We never had reports of Mullah Omar living luxuriously or making money in large quantities or anything like that.
AHMED RASHIDThere will not be enough soldiers to ensure the security of the country. But will the US still be permitted to kill terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan with un-manned drones? That could worsen the situation in the neighboring states and they could view Afghanistan as a threat.
More Ahmed Rashid Quotes
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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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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.
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In my view, the Western model of influencing the development of third world countries is doomed to failure.
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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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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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The fact that there are no longer large units of Al Qaeda running around means you don’t need B-52s.
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There was a coming and going of Al Qaeda militants and leaders between Afghanistan and Pakistan for several years.
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[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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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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They built that electricity powerhouse,” because nothing has been built so far.
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We should remember that the Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan.
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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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What everyone underestimated was the acute unpopularity of the Taliban, even in the Pashtun areas.
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And China is not keen that the U.S. should be so close to its borders over a long period of time. Certainly, if the U.S. is going to be there for a long time, it’s going to exacerbate regional tensions.
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The Afghans can’t point and say, “Oh, the Americans built that road. They built that telecommunications facility.
AHMED RASHID