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

by Rashid, Ahmed

• ISBN13: 9780300163681
• ISBN10: 0300163681
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-13
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

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. He 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 region, 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

“A valuable and informative work.”-Richard Bernstein, New York Times on the first edition Richard Bernstein New York Times

“Virtually the only informed work on the men who, since 1994, have ruled almost all of Afghanistan An indispensable book.”-Steve Wasserman, Los Angeles Times Book Review on the first edition Steve Wasserman Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Rashid is Pakistan’s best and bravest reporter.”-Christopher Hitchens, Vanity Fair Christopher Hitchens Vanity Fair

“The standard work in English on the Taliban.”-Christopher de Bellaigue, New York Review of Books on the first edition Christopher de Bellaigue New York Review of Books

Author Biography

Called “Pakistan’s best and bravest reporter” by Christopher Hitchens in Vanity Fair, Ahmed Rashid was a correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review for more than twenty years, covering Pakistan, Afghanistan, and central Asia. He now writes for BBC Online, the Washington Post, El Mundo, the International Herald Tribune, the New York Review of Books, and other foreign and Pakistani newspapers. He has been covering the wars in Afghanistan, as well as the wars in Pakistan and Tajikistan, since 1979. He is the author of Descent into Chaos and Jihad.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition	p. ix
Preface and Acknowledgements to the First Edition	p. xiii
Maps	p. xix
Introduction: Afghanistan's Holy Warriors	p. 1
History of the Taliban Movement
Kandahar 1994: The Origins of the Taliban	p. 17
Herat 1995: God's Invincible Soldiers	p. 31
Kabul 1996: Commander of the Faithful	p. 41
Mazar-e-Sharif 1997: Massacre in the North	p. 55
Bamiyan 1998–99: The Never-Ending War	p. 67
Islam and the Taliban
Challenging Islam: The New-Style Fundamentalism of the Taliban	p. 82
Secret Society: The Taliban's Political and Military Organization	p. 95
A Vanished Gender: Women, Children and Taliban Culture	p. 105
High on Heroin: Drugs and the Taliban Economy	p. 117
Global Jihad: The Arab-Afghans and Osama Bin Laden	p. 128
The New Great Game
Dictators and Oil Barons: The Taliban and Central Asia, Russia, Turkey and Israel	p. 143
Romancing the Taliban 1: The Battle for Pipelines 1994–96	p. 157
Romancing the Taliban 2: The Battle for Pipelines 1997–99 – The USA and the Taliban	p. 170
Master or Victim: Pakistan's Afghan War	p. 183
Shia Versus Sunni: Iran and Saudi Arabia	p. 196
Conclusion: The Future of Afghanistan	p. 207
The Taliban Resurgent 2000-2009	p. 217
Appendices	p. 247
Notes	p. 287
Index	p. 305
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.