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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

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
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 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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Change Country Few Made Mistake People Policy Quite Thing
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
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
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
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
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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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.
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Countries Force Graveyard Importantly Intelligence Need Normal Resurrect Special
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.
AHMED RASHID

Against Breaking Country Impose Keys Workforce
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
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
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
The Afghans can’t point and say, “Oh, the Americans built that road. They built that telecommunications facility.
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Built Country Facility Point Road Say Telecommunication
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
There 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.
AHMED RASHID

Country Ensure Neighbour Security Situation Soldier Terrorist Threat

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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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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