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The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Six Episode ThirteenHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. This reading will conclude chapter six and introduce Jihad Johnny Walker and Adam Gahdahn.
Profile 20: Jihad “Johnny” Lind Walker and Adam Gahdahn
The Taliban are mostly Afghan, but there are exceptions. In October 2001, an estimated 150 British-born Muslims fought alongside the Taliban. James McLinton was nickn...
2026-03-0904 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Six Episode TwelveHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
There are many attacks that are difficult to thwart. For example, in Herat Province in April 2007, Taliban fighters dressed in fake ANP police uniforms set up an illegal checkpoint and tried to ambush a combined ANA and Coalition patrol as they approached. Afghan and Coalition forces seized over...
2026-03-0905 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Six Episode NineHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
Profile 17: Best Friends and Broken Hearts in the Afghan Hurt Locker
Two Britons, Liam and Theo, were partners in a particularly dangerous assignment. They were counter-IED specialists whose mission was to find hidden IEDs planted by the Taliban. This required steady nerves and precision. The two...
2026-03-0906 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Six Episode EightHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
Roadside Bombs and “Pink Mist”
Roadside bombs continue to terrorize soldiers and hinder movement. Like ambushes hidden among the greenery of the Afghan spring, roadside bombs have a devastating psychological impact on Coalition Forces. About 70% of attacks on Coalition Forces are caused by roadside bombs, and their sophistic...
2026-03-0905 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Six Episode SevenHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security
Murder Holes and Snipers
Ambushes in Afghanistan happen both in the countryside and within the 'green hell.' A senior NATO official compared these tactics to those used by Hezbollah in Lebanon. In cities, Taliban disguise themselves in many outfits, including women’s clothing. "This kind of strategy...
2026-03-0905 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Six Episode SixMurder Holes and Snipers
Ambushes in Afghanistan happen inside and outside the “green hell” of the countryside. A senior NATO official compared the tactics to those used by Hezbollah in Lebanon. In the cities, Taliban disguise themselves in many outfits, including women’s clothing. "This kind of strategy is very, very difficult not only for NATO in Afghanistan but also in other parts of the world." The city Taliban have created their own nightmare for Coalition and Afghan security forces in urban areas. Cleverly hidden Taliban snipers fire from inside buildings, often with impressive accuracy. In towns and cities, Talib...
2026-03-0905 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Six Episode FiveHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
Profile 16: Juma and Sameena - A Boy and a Girl
He said he was 4, but he was probably about 6 or 7. He was too tall for a 4-year-old. Like the other boys in Ghazni Province with whom he played, rag-clad and hair-mussed Juma Gul colle...
2026-03-0907 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Six Episode FourHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. We begin with Chapter One: The Landscape, The People, and Islamism.
Suicide Attacks
"Children taliban leaders say they are tools to achieve God’s will, and whatever comes your way, you sacrifice it," a Taliban commander told a Western journalist. The first Taliban suicide attack happen...
2026-03-0908 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Six Episode ThreeHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. We begin with Chapter One: The Landscape, The People, and Islamism.
Tactics
From Timid Tactics to Blitzkrieg Warfare
Some of the early tactics, especially during their first rise to power in the mid-1990s, were unconventional and often daring, known as “Mad Max style.” They wer...
2026-03-0907 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Six Episode TwoWeapons
“An Afghan man will kiss his rifle before he kisses his wife.” An old Afghan saying
Many Taliban members carried their weapons to Pakistan, but they left larger individual and crew-served weapons behind. What worried Coalition Forces most was the number of weapons caches and the Afghan reluctance to surrender them. The Taliban used donkeys to transport shells made in countless small Pakistani villages along the tribal belt by the Afghan border. Skilled horsemen, many Taliban regularly used their mounts across various terrains, and in some cases, horses outperformed four-wheel-drive vehicles.
It was common for...
2026-03-0806 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Six Episode OneHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. We begin with Chapter One: The Landscape, The People, and Islamism.
Chapter five examined the fall of the Taliban. It discussed the blueprint created in Bonn to promote sustained development and ensure military and political stability in Afghanistan. It examined the Taliban’s strategy, tactics, targets, and overall rebuil...
