Where the Taliban Strength Is Rooted

Selig Harrison, Center for International Policy | August 17, 2009

US stabilization plans for Afghanistan miss the main reason for the ongoing Talib insurgency, ethnic conflicts. ++ The largest ethnic group, the Pashtun tribe, support the Taliban because their rivals, the Tajiks, have all the political power. ++ "‘They get the dollars, and we get the bullets,’ is the common refrain among Pashtuns critical of the government.” ++ To achieve ethnic balance, the issue of recruiting the Pashtuns must be resolved. ++ Until then “no amount of American money or manpower will bring the insurgency to an end.”