Saturday, June 14, 2008

An Interview With Ahmed Rashid - On U.S. Failures In Afghanistan

Pakistani writer Ahmed Rashid talks about his book Descent into Chaos: The US and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. Hear how U.S. taxpayer dollars are being diverted to the Taliban, and how Pakistan has become an obstacle to progress.

The U.S. failed to follow through with promised economic development and reconstruction in Afghanistan. Therefore, efforts to get farmers to stop using their land to grow opium failed. The money that the farmers were being offered did not come close to the amount of money that they could get from growing the poppy plant. And since there were no jobs being created, farmers resumed growing their old crop. Much of the revenue from the opium trade goes toward funding the Taliban.

Hear/Watch Interview

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Previous Related Blog Entries

Return of the Taliban

Chaos in Afghanistan

Progress slipping in Afghanistan

Pakistan assisting anti-U.S. militias in Afghanistan

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