What everyone underestimated was the acute unpopularity of the Taliban, even in the Pashtun areas. People like myself were saying the Taliban would be driven out very swiftly from the north of Afghanistan, but given that their main support base… — 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 U.S. in Afghanistan. Russia is now becoming increasingly nervous about a more permanent U.S. presence in Central Asia. And China is not keen that the U.S. should be so close to its borders over a long… — 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, wanted to organize elections as soon as possible and then withdraw. 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… — 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 Image
“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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
“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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