2026-03-0806 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Five Episode SixNon-Violent Intimidation Tactics
The Taliban uses fear of impending violence. A common tactic is the shabnamah, or “night letter,” a message sent to a target that states they will face punishment. The message warns that unless demands are met, the punishment will be quick and severe. This theme recurs frequently. For example, in 2008, residents of Khost received a letter warning tribal elders not to cooperate with government forces, or else they would face consequences. Those working for the Karzai or regional governments were told to quit immediately, or else they would witness unprecedented violence. Anyone aiding government force...
2026-03-0806 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastTaliban Chapter five Episode FiveHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This reading turns to the structure of the Taliban.
The Taliban’s Four Strategies
The term “strategy” is key to the language of war. It refers to a broad plan of action to secure victory. These strategies aim to weaken Afghanistan’s economy, terrorize the enemy, increase thei...
2026-03-0814 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastTaliban Chapter Five Episode FourThe Structure of the Taliban
The Taliban is organized hierarchically from the supreme leader, Mullah Omar, to the foot soldiers. At the top, the Supreme Leadership, in conjunction with the Shura Council, gives guidance. The cadre comprises dedicated mid- to senior-level operatives. Foot soldiers are the rank and file of the Taliban. Finally, mercenaries are fair-weathered Taliban whose devotion to the ideology is tenuous and who serve for lack of better employment opportunities.
Rings of Support
The Taliban’s structure is hierarchical, from the Supreme Shura, through the foot soldiers, to the pool of mercenaries. But support levels ca...
2026-03-0808 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Five Podcast ThreeHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. The reading examines some of the leaders of the Taliban in 2014.
The Leaders
Mullah Muhammad Omar is the current leader of the Taliban and was profiled in chapter two. He is the Afghan Taliban's supreme leader, believed to be hiding in Pakistan.
Mu...
2026-02-2605 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Five Podcast TwoThe Shuras
The shura principle is rooted in the Koran, as noted in chapter one. It is a council that deliberates and passes judgment on social and political issues affecting the Islamic community, or ummah. Mullah Omar is, by far, the most important decision-maker, but he does not rule like a dictator. The Taliban Supreme Shura, heavily guided by Omar, conducts strategic planning, issues directives to regional commanders, and disseminates them to village cells as fatwas, or diktats. The village cell operates semi-independently, with minimal oversight from higher echelons. Sometimes the orders from the Supreme Shura are precise; of...
2026-02-2611 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Five Podcast One
Chapter four discussed the Taliban’s downfall and the security and developmental priorities for the conquering nations, which met in Bonn. Chapter five will analyze the specific target sets, tactics and their effects on the counterinsurgency with greater granularity. This is a chapter on how the Taliban fight.
The Taliban’s Diaspora
Before its ejection in late 2001, the Taliban’s governmental structure was similar to those other impoverished Third World, one-party states. The Taliban had a monopoly on the use of force and law enforcement. There were chains of command and a clearly stated, if not always followed, hierarchy...
2026-02-2607 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban Chapter Four Podcast FourteenHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
To Educate a People
Before the Taliban, education was expanding, modernizing, and becoming more secular and accessible, particularly for girls. Elements of Afghanistan’s higher education system were a source of pride among Afghan Western-oriented intellectuals. In the 1960s and early 1970s, half of Afghanistan’s children had access to prima...
2026-02-2608 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast ThirteenHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
To Build a Civil Service
A quality civil service has been a key goal in developing Afghanistan. In 2001, the victors in Bonn found a hollow civil service. There was a lack of capacity and weak communication between Kabul and outlying provinces. Under the Taliban, public administrators...
2026-02-2607 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast TwelveHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
To Build an Army
In 2002, Afghanistan lacked a professional army, and one had to be built to maintain order and prevent the Taliban’s return. The Army’s facilities had been shattered during the incessant wars of the previous 2 decades. The military’s leadership was sapped, an...
2026-02-2609 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast ElevenHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security.
An Agreement Grows in Bonn
Food started to flow to hungry Afghans in November, if in limited supply. In December, more than 115,000 tons of food, enough to feed 6 million refugees for 2 months, arrived in Afghanistan. This was the largest amount of food delivered to any country since the 1980s...
