Ahmed Rashid
Ahmed Rashid
Ahmed Rashidis a former Pakistani militant, a journalist and best-selling foreign policy author of several books about Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia...
senior humble answers
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.
army army-and-navy barracks breakdown complete law seeing
We're seeing a complete breakdown of law and order. The army is holed up in its barracks or in its bunkers.
cultural identity mean muslims repulsed whose
All Muslims were repulsed by the cartoons, even non-practicing ones whose Muslim identity is more cultural than religious. That doesn't mean there hasn't been manipulation.
war opportunity years
Despite all the dire predictions made in 2001, the Afghans have given the international community, its aid workers and soldiers a large window of opportunity to repair the damage done by 25 years of war. That window, which has stayed open for nearly five years, with amazing good will from the Afghans, is threatening to close unless the world wakes up and deals with the crisis.
loyalty religious people
[Mullah Omar] gave himself this religious title. So it was something that all those people there who swore an oath of loyalty to him as a religious leader could not easily get rid of.
thinking years uprising
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.