From the May/June 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs: “According to Ahmed Rashid, the top expert on the Taliban, up to 60,000 Pakistani volunteers had served in the Taliban militia before 9/11, alongside dozens of active-duty Pakistani army advisers and even small Pakistani army commando units. When these experts left, the Taliban lost their conventional military capability and political patronage, and al Qaeda lost a safe haven for its operational planning, training, and propaganda efforts.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Foreign Affairs, The U.S. vs. al Qaeda, Page 187