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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.

Ahmed Rashid

You need intelligence and special forces. And, most importantly, you need to resurrect Afghanistan from what is literally the graveyard of countries and transform it into a normal country, which the Afghans want.
AHMED RASHID

Countries Force Graveyard Importantly Intelligence Need Normal Resurrect Special
They built that electricity powerhouse,” because nothing has been built so far.
AHMED RASHID

Built Country Electricity Far Nothing Powerhouse
There was a coming and going of Al Qaeda militants and leaders between Afghanistan and Pakistan for several years.
AHMED RASHID

Coming Country Going Leader Several
Now the United States has to ensure that Afghanistan does not immediately collapse after being left to itself in 2014.
AHMED RASHID

Being Collapse Country Ensure Immediate Left
You have a lot of suspicion from the neighbors of Afghanistan about U.S. intentions. Iran is already, to some extent, trying to undermine the U.S. in Afghanistan.
AHMED RASHID

Already Country Intention Long Neighbour Suspicion
Our Pakistan elites are spoiled by permanent foreign aid and therefore find it difficult to change course. Pakistan needs someone who stands up and says: Fundamentalism is bad, capitalism is good.
AHMED RASHID

Aid Change Country Course Difficult Elite Energy Foreign Permanent Spoiled
We never had reports of Mullah Omar living luxuriously or making money in large quantities or anything like that.
AHMED RASHID

Anything Large Living Luxury Making Met Money Quantities Report
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.
AHMED RASHID

Administration Bonn Conference Democracy Election Everything Fall Into Speak
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?
AHMED RASHID

Army Better Country Fighting Government Mail Meditate Team
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.
AHMED RASHID

Against Breaking Country Impose Keys Workforce
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.
AHMED RASHID

Country Driven Greater Happen North People Resistance Saying Support Swiftly
We should remember that the Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan.
AHMED RASHID

Country Ethnic Group Largest Remember Support
The West would be well advised to change its approach towards failing states. At present, no major power can find the correct ways and means – and the numbers of failing states are increasing.
AHMED RASHID

Advise Approach Change Falling Mean Promise State Toward War West
They are simply not capable of promoting the indigenous economy. Many billions of dollars flooded into Afghanistan, but without any significant effect.
AHMED RASHID

Billion Economy Effect Flood Indigenous Influencing Significant Simply
The Afghans can’t point and say, “Oh, the Americans built that road. They built that telecommunications facility.
AHMED RASHID

Built Country Facility Point Road Say Telecommunication
The problem right now, which I’ve been pointing out very bluntly to American officials in Washington, is that the U.S. has no economic presence in Afghanistan.
AHMED RASHID

Country Economic Electricity Now Official Pointing Problem Right

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.

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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.

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Popular Authors

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