...the United States, is often perceived as trying to impose its narcissistic pseudo-culture upon a world exhausted by wars hot and cold and corrupte... ...of brain with brawn (i.e., money or bombs), its legalistic-litigious character, its culture of instant gratification and one-dimensional over-simpl... ... foes, often one and the same. The global spread of American influence through its culture, political alliances, science and multinationals is mere... ... our will. Soft power works through attraction ... Our attractiveness rests on our culture, our political values and our policies by taking into ac... ...sas. But the Taliban is not only an extreme religious movement, but also an ethnic Pashtun one. The Pashtuns are a bit less than half of Afghanista... ...an half of Afghanistan's population, but in Pakistan there are 16 million resident Pashtuns plus 3 million as refugees. There are more Pashtuns in ... ...Uzbekistan. Another rebellious general was Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Most of the ethnic Pashtun Khalq army generals as well as those of the Khad defecte... ...aliban, it was nothing special when they took over Kandahar in 1994. Kandahar was a Pashtun city and the strict interpretation of Islam the Taliban ... ...ot so much based on the Qur'an but on the narrow-minded social norms of an agrarian Pashtun village. Mullah Omar is often described as having the b...

... of followers and some degree of approval from millions more? The history, culture, and body of beliefs from which Bin Ladin has shaped and spread his... ...onvert to Islam, and end the immorality and godlessness of its society and culture:“It is saddening to tell you that you are the worst civ- ilization ... ...ls led most independence movements, and clerical influence and traditional culture were seen as obstacles to national progress. After gaining independ... ...d little if any attention to the rest of the world’s thought, history, and culture.The secular education reflected a strong cultural preference for te... ...abroad, lacked the perspective and skills needed to understand a different culture. Frustrated in their search for a decent living, unable to benefit ... ...s was a group associated with particular tribes among Afghanistan’s ethnic Pashtun community. 8 By the fall of 1997, the Bin Ladin unit had roughed ou... ...ON REPORT Final1-4.4pp 7/17/04 9:12 AM Page 124 Northern Alliance with Pashtun groups. One U.S. diplomat later told us that the exile groups were ... ...embers came principally from Afghanistan’s most numerous ethnic group, the Pashtuns, who are concentrated in the southern part of the country, extendi... ... Alliance alone.They argued that the program needed to have a big part for Pashtun opponents of the T aliban.They also thought the program should be c...