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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

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.
AHMED RASHID

Actually Back Coming Country Deeply Discard Population Unpopular Way
In these extremist groups, which then provided them with safe houses, cars, and not just in the border areas but also in the cities. Rooting out Al Qaeda in Pakistan now is where the main battle is being fought.
AHMED RASHID

Area Battle Border Car Extremist Fought Group House Provided Safe
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
[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

Loyalty People Religious Something Title
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 fact that there are no longer large units of Al Qaeda running around means you don’t need B-52s.
AHMED RASHID

Country Fact Large Longer Mean Running Unit
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
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
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
George W. Bush and Tony Blair made the promise that they would not tolerate failed states because they could become a haven for terrorists. And today? The number increases.
AHMED RASHID

Failed Increase Made Number Promise State Terrorist Tolerate
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

Change Country Few Made Mistake People Policy Quite Thing
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
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
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
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.
AHMED RASHID

Country Desperation Funding Game Military Sense Track
The Pashtuns are angry at the Americans because, one, they’re still being bombed, and two, they perceive that the Americans are backing the Tajik faction, which controls the army and security forces in Kabul.
AHMED RASHID

Angry Army Backing Control Country Perceive Security Year

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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