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The Barnett Rubin Chat

The transcript provides the best guide to events in Afghanistan that we have read so far. Awesome.

Barnett R Rubin (Mon Nov 18 19:42:39 1996 IST):

OK, now I am here. I got in through Mosaic, though I couldn't get in through Netscape 1.22.

Hi Dr Rubin

I presume that I type something in here and then press "say it" to get it into the chat room.

Thats quite strange, cause we all are using Netscape. The chat is scheduled to begin in exactly 11 mins.

Hi. They are just going to put a higher version of Netscape on. What a mess.

Hello Mr. Rubin.

Hello Dr. Rubin. It is a pleasure to be with you in the same room....

Dr Rubin, Yes thats riht, u click inside the field box for the cursor to appear and type out your message, and then click the Say it/Listen button, to reload the page you click the Say it/Listen button again to read new messages.

Dr. Rubin who do you think will win the ongoing war in Afghanistan?? Taliban or Masud and why???

Hi Sholam from the land of the mountains....

Dr.Rubin I have a Pakistani friend who thinks that the Taleban might be good for Afghanistan in the long run, just as long as they soften their stance on women a bit. What are your views on that?

Sujata>> I agree with you. But what do you think the women cna do in that country to uplift their position. Cause I think it is the women themselves who can help themselves. What do you think???

Hi. This is Barney Rubin. I'm now on via Netscape 2.01

Najib>> If a woman wants to go to work, decently dressed but with her ankles showing an inch below her gown, and if she is publicly reprimanded and told to stay at home by a convoy of armed men, how is she supposed to help herself?

Dr.Rubin, how long the perservation of the "balance of conflict" in Afghanistan will continue and how much this policy is related to the Western policy for the integration of Russia to the Western World ??

Dr Rubin: Its a plaesure to have you joining us today.

Welcome Dr Rubin to the Rediff Chat. It's wonderful having you with us today. The Afghan talks are beginning at the UN today and this is an apt time for all of us to obtain from an insight into what's happening in Afghanistan.

I see that you have already started. Should I make some comments?

I see that you have already started. Should I make some comments?

Dr Rubin: Its a plaesure to have you joining us today.

Yes pls Dr. Rubin.

Good evening, Sir. Would you agree with the assessment that the Taliban are sponsored by Pakistan?

Welcome Dr Rubin to the Rediff Chat. It's wonderful having you with us today. The Afghan talks are beginning at the UN today and this is an apt time for all of us to obtain from an insight into what's happening in Afghanistan.

Thank you for inviting me. I agree that the Taliban have been supported by Pakistan. They started as a local indigenous phenomenon (though they were an AFghan phenomenon that started in Pakistan), but they would not have attained their current state of political and military power without Saudi money and Pakistani assistance.

Dr.Rubin, how long the perservation of the "balance of conflict" in Afghanistan will continue and how much this policy is related to the Western policy for the integration of Russia to the Western World ??

Hullo, Dr Rubin. Good to talk to you today. Do you think the UN talks will achieve anything to resolve the Afghan crisis?

Dr Rubin, in your opinion, how long will the Taleban be able to maintain a stronghold in Afghanistan?

Can you tell us why the US started by supporting such a rabid group like the Taliban, whose laws on women make the Spanish inqusitors look like angels of mercy? Is it again a case of commerce and greed winning over human rights and humanity?

Should the ascent of the taliban not be disturbing to the US? Why then is the US taking such a neutral stand? Is it because the Rabbani regime was backed by Iran. I believe the Saudi renegade sponsor of terror was spotted in Kabul along with a Pakistani intelligence officer. So days The Sunday Telegraph. Does that not bother the US? What is the rationale for the US stand?

I see a question from Sana about how long the Taliban might be able to hold on. I really don't know. Nobody is an expert on this kind of question. It depends on their internal coherence, on foreign aid, on the behavior of their adversaries, etc. Right now I don't see that they are in any immediate danger of losing their hold on Kabul. I wonder what is happening in the West, however, There also seems to be a stalemate northeast of Herat.

The Taliban say they will not export Islamic fundamentalism. Do you think they will adhere to that promise? Long term, if the Taliban stay as rulers of Afghanistan, what is your prognosis for the region? Which countries will be affected most?

Do you believe the Central Asian republics, India, Iran and Russia overestimated their initital response to the Taliban?

Tribal conflicts are primarily found in Africa. In Asia, it is found in Afghanistan. Might it not be better to carve up Afghanistan and the Uzbek and Tajik parts can join their respective countries, and the Pashtuns could join Pakistan?

Dr. Rubin what is the future of women in Afghanistan???

What will be immediate effects of Taliban rule in Afghanistan on Muslims of Pakistan & India. Will it empower muslim fundamentalists.

Yes that's what I want to know, can it get any worse for the women there?

Good evening,Professor. I want to ask you if you have any insight into why the Taliban achieved their military success so easily? Was it the popular disenchantment with the Hekmatyars and Rabbanis? Do you believe Pakistan officers inspired by Nasrullah Babar fought alongside the Taliban and ran their campaign?

Dr Rubin,there is another aspect that is not very clear:that is how do the Afghans, in Kabul or in the other Taliban strongholds view the Taliban. Are they angry with the restrictions imposed upon them or consider their harsh and crude way of ruling better than what they were getting earlier. What is the general response of the Afghanis towards these new rulers?

Why did the Rabbani regime lose its credibility so quickly? What were the factors responsible? think

The Taliban say they will not export Islamic fundamentalism. Do you think they will adhere to that promise? Long term, if the Taliban stay as rulers of Afghanistan, what is your prognosis for the region? Which countries will be affected most?

Do you believe the Central Asian republics, India, Iran and Russia overestimated their initital response to the Taliban?

The summit in Alma Ata...I felt they should have waited a while before rushing into a huddle and giving the impression that these mullahs were a danger to mankind? Are they a danger to mankind?

Has Dr Rubin lost connection?

Good evening,Professor. I want to ask you if you have any insight into why the Taliban achieved their military success so easily? Was it the popular disenchantment with the Hekmatyars and Rabbanis? Do you believe Pakistan officers inspired by Nasrullah Babar fought alongside the Taliban and ran their campaign?

Dr. Rubin: You have discribed "a stalemate northeast of Herat - Reports indicate that all refugees from Badghis are Pashtoons. Can we be fearful that this could be a continuation of an ethnic purge of Pashtoons in the north, if so when will we begin to know? How many Pashtoons are in the North?

Hi, I'm back. My system kicked me out.

WE seem to be having a few technical problems but barnett rubin will be back in the chat room momentarily