Descent Into Chaos Read Free

Pakistan.
    Pushtu— The language of the Pashtun tribesmen.
    Qanuni, Younus— Leader of the Northern Alliance, former minister, and currently speaker of the Afghan parliament.
    Rabbani, Burhanuddin— Tajik leader who was president of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996 and a leader of the Northern Alliance.
    Rehman, Abdul— King known as the Iron Amir, 1880-1901.
    Rice, Condoleezza— National security advisor, 2001-2005; U.S. secretary of state, 2005- .
    Richards, David— Lieutenant-general and commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, 2006.
    Rocca, Christina— Assistant secretary of state for South Asia at the State Department, 2001-2005.
    Rome group— Group of Afghan exiles around the former king Zahir Shah.
    Sayyaf, Abdul Rasul— Pashtun warlord, member of the Northern Alliance, and Wahhabi leader close to Saudi Arabia.
    Scheffer, Jaap de Hoop— Former Dutch foreign minister who took over as NATO secretary-general in January 2004.
    Schröder, Gerhard— Chancellor of Germany, 1998-2005.
    Shah, Zahir— King of Afghanistan, 1933-1973.
    Sharia— Islamic law.
    Sharif, Shabaz— Younger brother of Nawaz Sharif.
    Sheikh, Ahmed Omar— Kidnapper of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl.
    Sherzai, Gul Agha— Warlord who captured Kandahar and became governor of the province.
    Sindh— Province of Pakistan.
    Singh, Jaswant— Indian foreign minister.
    Sipah-e-Pasadran— Army of God, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard paramilitary force.
    Sipah-e-Sahaba— Soldiers of the Companions of the Prophet, a militant Sunni group opposed to all Shias.
    Talbott, Strobe— Deputy secretary of state in the Clinton administration.
    Taliban— Pashtun extremist group that ruled Afghanistan before 9/11.
    Taraki, Nur Mohammed— First communist president of Afghanistan, in April 1978, from the Khalq Party; murdered by his successor, Hafizullah Amin, in September 1979.
    Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM)— Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law, led by Maulana Sufi Mohammed; founded in 1989 and fought for the Taliban in Afghanistan; tried to take over the Swat Valley in Pakistan in 2007 under his son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah.
    Tenet, George— Director of the CIA during the September 11 crisis.
    Termez, Uzbekistan— NATO military base close to the border with Afghanistan that was run by the Germans.
    Tora Bora— In the Koh-e-Sufaid, or White Mountain range, which spans Nangarhar province, where Osama bin Laden fought his last major battle in 2001.
    Uighurs— Chinese Muslims mainly from Xinjiang province.
    Ulema— Islamic religious leaders and scholars.
    Uruzgan— Province in southern Afghanistan.
    Vajpayee, Atal Bihari— Prime minister of India, May-June 1996; second term, 1998-2004.
    Wahhabism— A deeply conservative sect in Sunni Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia.
    Wali, Abdul— General and son-in-law to former king Zahir Shah and influential leader of the Rome group.
    Wardak, Rahim— General and defense minister of Afghanistan, 2004- .
    Yuldashev, Tahir— Leader and ideologue of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan; sought shelter in Pakistan after 9/11.
    Zawahiri, Ayman al-— Egyptain doctor and second to bin Laden in al Qaeda; still at large.
    Ziauddin, Khwaja— Lieutenant-general and former head of ISI; deposed by Musharraf coup.
    Zubaydah, Abu— Head of al Qaeda’s overseas operations; captured in Faislabad in March 2002.

ACRONYMS
    ADB—Asian Development Bank
    AMF—Afghan Militia Force
    ANA—Afghan National Army
    ANP—Afghan National Police
    CENTCOM—U.S. military’s Central Command
    CIDA—Canadian International Development Agency
    CND—Counter Narcotics Directorate of Afghanistan
    DART—Disaster Assistance Response Team (part of USAID)
    DFID—Britain’s Department for International Development
    DOD—U.S. Department of Defense
    ETIM—East Turkistan Islamic Movement
    EU—European Union
    FATA—Federally Administered Tribal Areas
    GAO—U.S. Government Accountability Office
    G-8—Group of countries with the