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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

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
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 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.
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Angry Army Backing Control Country Perceive Security Year
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
We should remember that the Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan.
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Country Ethnic Group Largest Remember Support
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
If Afghan soldiers continue to kill American soldiers as is happening these days, it can hardly be assumed that they will stay in Afghanistan in the long term. And what role are they to play?
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Assumed Continue Country Happening Long Soldier
The idea of a permanent U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, as opposed to an economic presence, is going to create a new wave of hostility toward the United States.
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Country Economic Idea Military Opposed Permanent Presence United States
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
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
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
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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Change Country Energy Harbor Potential Region Transport Whole
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
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.
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Country Economic Electricity Now Official Pointing Problem Right
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.
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Already Country Intention Long Neighbour Suspicion
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
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
But all development programs of the United States and the European countries unfortunately exclude the private sector, which could make investments based on profitability.
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Countries Development Exclude Investment Private Program Sector Unfortunately
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.
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Failed Increase Made Number Promise State Terrorist Tolerate
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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Against Breaking Country Impose Keys Workforce
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.
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Action Know Military One Patient United States
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
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
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
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
In my view, the Western model of influencing the development of third world countries is doomed to failure.
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Country Development Doomed Effort Failure Influencing Model Western World
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

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.

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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.

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Popular Authors

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