The true story of the Taliban’s remarkable resurgence in Pakistan and war-torn Afghanistan more than a decade after the U.S. military’s post-9/11 incursion In autumn 2001, U.S. and NATO troops were deployed to Afghanistan to unseat the Taliban rulers, repressive Islamic fundamentalists who had lent active support to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda jihadists. The NATO forces defeated and dismantled the Taliban government, scattering its remnants across the country. But despite a more than decade-long attempt to eradicate them, the Taliban endured—regrouping and reestablishing themselves as a significant insurgent movement. Gradually they have regained control of large portions of Afghanistan even as U.S. troops are preparing to depart from the region. In his authoritative and highly readable account, author Hassan Abbas examines how the Taliban not only survived but adapted to their situation in order to regain power and political advantage. Abbas traces the roots of religious extremism in the area and analyzes the Taliban’s support base within Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas. In addition, he explores the roles that Western policies and military decision making— not to mention corruption and incompetence in Kabul—have played in enabling the Taliban’s resurgence.

They were young, they were tough and they were everywhere. They were both the backyard builders and the frontline troops in Australia's war against the Taliban. This is the powerful story of the sappers, the Army engineers in Afghanistan whose raw courage and skills were inspired by the original Australian Tunnel Rats of the war in Vietnam. These Tunnel Rats of Afghanistan have rooted out the enemy from deep inside their caves and mountain hideouts, have defused thousands of improvised explosive devices (the booby traps and landmines of this most recent of wars), built bridges and schools to win a war of hearts and minds, and fought side by side with special forces commandos and SAS troops. They, too, lost a disproportionate number of their comrades and many returned home with the devastating baggage of war, post-traumatic stress disorder. Inspiring and action packed, this is the story of a special breed of soldier operating in a modern war against an enemy with medieval morals . . . and bombs triggered by mobile phones. It is a story that connects the unsung heroes of Vietnam with the modern heroes of Afghanistan.

Authors debate the human rights situation in Afghanistan and what form of government is best for the country.

Designed as a useful reference tool to help students, educators, and diplomats maneuver through scholarly literature as well as primary sources published in English between 1989 and 1994, this work seeks to help the researcher make sense of the explosion of literature on this often contentious topic. In addition to surveying the literature on Islamic revival worldwide, it provides commentary on literature pertaining to important topics such as the role of women in Islam, Islamic economics, and the migration of Muslims to western Europe and North America. This work is a continuation of the first edition published by Greenwood in 1991, ^IThe Contemporary Islamic Revival^R. Governments, policymakers, and experts around the world are debating whether contemporary Islamic revival, in particular Islamic Fundamentalism, is a diverse and multifaceted phenomenon or a uniformly clear and present danger to be consistently and persistently repressed or eradicated. Some propose that there are means of cooperation, collaboration, or co-optation with those who adhere to it, while others see it as a menace, warning of a clash of civilizations, and of an Islamic population explosion which poses a demographic threat to national security and world peace.

Aimed at all those interested in politics and the changing political map from 2006 onwards, this title discusses why the Conservative Party's brand is damaged, how it can be fixed, and what political programme will get the Conservatives elected.

"The Political Transition From Rule By The Mulsim Mughal Dynasty To British Colonial Rule Led To A Basic Religious Reorientation Among Indian Muslims. At This Time Of Transformation In The Early Nineteenth Century, A Key Muslim Movement Called The Tariqah-I-Muhammadiyah Or Muhammadi Movement, Also Referred To As The Mujahidin Or Indian Wahabi Movement, Gathered Force In Northwest India. Although The Muhammadi Reformers Gained Recognition By Waging A Jihad (Holy War), A Much Familiar And Feared Word Today, The Jihad Was Only One Manifestation Of A Fundamental Change In Religious Thought And Organization. Using Muhammadi Sources As Well As The Contemporary Accounts Of The Movement By Muslim And British Observers, This Incisive Study Makes An Important Comment On The Historical Interaction Of Social And Religious Forces In The Nineteenth Century In The Indian Subcontinent. While Basing Itself On A Sufi World-View, Organization And Concepts Inspired By The Intellectual System Of The Eighteenth-Century Theologian, Shah Wali Allah, The Tariqah-I Muhammadiyah Put Forth A Reformist Program Attacking The Prevalent Practices At The Tombs Of Saints And Mystics, And Belief In Any Mediation Between Man And God. Widespread Muhammadi Preaching And Religious Literature In The Popular Urdu Language Presented The Divine Law To All Classes Of Indian Muslims For The First Time. The Muhammadi Were Also Among The First Mulsims Anywhere To Use The Printing Press To Spread Their Fundamentalist Message. In Proclaiming Religious Purification And Revival As Well As Holy War To The Indian Masses During A Time Of Rapid Historical Change, The Muhammadi Reformers Helped To Shape A New Individual And Communal Identity And Also Initiated A Process Of Islamic Reform In India. Pearson’S Major Contribution In This Important Volume Is To Show How The Intellectual History Associated With Shah Wali Allah Was Transformed In The Nineteenth Century To An Activist, Organized ‘Mass Movement’ That Drew Upon Techniques And Technologies, Notably Printing And Popular Preaching, Introduced To India By British Officials And Christian Missionaries."

Since 9/11, the war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq,\ the West has been fighting a 'War on Terror', through force and through the building of new societies in the region. In this clear and devastating account, with unparalleled access and intimate knowledge of the political players, Descent into Chaoschronicles our failure. Having reported from central Asia for a quarter of a century, Ahmed Rashid shows clearly why the war in Iraq is just a sideshow to the main event. Rather, it is Pakistan,\ Afghanistan,\ and the five Central Asian states that make up the crisis zone, for it is here that terrorism and Islamic extremism are growing stronger. Documenting with precision how intimately linked Pakistan is with the Taliban and other extremist movements, while remaining the US's main ally in the region, Rashid brings into focus the role of many regional issues in supporting extremism, from nuclear programmes to local rivalries, ineffectual peace-keeping to tyrannical rulers. For Rashid, at the heart of the failure in Iraq is the US 's refusal to accept the need to build nations. Ambitious and urgent, analysing events, policies and personalities across the largest landmass in the world, Descent into Chaoschronicles with chilling accuracy why Islamic extremism is now stronger than ever.