“The U.S. couldn't play a military role in different areas like Iraq and Afghanistan without huge quantities of oil. So a shortage or disruption in oil would not only damage the U.S. economy; it would undercut American military supremacy.” DifferentPlayRolesEconomyMilitaryHugeAreasIraqOilDamageAfghanistanQuantityDisruptionShortageSupremacyAmerican MilitaryUndercut Author:Michael Klare
“If you look in the Muslim World right now, the Shia, the Sunni Muslims are standing at the brink of a pit of fire started by Western intervention and influence in pitting them against each other by exploiting their divisions. So the stage is set for war in that area of the world that would destroy that area as completely as what they are calling the failed state Libya making Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq failed states.” IfsWorldLooksWarStatesFireInfluenceStageCallingRight NowAreasStandingWesternIraqDivisionAfghanistanSyriaInterventionPitsLibyaMuslim WorldShia Author:Louis Farrakhan
“Those organisations, al-Qaeda being the first one, have all settled in areas full of mining and oil resources or in geostrategic zones. They settled in Afghanistan which underground is filled with oil and lithium. North Mali is filled with mining resources (uranium). It is essential to question the impact and role of some international players that create or let those organisations settle there.” FirstsRolesPlayerEssentialsResourcesAreasImpactFilledInternationalOilSettlingZoneAlsAfghanistanOrganisationAl QaedaMiningUraniumMaliLithium Author:Tariq Ramadan
“We will also be funding projects that empower women and children in Afghanistan and now and then give scholarships to Afghan students here in the Bay Area.” GivingChildrenStudentsProjectsAreasEmpoweringAfghanistanNow And ThenEmpowering WomenFundingScholarshipAfghanBay Area Author:Khaled Hosseini
“The bulk of our efforts [in The Khaled Hosseini Foundation] has focused on helping build permanent shelters for returning refugees who are homeless, living out in the open or in makeshift homes. This is an area of urgent need as Afghanistan's natural elements are quite harsh, with very hot summers, and freezing winters.” NeedsHelpingHomeNaturalEffortElementsSummerAreasHotFoundationWinterFocusedPermanentAfghanistanShelterHarshHomelessRefugeeUrgentFreezingHot SummerNatural Elements Author:Khaled Hosseini
“The [George W.] Bush administration tripled its aid package to Afghanistan. [Hamid] Karzai finally (and courageously) announced that warlords will be forbidden from holding office in the future government. And finally, NATO agreed to expand the peacekeeping forces to troubled areas outside of Kabul.” GovernmentForceOfficeAreasAidsAdministrationAfghanistanForbiddenPackagesNatoPeacekeepingKabulWarlords Author:Khaled Hosseini
“In Afghanistan you are not rebuilding, you are building. There is very limited infrastructure and extreme terrain, with deserts in the south and mountains so high in some areas that helicopters don't even fly well at a certain altitude because the air becomes so thin. The country has a serious problem of illiteracy, especially after so many years of war and Taliban rule.” YearsWellsWarCountryProblemCertainAirBuildingSeriousMountainAreasSouthExtremesDesertAfghanistanInfrastructureTalibanRebuildingHelicoptersTerrainIlliteracy Author:David Petraeus
“There [in Afghanistan] is also a growing insurgency threat from al-Qaida, the Taliban and other extremist elements, some of which comes from the tribal areas of Pakistan, as well as from the Northwest Frontier province and Baluchistan.” WellsGrowingElementsAreasThreatAlsAfghanistanPakistanFrontiersExtremistProvincesTalibanInsurgency Author:David Petraeus
“According to what we've been seeing recently in the area where the terrorists control, where they ban people from going to schools, ban young men from shaving their beards, and women have to be covered from head to toe, and let's say in brief they live the Taliban style in Afghanistan, completely the same style.” PeopleMenSchoolYoungSeeingStyleAreasTerroristYoung ManCoveredAfghanistanToesBeardBansTalibanShaving Author:Bashar al-Assad
“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