Shades of gray: The Taliban phenomenon

Abstract

Review book by James Fergusson Publication date: May, 2010 ''I just can't understand the Americans,’ an Afghan mullah tells British writer James Fergusson. ‘What they are doing makes no sense—and if they go on as they are, the whole country will rise against them.’ The mullah—an educated, apolitical man, fluent in five languages—is hauled from his bed one night by US commandos. Beaten and dragged off to the notorious Bagram detention centre, he is later released, but is so outraged he joins the Taliban.'