black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

[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.

Ahmed Rashid

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
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
Dysfunctional states like Afghanistan need business people who are deeply rooted in their country and invest in it. They can add stability.
AHMED RASHID

Country Dysfunctional Intervention Investment Military One People State
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
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
In my view, the Western model of influencing the development of third world countries is doomed to failure.
AHMED RASHID

Country Development Doomed Effort Failure Influencing Model Western World
The United States only knows one form of intervention and that is the military one. Everything depends on drawn weapons. We should, however, develop a wider scope of action. And we should learn to be patient.
AHMED RASHID

Action Know Military One Patient United States
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 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
Russia is now becoming increasingly nervous about a more permanent U.S. presence in Central Asia.
AHMED RASHID

Becoming Central Country Increasingly More Nervous Permanent Presence
There is no way the Americans are going to be able to carry out a full scale war against Iraq and at the same time maintain the same kind of pressure on the Al Qaeda network in countries as diverse as Indonesia, Philippines, and Pakistan, as well as in Europe.
AHMED RASHID

Able Against Carry Country Same Scale Time War Way
All that has really happened is that Al Qaeda has escaped from Afghanistan come into Pakistan, got in touch with their contacts and friends.
AHMED RASHID

Contact Country Escape Friend Happen Really Touch
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.
AHMED RASHID

Happened Political Span Thinking Uprising Within Year
Of course, many of them did support the Taliban. But you cannot equate all Pashtuns with the Taliban.
AHMED RASHID

All Country Course Support
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
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

[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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

[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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Ahmed Rashid Quotes