On September 11, 2001, the world looked in horror at one of the most
nefarious acts of terrorism in history. Neamatollah Nojumi explains how
Afghanistan became the base for radical fundamentalism and provides
critical understanding of how internal divisions and the devastating
effects of foreign involvement undermined the resilience of
Afghanistan's communities, led to the rise of the Taliban, and now
presents a unique challenge to international efforts at nation building.
As the cycle of yesterday's allies becoming today's enemies turns once
again, The Rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan provides crucial insight
into the tangled interaction of domestic, regional, and international
politics that have bedeviled outsiders, plagued Afghans, and that
threaten, absent judgement based on insight, to be a quagmire for the
United States in the years ahead. This is essential reading in our
troubled times.