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The biggest mistake Barack Obama could have made is to change quite a few things in his Afghanistan policy. He increased the number of troops and at the same time set the US withdrawal date to 2014.

Ahmed Rashid

vThis region harbors enormous potential. Pakistan could become the hub for the energy that is transported from Central Asia to South Asia. That could change the whole region.
AHMED RASHID

Change Country Energy Harbor Potential Region Transport Whole
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
We should have built a State in Afghanistan with an army and a police force first.
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Army Build Country First Force Police State
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.
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Actually Back Coming Country Deeply Discard Population Unpopular Way
The strategy for peace-building in Afghanistan is economic aid, reconstruction, international security forces. On those lines, the U.S. has been extremely slow. And it has even blocked expanding security forces from Kabul to other cities.
AHMED RASHID

Aid Building Cities Country Economic International Kabul Line Peace Reconstruction Security Strategy
What everyone underestimated was the acute unpopularity of the Taliban, even in the Pashtun areas.
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Acute Everyone People Population Support Underestimate Unpopularity
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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Country Discriminated Key Political Supported War
Of course, many of them did support the Taliban. But you cannot equate all Pashtuns with the Taliban.
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All Country Course Support
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
The Americans make their usual recommendations. They want to train the army for the fight with the rebels. US special forces are already in Mali.
AHMED RASHID

Army Country Fight Force Rebel Recommendation Special
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
They built that electricity powerhouse,” because nothing has been built so far.
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Built Country Electricity Far Nothing Powerhouse
All that has really happened is that Al Qaeda has escaped from Afghanistan come into Pakistan, got in touch with their contacts and friends.
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Contact Country Escape Friend Happen Really Touch
Russia is now becoming increasingly nervous about a more permanent U.S. presence in Central Asia.
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Becoming Central Country Increasingly More Nervous Permanent Presence
Dysfunctional states like Afghanistan need business people who are deeply rooted in their country and invest in it. They can add stability.
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Country Dysfunctional Intervention Investment Military One People State
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.
AHMED RASHID

Allocate Army Bank Company Country Fall Fund Investment Percent Police
But all development programs of the United States and the European countries unfortunately exclude the private sector, which could make investments based on profitability.
AHMED RASHID

Countries Development Exclude Investment Private Program Sector Unfortunately
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
They are simply not capable of promoting the indigenous economy. Many billions of dollars flooded into Afghanistan, but without any significant effect.
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Billion Economy Effect Flood Indigenous Influencing Significant Simply
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
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 Soviets held to the tradition of colonialism. They raped the country and killed many people. But they also built dams, electrical power plants, streets, and technical schools.
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Colonialism Country Kill People Rape School Tradition
[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
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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Answer Asked Humble Met Precisely Senior
Now the United States has to ensure that Afghanistan does not immediately collapse after being left to itself in 2014.
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Being Collapse Country Ensure Immediate Left
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.
AHMED RASHID

Communist Country Electrical Power Progress Union Vision
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

The biggest mistake Barack Obama could have made is to change quite a few things in his Afghanistan policy. He increased the number of troops and at the same time set the US withdrawal date to 2014.

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The biggest mistake Barack Obama could have made is to change quite a few things in his Afghanistan policy. He increased the number of troops and at the same time set the US withdrawal date to 2014.

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Popular Authors

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