’s largest ethnic group and the Taliban’s primary source of support, tribes are particularly important... stabilizing the long-suffering country.
However some Afghans see the tribes as inherently anachronis... overnment could never control. A warning that has some basis in the experience following the Soviet withdrawal.
===== Pashtun heartland =====
The larges
in northern Pakistan following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. A predominantly Pash... is right eye fighting the occupying forces of the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Afghans, weary of the mujahideen's excesses and infighting after the Soviets were driven out, generally welcomed the Tali
