Taliban : The Power of Militant Islam in Afghanistan and Beyond

This New York Times best seller remains the most informative and objective account of the Taliban available This modern classic brings the shadowy world of the Taliban and its impact on Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Central Asia into sharp focus. Ahmed Rashid offers an authoritative account of the Taliban’s rise to power, the effects of changing American attitudes toward it, and the new faces of Islamic fundamentalism, and explains why Afghanistan has become the world’s center for international terrorism. This edition, updated in view of the Taliban’s resurgence and sudden, renewed purchase on Afghanistan’s major cities, explores how the group regained its strength and broadened its geographical reach. It is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the events that unfolded in 2021 following America’s withdrawal from the country after twenty years of war. 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. CONTENTS 7 Foreword to the Third Edition 9 Preface to the Second Edition 15 Preface and Acknowledgements to the First Edition 19 Maps 25 Introduction: Afghanistan’s Holy Warriors 27 Part 1: History of the Taliban Movement 43 Chapter 1 Kandahar 1994: The Origins of the Taliban 43 Chapter 2 Herat 1995: God’s Invincible Soldiers 57 Chapter 3 Kabul 1996: Commander of the Faithful 67 Chapter 4 Mazar-e-Sharif 1997: Massacre in the North 81 Chapter 5 Bamiyan 1998-99: The Never-Ending War 93 Part 2: Islam and the Taliban 108 Chapter 6 Challenging Islam: The New-Style Fundamentalism of the Taliban 108 Chapter 7 Secret Society: The Taliban’s Political and Military Organization 121 Chapter 8 A Vanished Gender: Women, Children and Taliban Culture 131 Chapter 9 High on Heroin: Drugs and the Taliban Economy 143 Chapter 10 Global Jihad: The Arab-Afghans and Osama Bin Laden 154 Part 3: The New Great Game 169 Chapter 11 Dictators and Oil Barons: The Taliban and Central Asia, Russia, Turkey and Israel 169 Chapter 12 Romancing the Taliban 1: The Battle for Pipelines 1994–96 183 Chapter 13 Romancing the Taliban 2: The Battle for Pipelines 1997–99 – The USA and the Taliban 196 Chapter 14 Master or Victim: Pakistan’s Afghan War 209 Chapter 15 Shia Versus Sunni: Iran and Saudi Arabia 222 Chapter 16 Conclusion: The Future of Afganistan 233 Chapter 17 The Taliban Resurgent 2000–2009 243 Appendices 273 Bibliography 313 Notes 317 Index 335 This modern classic brings the shadowy world of the Taliban and its impact on Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Central Asia into sharp focus. Ahmed Rashid offers an authoritative account of the Taliban?s rise to power, the effects of changing American attitudes toward it, and the new faces of Islamic fundamentalism, and explains why Afghanistan has become the world?s center for international terrorism.00This edition, updated in view of the Taliban?s resurgence and sudden, renewed purchase on Afghanistan?s major cities, explores how the group regained its strength and broadened its geographical reach. It is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the events that unfolded in 2021 following America?s withdrawal from the country after twenty years of war 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.