Ahmed Rashid is a reporter who lives in Pakistan and reports on Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia. In this book he looks at the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and why and who funded their offensive. According to Rashid, after the Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan, the USA, who had been supporting the mujaheddin, lost interest. As a result, a power vacuum developed and the Taliban saw their chance to institute an "Islamic" government in Afghanistan.
In the beginning, the USA supported the Taliban, who are Sunni Muslims, because the Taliban was against the enemy of the US, Iran, who are mostly Shia Muslims. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia also supported the Taliban, providing weapons and gobs of money. Pakistan supported the Taliban because they thought the Taliban would be a good ally against their enemy, India. The Saudis supported the Taliban because they espoused the same kind of Islamic fundamentalism that is popular in Saudi Arabia. For the government of Saudi Arabia, supporting the Taliban would make the Saudi fundamentalists happy and not criticising the Saudi government. Everyone hoped the Taliban would bring peace and stability to Afghanistan so that various oil and gas pipeline projects could be carried through, bringing gas and oil to the big markets in China and India.
But it all backfired. The Taliban turned out to be insane assholes. They didn't really care about bringing peace and prosperity to Afghanistan, all they wanted to do was establish their Islamic revolution. The USA pulled its support when the Taliban's harsh and loony treatment of women was revealed to the world. Saudi Arabia withdrew their support when Taliban leaders insulted one of the Saudi princes. Pakistan continued to support the Taliban, even though the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan promoted the growth of heroine poppies and smuggling of drugs and consumer goods to the detriment of the revenue coffers of the surrounding countries, Pakistan included.
So after years of war with the Soviets, civil war and ethnic strife after the Soviets, and the depredations of the Taliban, the people of Afghanistan are fragmented, divided, desperate and ignorant, knowing nothing but hardship and war.
This is an excellent book and takes the reader right to the roots of the advance of the Taliban in Afghanistan. I recommend it to anyone who wants to know more and understand better this part of the world.
Review from Daniel Pipes on Middle East Forum: http://www.meforum.org/1362/taliban-militant-islam-oil-and-fundamentalism-in.
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