Ahmed RashidTaliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia

As with his earlier book "Jihad," author Ahmed Rashid illustrates his unbounded knowledge of Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, along withe the relevant players in all the local terrorist groups, including the Taliban. Rashid, whose fluid, conversational style resembles that of Thomas Friedman ("From Beirut to Jerusalem," "The Lexus and the Olive Tree" and "The World is Flat" among others) expertly weaves the group's history in context with the war against the Soviets and, later, the entrance of the United States military into Afghanistan.My only problem with the book (in this case the updated 2nd edition) is the 17th and final chapter, which ruins a lot of what Rashid had written up to that juncture.Cases in point:• Throughout the book there are many references and anecdotes of days in which hundreds and even thousands are killed in a single day during the repressive, Sharia-driven Taliban's merciless rule. Yet he waxes on about a day in which nine U.S. soldiers are killed and 15 wounded in a day in 2008, when more than 150,000 troops were in country. Not a tragic loss in proportion to the troops involved and when compared to the days before they came to the country.• The same catastrophic verbiage is used when the U.S. troops, who had "surged" in order to engage more Taliban fighters, lost 91 troops in two months in 2008. Not unexpected casualties considering what was at stake.• Rashid goes on a Monday-morning quarterback orgy, fault-finding just about everything to do with the U.S., while never once — not a single time — showing how things had improved in comparison to when the Taliban ruled. He runs on and on about IEDs — as if they were winning the conflict for the Taliban — rather than illustrating the basic reasons, tactical and otherwise, that were holding back victory.• Rashid's solution? "A vast new social and economic development program" as a long-term answer to the problems in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Pakistan. Not too abstract or non-specific, right?• Rashid never addresses why any country in its right mind would want to invest in offer military aid to a country like Afghanistan, whose troops shot U.S soldiers in the back, or ran, or didn't fight, or weren't double agents.• No mention at all of the ridiculously restrictive rules of engagement that prevented U.S. troops from doing something as simple as undertaking night raids because they might upset the Afghanis, who Rashid never bothered to mention hate the U.S. troops and aided the Taliban.• While it was addressed, the fact that the Pakistanis refused to take massive action against the Taliban and whined about the few times U.S. troops and drones (which were never mentioned) attempted to do something about the porous border, which sheltered the Taliban and prevented U.S. victory.• Afghanistan President Harmid Karzai, while correctly portrayed as corrupt, was never called on the carpet for his endless harangues against the U.S. for inevitable collateral damage while it tried to help his country. Nor was it ever mentioned that Karzai never even thanked the U.S. for its sacrifice.And yet countries should want to throw money at and rebuild Afghanistan?I could go on and on and on, but my point is made. It really is essential reading — and good writing until the final chapter. I'm going to read his "Descent Into Chaos" book next, though I have reservations that it will be a longer version of U.S. fault-finding. Still, the payoff is in the presentation of the history of the Central Asian countries and their peoples, and even Islam. Rashid is the best-informed writer extant on these topics. It's a must-read.

I have seen this book and have wanted to read it for a long time. But there were always other titles that I thought piqued my interest more. But with the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban, this book suddenly became imperative material for one trying to understand the Taliban, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.The author does a great job explaining the culture, the tribes, and ancient beliefs that have continued since time immemorial. The author explains what the Deobandi is and what Pashtunwali is. He tells us why these concepts that the western world never even bothered to understand as so important.The book is rich with history not just of Afghanistan and Pakistan, but he writes extensively about South and Central Asia too. He tells us why these countries and their relationship to Afghanistan were important and still are important in the rise and fall of Afghanistan.The author talks of Afghans and the troubles they have faced during years of conflicts, occupations, and civil war. Their relationship to the world at large and to the peoples of countries with whom they share common borders. Then, there's the madrassa story, where the Taban began. The author does a good job of providing information about the politics of the time. How the world ended with up militias and extremists groups such as the Taliban and which countries were funding them.Of course, the author writes in detail about the funders and former funders of these extremists groups.Overall, it's a book worth reading if you like politics, history, and social sciences.

I purchased this book for class, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it was actually interesting. Rashid is a Pakistani journalist, and he researched this book for ten years by actually interviewing the Taliban and the other people of Afghanistan. Intermixed with solid historical data and easy-to-understand descriptions of Afghan life following the Soviet withdrawal, we read specific quotes from Taliban leaders, offering insight that most westerners are unable to find elsewhere.While this book is factual and a good read, I must admit that Rashid is not unbiased. He offers several solutions throughout the book for how various Afghan crises could have been prevented, and he seems to feel that the US bears a large portion of the responsibility for them. Nevertheless, he backs up his opinions with facts, so even if you don't agree with him, you can respect his reasoning.One final comment regarding the updated edition--Rashid initially wrote this book before 9/11, and the first edition ends in 1999/2000. When the book was updated, Rashid made the choice to keep the first edition intact, and add a last chapter discussing the events since then. While I can respect his decision here, I think it affects the timeliness of the book, and many of the first edition chapters would benefit from incorporating this new information, rather than waiting for the end. You get the information either way, but in my opinion, it would read better.Overall, I find it to be an in-depth and enlightening read.

The media all too often portrays the Taliban as a bunch of bumbling tribal people of no real consequence.Far from it...there are a lot of them, they have lots of money and they have a definite 'plan'.And like it or not...we (the west) have helped them get where they are.