Central Command leader General Tommy Franks met with Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf on January 19, 2001. ” ‘We have no choice but to work with the Taliban,’ he [Musharraf] said. ‘I can assure you that we dislike their extremism, but they brought stability to Afghanistan and ended the bloodshed after the Soviets left. We must have stability, on at least one border.’ ”
– Tommy Franks with Malcolm McConnell, American Soldier, Pages 227-228