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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.

Ahmed Rashid

This year we watched the collapse of Mali, a consequence of the Libyan civil war. The south of Libya and Mali, and Niger too, are well on the way to becoming a no-man’s land. After 9/11,
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After Collapse Consequences Land Mall Man No South War Watched
There was a coming and going of Al Qaeda militants and leaders between Afghanistan and Pakistan for several years.
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Coming Country Going Leader Several
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.
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Countries Force Graveyard Importantly Intelligence Need Normal Resurrect Special
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.
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Aid Community Country Despite International Opportunity War Worker Year
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.
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Happened Political Span Thinking Uprising Within Year
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?
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Army Better Country Fighting Government Mail Meditate Team
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.
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Allocate Army Bank Company Country Fall Fund Investment Percent Police
There’s a sense of desperation in Afghanistan because of the lack of funding and the fact that the U.S. only has a one-track military strategy. It doesn’t have an economic and political game plan.
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Country Desperation Funding Game Military Sense Track
We never had reports of Mullah Omar living luxuriously or making money in large quantities or anything like that.
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Anything Large Living Luxury Making Met Money Quantities Report
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.
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Advise Approach Change Falling Mean Promise State Toward War West
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.
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Administration Bonn Conference Democracy Election Everything Fall Into Speak
[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.
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Loyalty People Religious Something Title
They built that electricity powerhouse,” because nothing has been built so far.
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Built Country Electricity Far Nothing Powerhouse
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.
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Cities Country Extremist Group Provided Support Year
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.
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Aid Change Country Course Difficult Elite Energy Foreign Permanent Spoiled
They were communists and had the same vision for Afghanistan that Stalin and Lenin had for the Soviet Union: Progress is communism plus electrification. And today? Today Kabul gets its electrical power from Uzbekistan, Herat from Iran and Jalalabad from Pakistan.
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Communist Country Electrical Power Progress Union Vision

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.

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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.

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Popular Authors

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