Some Pakistanis fought for the Taliban. Pakistani extremist groups provided infrastructural support to Al Qaeda. There was a coming and going of Al Qaeda militants and leaders between Afghanistan and Pakistan for several years. All that has really happened is… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share Image
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? There will not be enough… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share Image
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… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
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,… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
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… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
“Afghanistan is not only the mirror of the Afghans: it is the mirror of the world. 'If you do not like the image in… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
Pashtun nationalism is reasserting itself. Its political history spans several hundred years. The Pashtuns are angry at the Americans because, one, they're still being… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
There is no way the Americans are going to be able to carry out a full scale war against Iraq and at the same… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
Our Pakistan elites are spoiled by permanent foreign aid and therefore find it difficult to change course. Pakistan needs someone who stands up and… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
“Within a few short, dramatic months Afghanistan had been catapulted into the centre of the intensified Cold War between the Soviet Union and the… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
I am confident that there are hedge funds, banks or investment companies that could allocate five percent of their portfolios for risky investments. In… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
The Pashtuns feel discriminated against by the Americans because they supported the Taliban and the war is still going on in their region with… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
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… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
We should remember that the Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Of course, many of them did support the Taliban. But you… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
What everyone underestimated was the acute unpopularity of the Taliban, even in the Pashtun areas. People like myself were saying the Taliban would be… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
The Soviets held to the tradition of colonialism. They raped the country and killed many people. But they also built dams, electrical power plants,… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
I met a lot of the senior Taliban, and I asked them precisely [about Mullah Omar]. The most common answer was he is humble.… — Ahmed Rashid Copy Share
