“The Pashtuns feel discriminated against by the Americans because they supported the Taliban and the war is still going on in their region with continued U.S. bombing. They are also disgruntled at the overwhelming power of their ethnic rivals the Tajiks, who dominate the security forces in Kabul and control the key levers of political power. Although Karzai is a Pashtun also, many Pashtuns consider him a hostage to the Tajiks and Americans.” FeelsStillsWarPoliticalForceSecurityKeysRegionsOverwhelmingRivalsBombingTalibanPolitical PowerHostageLeversKabulDisgruntledSecurity ForcesPashtuns Author:Ahmed Rashid
“We should remember that the Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Of course, many of them did support the Taliban. But you cannot equate all Pashtuns with the Taliban.” ShouldRememberCoursesSupportGroupsAfghanistanTalibanEthnic GroupsPashtuns Author:Ahmed Rashid
“The key to breaking the Taliban taboo against women and the cultural brainwashing that the Taliban imposed upon many Afghans is to get women back into the workforce.” KeysTabooTalibanWorkforceBrainwashing Author:Ahmed Rashid
“What everyone underestimated was the acute unpopularity of the Taliban, even in the Pashtun areas. People like myself were saying the Taliban would be driven out very swiftly from the north of Afghanistan, but given that their main support base was in the Pashtun belt, there would be greater resistance there. That didn't happen. The Taliban had become deeply unpopular and were actually discarded by the Pashtun population almost as quickly as they were in the north. I don't see the Taliban coming back in any way.” PeopleWayHappensWould BeGivenSupportGreaterAreasPopulationDrivenResistanceAfghanistanComing BackBeltsTalibanDiscardedUnderestimatedPashtuns Author:Ahmed Rashid
“Some Pakistanis fought for the Taliban. Pakistani extremist groups provided infrastructural support to Al Qaeda. There was a coming and going of Al Qaeda militants and leaders between Afghanistan and Pakistan for several years. All that has really happened is that Al Qaeda has escaped from Afghanistan come into Pakistan, got in touch with their contacts and friends in these extremist groups, which then provided them with safe houses, cars, and not just in the border areas but also in the cities. Rooting out Al Qaeda in Pakistan now is where the main battle is being fought.” YearsHouseCitiesLeaderSupportHappenedGroupsCarBattleSafeAreasContactBordersAlsAfghanistanPakistanExtremistAl QaedaTalibanExtremist Groups 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