2026-02-2610 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast TenWinter Sets In
Though many Afghans were euphoric, yesterday’s Taliban were tremulous and dispossessed. The Taliban and their supporters had every reason to fear swift vengeance from the armed ethnicities, including the Tajiks, Uzbeks, and, particularly, the Hazaras, whom they had harangued and demeaned for 5 years; from the Americans whom they had outraged; and from the myriad villagers whose lives they had made miserable and mundane. Armed with few skills and having made themselves pariahs in their home villages, many Taliban left for Pakistan. Most had no clear agenda, employment prospects, or precise destination. But they needed to lea...
2026-02-2610 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast TenWinter Sets In
Though many Afghans were euphoric, yesterday’s Taliban were tremulous and dispossessed. The Taliban and their supporters had every reason to fear swift vengeance from the armed ethnicities, including the Tajiks, Uzbeks, and, particularly, the Hazaras, whom they had harangued and demeaned for 5 years; from the Americans whom they had outraged; and from the myriad villagers whose lives they had made miserable and mundane. Armed with few skills and having made themselves pariahs in their home villages, many Taliban left for Pakistan. Most had no clear agenda, employment prospects, or precise destination. But they needed to lea...
2026-02-2606 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban Chapter Four Podcast NineHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
Humor was back in style. Laughing was officially reviled by the Taliban’s mullahs as silly, superfluous, and girlish. But an underground stock of Afghan jokes continued to circulate, of varying quality and cleanliness. Some of the jokes made a public comeback when comedy, including political jokes, was lega...
2026-02-2606 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast NineHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. We explore the funny side of the Taliban. Humor was back in style. Laughing was officially reviled by the Taliban’s mullahs as silly, superfluous, and girlish. But an underground stock of Afghan jokes continued to circulate, of varying quality and cleanliness. Some of the jokes made a public comebac...
2026-02-2607 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast EightHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. This reading shares the jubilation of the short-lived freedom Afghans enjoyed.
Dancing in the Streets
When the Taliban fled the Northern Alliance’s march on Kabul in mid-November 2001, uncontained joy poured into the streets. Young men, who had been forbidden under the Taliban from laughing, dancing, or talki...
2026-02-2606 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast SixThank you for listening to this reading from “The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group.” If you enjoyed it, please consider subscribing and liking it. Nothing in this book represents the official position of any person or agency of the United States government. On behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening. The reading looks at efforts to build the Afghan police force.
An al Qaeda Strategist Analyzes the Early fight
Soon after the initial American victories and the Taliban defeats, al Qaeda leaders began to write lessons from the war. ...
2026-02-2606 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast SixThank you for listening to this reading from “The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group.” If you enjoyed it, please consider subscribing and liking it. Nothing in this book represents the official position of any person or agency of the United States government. On behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening. The reading looks at efforts to build the Afghan police force.
To Build a Police Force
“I “Need 20 good police officers and could use 100. Good people, not any hashish smokers. And I need sleeping bags, mattresses, and a generator fo...
2026-02-2613 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast FiveHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. This reading turns to chapter four and the early American victories
In the United States, some Americans, still smarting from the September attacks on the homeland, could now lampoon those who hosted their Afghanistan-based enemy. Not all the jokes were clever, and many smacked of a conqueror’s hubr...
2026-02-2608 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban _ Chapter Four Podcast TwoHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. We begin with Chapter One: The Landscape, The People, and Islamism.
Two weeks after the attack on the US heartland, the United States deployed a small team, called Jawbreaker, under the direction of Gary Schroen, to rebuild the capabilities of the Northern Alliance. They succeeded. Schroen, a seas...
2026-02-2609 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast OneHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. We begin with Chapter One: The Landscape, The People, and Islamism.
CHAPTER FOUR: THE TALIBAN IN DEFEAT
Chapter three was a brief portrait of Afghanistan during the Taliban’s rule from 1996 to 2001. Chapter four will cover the Taliban after their expulsion from Afghanistan, when the group was revived...
2026-02-2608 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Three Episode FiveHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
Sanctions and Hostilities
Imposing sanctions on the Taliban was an intermediate response between rhetoric and war. International organizations and individual states applied financial and military sanctions of Afghanistan. Many governments restricted travel by Taliban officials and downgraded their diplomatic missions abroad.
