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"But, you know, the Taliban are active in southern and eastern Afghanistan. The situation in northern and western Afghanistan is not so different in terms of governance, poverty, insecurity. You know, if somebody—Russia or Tajikistan wanted to start an insurgency in Badakhshan, in northeastern Afghanistan, they could do it very easily for almost no money because people are so disaffected there. But there’s no insurgency there."

                                      - Barnett Rubin, speaking at CFR, Oct 25

"It is nationalism fuelled by Islam. They draw considerable strength from painting themselves as the heirs of Afghanistan's warrior traditions. Even the most uneducated foot soldier will quote the dates of the battles in the nineteenth century when they beat the British. They do not see themselves as part of a wider world 'jihad', but an Afghan solution to an Afghan problem."

                                 -David Loyn, of the BBC, on Taliban ideology

                      

VIDEO: The BBC's David Loyn travels with the Taliban