Taliban

by Fergusson, James

• ISBN13: 9780306820335
• ISBN10: 0306820331
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-05-24
• Publisher: Da Capo Pr

Summary

From a small group of religious students formed in 1994, the Taliban quickly grew into a national movement that occupied all of Afghanistan. Led by the mysterious Mullah Omar, the group established a theocracy based on strict observance of Sharia law. When the Americans overthrew the Taliban in 2001, the United States thought the regime had been defeated. Yet today, nine years later, the Taliban continue to wage a bloody insurgency. In this extraordinary and compelling account of the rise, fall, and return of the Taliban, author James Fergusson, who has unique access to its shadowy leaders, presents the reality of themovement so often mischaracterized in the press. His surprising and, perhaps, uncomfortable conclusions about our current strategy in Afghanistan should be required reading for anyone who wishes to understand this intractable conflict.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 13
Part I
The Tank of Islam: Kandahar, 1994	p. 23
The Army of Orphans: Peshawar, 1996	p. 37
'Try Not to Hurt the People!': Kabul, 1996-1998	p. 72
The Government that Might Have Been, 1998-2000	p. 101
The Al-Qaida Hijack, 1999-2001	p. 121
Surviving the Daisycutters, 2001-2003	p. 145
Like a Jam-jar to a Swarm of Wasps: The Insurgency Explodes, 2003-2009	p. 168
Part II
The McChrystal Plan: Sawing Wood with a Hammer	p. 195
'This One, This Is the Big One': Mullah Zaeef and the Prospects for Peace	p. 213
The Trouble with President Karzai	p. 249
Getting Rich Quick in Tajik Kabul	p. 259
Not Black and White, But Grey: Hizb-i-Islami and the Afghan Parliament	p. 282
How to Talk to the Taliban	p. 309
In the Jalalabad Fief of Shirzai	p. 326
The Taliban of Chak	p. 354
Postscript	p. 383
Notes	p. 389
Bibliography	p. 396
Picture Credits	p. 399
Index	p. 403
Illustrations	p. 192
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.