#taliban

We all hoped in 2001 that we could put in place an Afghan government under President Karzai that would be able to control the country, make sure al-Qaeda didn't come back, and make sure the Taliban wasn't resurging. It didn't work out. ↗

— Colin Powell

#afghan #al-qaeda #back #come #control

Suppose something would happen to the president, who would be in charge? The Vice President. Joe Biden? You have got to be kidding today when you say the Taliban's not our enemy. ↗

— Douglas Wilder

#enemy #got #happen #joe #kidding

The path to a sustained victory in Afghanistan lies in improving their economy, creating jobs for the Afghanis, strengthening their government and national services, getting the provinces to trust each other and work together, and eliminating the opium trade. Previously, the United States' policy was to not get deeply involved in internal Afghani drug issues; now we've changed the policy and are actively working to eradicate the drugs. But nobody has yet to come up with a way to shut down the poppy fields and get the Afghani people back to work. Until that happens, the Taliban will inevitable creep back in. ↗

— Michael DeLong

#government #heroin #opium #policy #taliban

We don't see that the Taliban ultimately can succeed, and it's a combination both of what the international community can do to support Afghanistan, not just in the short term, but over the long term. ↗

— John R. Allen

#both #combination #community #international #international community

Well, the reports are correct that we're conducting very robust military operations on the Afghan side of the border in areas where we think al-Qaida is operating and Taliban remnants are. ↗

— John Abizaid

#areas #border #conducting #correct #military

The Taliban is resilient. ↗

— Leon Panetta

#taliban

I say to the Taliban: surrender the terrorists; or surrender power. It's your choice. ↗

— Tony Blair

#i #our choice #power #say #surrender

After September 11, when the United States took action to overthrow the Taliban, our interests and Iran's aligned, and we were able to coordinate quietly but effectively. ↗

— Earl Blumenauer

#action #after #aligned #coordinate #effectively

As far as Iraq, the important thing is that the Taliban is gone in Afghanistan, three-quarters of the al-Qaida leadership is either dead or in jail, and we now have Saudi Arabia working with us, Pakistan working with us. ↗

— Peter King

#arabia #as far as #dead #either #far

The United States finds itself with forces of reaction. Do I have to demonstrate this? The Taliban's annihilation of music and culture? The enslavement of women? ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#islam #islamism #jihad #music #taliban