About this title: A journalist describes the rise and geopolitical influence of the Taliban, the extremist Islamic faction that maintains government control of Afghanistan with strictness and secrecy.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Fair. 0300083408 Ex library book with stickers and stampings. Overall good condition with clean text and good binding unless otherwise noted. Hole torn in first blank page. Most items ship within 24 hours. read more
Binding: Soft Bound
Publisher: Yale Univ Pr, Cumberland, Rhode Island, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780300089028ISBN:0300089023
Description: Islam, Moslems, Afghanistan, Religion, War Terror. 279p., includes index, notes appendices. Slight wear covers otherwise a Near Fine oversize softcover. T96. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Yale University Press
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780300089028ISBN:0300089023
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Some edgewear and a "Used Saves" sticker on the binding from the university bookstore; student's name written on inside cover at bottom; a bout five pages have text underlined in pen. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 294 p. Yale Nota Bene. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: Reprint.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Yale University Press, New Haven, CT
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780300089028ISBN:0300089023
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. No creases to the spine. A very nice copy. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 294 p. Yale Nota Bene. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Yale Univ Pr
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780300089028ISBN:0300089023
Description: Very Good in Lite Wear to cover/edges jacket. Text appears free of Marks or Hi-lights, lite Wear to cover/edges, no loose pages, slight cover flare--NOTE: Standard/Media-mail can take over 21 business-days to arrive. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Yale Univ Pr, Cumberland, Rhode Island, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780300089028ISBN:0300089023
Description: As New. 7.75 in x 5 in. This book is in excellent condition. From the back cover, "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 insighful book. " read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Yale University Press, New Haven
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780300089028ISBN:0300089023
Description: Near Fine. 279 pgs. Very slight shelf wear, otherwise book is like new! **We provide professional service and individual attention to your order, daily shipments, and sturdy packaging. FREE TRACKING ON ALL SHIPMENTS WITHIN USA. read more
Binding: paper back
Publisher: Yale Univ Pr, Cumberland, Rhode Island, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780300089028ISBN:0300089023
Description: Like New. 08vo-over 7.75"-9.75" Tall. 279 pages; like new condition; paper back; clean pages; tight binding. Correspondent Ahmed Rashid brings the shadowy world of the Taliban--the worlds most extreme radical Islamic organization--into sharp focus in this enormously insightful book. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Yale University Press
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780300089028ISBN:0300089023
Description: Very Good. Unread copy. Remainder mark on bottom. Brings the shadowy world of the Taliban into sharp focus. Very insightful, readable book. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Yale University Press, New Haven
Date Published: 2001
Description: Softcover. Very good condition. 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 region, its role in oil and gas company decisions, and the effects of changing American attitudes toward the Taliban. Includes an Index. read more
"The best book to understanding how this group came into existence. A detailed journalistic account into the Soviet influence, hidden Saudi connections, US & Pakistani money into the complex rise and rule of the Taliban."
"This book is an interesting short read of the origin and the creation of the Taliban and the outside forces that shaped it.
After reading this book, I am now convinced that the war on terror really rests on a stable Afghanistan and Pakistan. I think Bush should have concentrated on Afghanistan and Pakistan instead of going into Iraq. Given the close ties of ISI to the TAliban/Sunni Islamic terrorist group, I would have been more concerned with the terrorist getting weapons of mass destruction from rogue Pakistani military who sympathize with creating an Islamic government and already have access to a nuclear arsenal than to Iraq or Iran who do not have those capabilities yet.
Having said that, I do realize that Saddam Hussein was a bastard to his people and a pain in the ass to the international community and it was a good idea to surround Iran with stable states that are friendly to the US. But, I still seriously doubt the main reason we invaded Iraq was because of its ties to Sunni Islamic extremist terrorism such as Al-Quaeda.
It is also fascinating how oil and the energy sector has a real powerful say in American foreign policy such as Unocal and Afghanistan.
The Taliban are the orphans of the war with the Soviets who were schooled in extreme Islamic Wahabbism in the madrasses of Pakistan. Since their lives in these madrasses centered in learning only the Koran without any external experiences to moderate what they were learning and since they were all male, they took those extreme views once they conquered most of Afghanistan.
The initial rise of the Taliban was originally due to the lawlessness and instability that the Afghani experienced when the Soviets left. People wanted order and the Taliban initially provided it. Although they conquered most of Afghanistan, there was still significant civil war due to regional powers pouring in arms and supplies to their favored factions. Initially, the Taliban were backed by the Pakistanis specifically ISI, smugglers/drug mafias, and the Pakistani Pashtun and Arab religious extremist who run the madrasses, the Saudi's who wanted to satisfy their Wahabbi base, and tacitly the US as part of a Iranian containment strategy and American energy companies who wanted to build a pipeline across Afghanistan to feed South Asia from the new sources of oil and gas in Central Asian. The Northern Alliance meanwhile was supported by Iran due to Hazra Shia minority and more importantly their antipathy toward Sunni fundamentalism, Russsia due to its wanting the natural resources of CAR to move through their pipelines so they would maintain their sphere of influence in their former Soviet states, CAR who did not want the Sunni extremism spilling over their borders, and India who supported the NA because it was anti-Pakistani. After it was clear that the Taliban were against women/human rights, harbored international terrorist such as Al-Quaida/Bin Laden, and actively supported the cultivation of heroin, then the Americans and the Saudis became increasingly anti-Taliban.
Ironically, Pakistan is the state that has suffered most by its support of the Taliban because of the proliferation of heroin and arms within its borders and the extremist camps in Pakistan itself that are forcing Sharia type law within the areas bordering Northern Pakistan. The Islamabad government now has to take into consideration Islamic extremist in their politics."
"I was prompted to read this by Rashid's later work ,u>Descent Into Chaos. Where did the Taliban actually form, when, why. How did the Taliban grow to be the force it would become? There is much information here that helps make sense of what seems senseless. In a nation ruled by a bloody coterie of warlords constantly demanding payment from a much oppressed populace, constantly engaging in battles with each other, constantly undermining any possibility of rule of law, when a group emerges that appears able to make life stable, if unpleasant, it looks better than the devil you knew. With Pakistan doing its utmost to maintain instability within Afghanistan, funding an insurgent Taliban became a no-brainer. The details are in Taliban. While it was written and published before 9/11, the base information is here to help understand what is going on in that part of the world, to the extent that anyone can. Why are the Taliban so determined to marginalize women? How does opium production figure in Afghan politics? I was most impressed to learn about how the Taliban manages its money. I will not ruin the surprise by noting it here. While Rashid's later book may be more current, this one is definitely worth your time. It is a slow read, though, for it's low page count. There is much information packed into a small space."
"no literary masterpiece -but a great insight into how the fight for natural gas and other resources shaped central Asia into what it is today. The Taliban were pawns of much bigger players, but (as so often happens) had ambitions of their own."
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