Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, Second Edition

Correspondent Ahmed Rashid brings the shadowy world of the Taliban—the world’s most extreme and radical Islamic organization—into sharp focus in this enormously insightful book. Rashid offers the only authoritative account of the Taliban available to English-language readers, explaining the Taliban’s rise to power, its impact on Afghanistan and the Middle East and Central Asia, its role in oil and gas company decisions, and the effects of changing American attitudes toward the Taliban. He also describes the new face of Islamic fundamentalism and explains why Afghanistan has become the world center for international terrorism. New to this updated edition of the #1 New York Times Bestseller with more than 1.5 million copies sold worldwide: How the Taliban has regained its strength How and why the Taliban has spread across Central Asia How the Taliban has helped Al’Qaida’s spread into Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East Why the Afghan people feel the United States is losing the war A major new introduction and an all-new final chapter

Correspondent Ahmed Rashid brings the shadowy world of the Taliban—the world’s most extreme and radical Islamic organization—into sharp focus in this enormously insightful book. Rashid offers the only authoritative account of the Taliban available to English-language readers, explaining the Taliban’s rise to power, its impact on Afghanistan and the Middle East and Central Asia, its role in oil and gas company decisions, and the effects of changing American attitudes toward the Taliban. He also describes the new face of Islamic fundamentalism and explains why Afghanistan has become the world center for international terrorism.

New to this updated edition of the #1 New York Times Bestseller with more than 1.5 million copies sold worldwide:

• How the Taliban has regained its strength
• How and why the Taliban has spread across Central Asia
• How the Taliban has helped Al’Qaida’s spread into Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East
• Why the Afghan people feel the United States is losing the war
• A major new introduction and an all-new final chapter

This book is the only thorough book-length study on the Taliban to date and sets them in the wider context of world politics. It covers not just the Taliban, but also the geo-politics of the region and controversial issues such as Islamic fundamentalism, Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban's treatment of women, the drug trade, and the oil politics of Central Asia.

Shrouding themselves and their aims in deepest secrecy, the leaders of the Taliban movement control Afghanistan with an inflexible, crushing fundamentalism. The most extreme and radical of all Islamic organizations, the Taliban inspires fascination, controversy, and especially fear in both the Muslim world and the West. Correspondent Ahmed Rashid brings the shadowy world of the Taliban into sharp focus in this enormously interesting and revealing book. It is the only authoritative account of the Taliban and modern day Afghanistan available to English language readers. Based on his experiences as a journalist covering the civil war in Afghanistan for twenty years, traveling and living with the Taliban, and interviewing most of the Taliban leaders since their emergence to power in 1994, Rashid offers unparalleled firsthand information. He explains how the growth of Taliban power has already created severe instability in Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and five Central Asian republics. He describes the Taliban’s role as a major player in a new “Great Game”—a competition among Western countries and companies to build oil and gas pipelines from Central Asia to Western and Asian markets. The author also discusses the controversial changes in American attitudes toward the Taliban—from early support to recent bombings of Osama Bin Laden’s hideaway and other Taliban-protected terrorist bases—and how they have influenced the stability of the region. Correspondent Ahmed Rashid brings the shadowy world of the Taliban鈥攖he world鈥檚 most extreme and radical Islamic organization鈥攊nto sharp focus in this enormously insightful book.聽Rashid offers the only authoritative account of the Taliban available to English-language readers, explaining the Taliban鈥檚 rise to power, its impact on Afghanistan and the Middle East and Central Asia, its role in oil and gas company decisions, and the effects of changing American attitudes toward the Taliban. He also describes the new face of Islamic fundamentalism and explains why Afghanistan has become the world center for international terrorism. New to this updated edition of the #1 New York Times Bestseller with more than 1.5 million copies sold worldwide: How the Taliban has regained its strength How and why the Taliban has spread across Central Asia How the Taliban has helped Al鈥橯aida鈥檚 spread into Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East Why the Afghan people feel the United States is losing the war A major new introduction and an all-new final chapter Non Fiction,Non-Fiction,History,War,Politics,Religion,Islam,Social Sciences,Social Science,Political Science,Government,Terrorism,Terrorists,Military,International Relations,Pakistan,Afghanistan Correspondent Ahmed Rashid brings the shadowy world of the Taliban—the world’s most extreme and radical Islamic organization—into sharp focus in this enormously insightful book. Rashid offers the only authoritative account of the Taliban available to English-language readers, explaining the Taliban’s rise to power, its impact on Afghanistan and the Middle East and Central Asia, its role in oil and gas company decisions, and the effects of changing American attitudes toward the Taliban. He also describes the new face of Islamic fundamentalism and explains why Afghanistan has become the world center for international terrorism. New to this updated edition of the #1 __New York Times Bestseller__ with more than 1.5 million copies sold worldwide: * How the Taliban has regained its strength * How and why the Taliban has spread across Central Asia * How the Taliban has helped Al’Qaida’s spread into Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East * Why the Afghan people feel the United States is losing the war * A major new introduction and an all-new final chapter pt. 1. History of the Taliban movement. Kandahar 1994: the origins of the Taliban ; Herat 1995: God's invincible soldiers ; Kabul 1996: commander of the faithful ; Mazar-e-Sharif 1997: massacre in the north ; Bamiyan 1998-99: the never-ending war pt. 2. Islam and the Taliban. Challenging Islam: the new-style fundamentalism of the Taliban ; Secret society: the Taliban's political and military organization ; A vanished gender: women, children and Taliban culture ; High on heroin: drugs and the Taliban economy ; Global jihad: the Arab-Afghans and Osama Bin Laden pt. 3. The new great game. Dictators and oil barons: the Taliban and Central Asia, Russia, Turkey and Israel ; Romancing the Taliban 1: the battle for pipelines 1994-96 ; Romancing the Taliban 2: the battle for pipelines 1997-99, The USA and the Taliban ; Master or victim: Pakistan's Afghan war ; Shia versus Sunni: Iran and Saudi Arabia ; Conclusion: the future of Afghanistan ; The Taliban resurgent 2000-2009. Rashid brings the shadowy world of the Taliban into sharp focus. He explains its rise to power, its impact on Afghanistan and the region, its role in oil and gas company decisions, and the effects of changing American attitudes toward the Taliban. The Taliban Governor of Kandahar, Mullah Mohammed Hassan Rehmani, has a disconcerting habit of pushing the table in front of him with his one good leg.