Featuring
Jonathan Cristol
Bard College; Adelphi University; Former Carnegie New Leader
Alex Woodson
Editorial Manager & Digital Content Producer, Carnegie Council
When most Americans think about the Taliban, their minds go to Osama bin Laden, terrorism, and the endless war in Afghanistan. But as Jonathan Cristol writes in his book, "The United States and Taliban before and after 9/11," there is much more to the story as both sides met countless times in the 1990s, with the Taliban eager to have good relations with America. What was the bigger stumbling block for the U.S.: women's rights or al-Qaeda? What are the lessons for today?
When most Americans think about the Taliban, their minds go to Osama bin Laden, terrorism, and the endless war in Afghanistan. But as Jonathan Cristol writes in his book, The United States and Taliban before and after 9/11, there is much more to the story as both sides met countless times in the 1990s, with the Taliban eager to have good relations with America. What was the bigger stumbling block for the U.S.: women's rights or al-Qaeda? What are the lessons for today?
For more, go to Jonathan Cristol's website or follow him on Twitter.
Cristol's book extensively references Barnett Rubin, one of America's top experts on Afghanistan, and Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid. Both have spoken at Carnegie Council numerous times as part of our Public Affairs program. Here is a podcast from last month with Rashid, a 2015 talk featuring both, and and Rubin's 2015 talk with Zahir Tanin, former Afghan representative to the United Nations.
