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According to Rashid, the decisive influence in changing U.S. policy toward the Taliban (and eventually scuttling Unocal's pipeline plan) was the vigorous campaign by feminists in the United States, outraged by the Taliban's treatment of girls and women. "As always with the Clinton agenda," he writes, " domestic political concerns outweighed foreign policy-making and the wishes of allies. Clinton only woke up to the Afghanistan problem when American women knocked on his door," figuratively speaking, of course.

Rashid doesn't explain the rise of the Taliban by reference to psychotic cults, nor does he suggest that "the Afghan people" had nothing to do with it, though he says that the spirit of Islam as it has been practiced in Afghanistan is quite alien to rigid fundamentalism. He stresses several themes: the anarchy that preceded the Taliban's rule (the memory of which, he suggests, keeps many Afghans willing to support them, even if with great reluctance), the extraordinary brutality with which they established their regime, and their efforts to manipulate various factions (ethnic, regional, and so on) within Afghanistan to maintain control. His account is strong on political and economic matters—and he includes a very helpful timeline in an appendix—but there is very little about the religious aspect of the Taliban, nor does he give us a sense of their inwardness. Without that, a huge piece of the puzzle is missing.

And however valuable it is as a starting point, Rashid's book is one man's account. There is in fact a great deal we simply don't know about the Taliban. Now that President Bush has issued his ultimatum, we may be learning a lot more, fast.

John Wilson is editor of Books & Culture and editor-at-large for Christianity Today.

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

In August, Christianity Today.com's In Perspective focused on the Taliban, The Friendliest Murderous Militants in the World.

BBC offers a look at Who are the Taliban? and Who is Osama Bin Ladin?

A recent Reuters article reported that Muslim countries as divided as Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey cringe at the Taliban's strict and extremist interpretation of Islam.

Human Rights Watch has extensive information on Afghanistan—especially the Taliban and the continuing civil war.

PBS's Online Newhour has a collection of archived and continuing coverage of Afghanistan going as far back as 1983.

MSNBC's Pariah Nation: A Journey Through Afghanistan follows MSNBC.com's Preston Mendenhall travels through the country this spring. There, he found a surprising resistence to Taliban rule.

Previous Christianity Today coverage of the Taliban includes:

Aid Workers Held Captive | Taliban alleges housing group's staff engaged in evangelism. (Aug. 13, 2001)

Diplomats Receive Visas Into Afghanistan, but Will Only Meet with Officials | Over a week after raid on Shelter Germany, future for workers still unclear. (Aug. 13, 2001)

Taliban Threatens Death to Converts | Afghanistan's Islamic army also says it will kill any non-Muslim seeking converts. (Feb. 15, 2001)

Christianity Today's previous coverage of the September 11 attacks include:

Where I Minister, Grace Abounds Over Sin | At Ground Zero, a New York pastor strives to be a symbol that God is present and available. (Sept. 24, 2001)

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September (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45