Either through miscalculatio...
2026-02-2605 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Three Podcast Three Hello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
If there is any human development sector in which the Taliban’s tenure was not an unmitigated catastrophe, it is the security sector. The Taliban’s victory ended the civil war in 1996. In this sense, they increased security in Afghanistan. The mass, unregulated killings were stopped. But this came at a cost of fear-induc...
2026-02-2608 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban Chapter Three Podcast Four Hello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
Towards War
The Taliban, Foreign Relations, and the United States 1996-2001
The Taliban’s domestic plans floundered and most failed, and their foreign relations were no more successful. They had warm relations with elements of Pakistan and the Pakistani intelligence. But they did not enjoy close relations wi...
2026-02-2608 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Three Podcast TwoHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
A New Dark Age -Life under the Taliban
The Economy Declines
The Taliban’s conquest of Kabul ushered in a new, if reactionary, era in Afghanistan. By almost all measures of living standards, the quality of life for Afghans, already poor, deteriorated. It is...
2026-02-2608 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Three Episode OneHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
Chapter Three: The Taliban in Power
Jihad in the path of Allah is greater than any individual or organization.” Ayman al-Zawahiri
Chapter Two traced the Taliban’s ascent to power. It examined the ideological bond between a preening bin Laden and a reclusive Mullah Omar, as wel...
2026-02-2606 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Two Podcast FourHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
The Taliban and the General Template of Insurgency
Omar would lead his insurgency to victory. He would face many of the same strategic challenges, leading the insurgency in exile after 2001. An insurgency is a type of small war that varies in intensity, duration, and levels of s...
2026-02-2609 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Two Podcast ThreeHello and Welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
By September 2000, the Taliban controlled 95% of the country and were fighting mainly against the Tajik Ahmed Shah Massoud, Prime Minister Rabbani's former defense minister, who defended parts of the north. This was the remaining part of the country not controlled by the Taliban.
Profile Omar 3 "Comm...
2026-02-2604 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban Chapter Two Podcast TwoHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
The Taliban Builds Roots
Afghanistan’s government was never strong and was usually tenuous during the reign of President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who held office from June 1992 until 1996. He never had a durable base, lacked charisma, was not a Pashtun, and proved incapable of uniting Afghanistan. Another civil war...
2026-02-2604 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter Two Podcast OneHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
Chapter Two: Enter the Taliban
Chapter One explored the geographic, cultural, religious, and ideological underpinnings of the Taliban. Chapter Two focuses on the Taliban’s origins, victory, tenure, temporary destruction, and rejuvenation.
The Setting
The Taliban’s ascent to power follows an ancient Afghan tradition of clan-tangl...
2026-02-2606 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter One Podcast SixHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
The Mind of the Taliban
The Taliban’s mindset is an amalgam of ethnic, geographic, historical, and religious elements. The Taliban’s religious principles are framed by three fundamentals: Salafism, Deobandism, and Sharia. These elements overlap and intertwine. All three are expressions of puritanical and political Islam, wh...
2026-02-2609 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter One Podcast FiveHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
The People
“A Pashtun is never at peace, except when he is at war." An old Pashtun saying
Living at the crossroads of ancient empires and migrating nations, the Afghans are living testimony to a racially diverse gene pool and the fusion of myriad ethnicities...
2026-02-2209 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter One Podcast FourHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
Historians refer to the war in Afghanistan as the Soviets’ Vietnam. If the analogy is inexact, it underscores the angst within both the Soviet armed forces and civil-military relations. Things went poorly for the Soviets from the beginning, and drug problems were widespread. Some Soviets traded clothes, cigare...
2026-02-2209 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban - Chapter One Podcast ThreeHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
The Soviets Invade – The “Afghanistanis”
The tranquility of the 1970s was shattered in December 1979. The Soviet Union tried to shore up a moribund, secular Afghan government by deploying troops. What was intended as a quick intervention quickly stalled. Over nearly 10 years of occupation, Soviet forces and thei...
2026-02-2208 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban Chapter One Podcast Two Hello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Afghanistan’s strategic importance to the West declined. The dominant European empires faded or dissolved after the First World War. A militarily fatigued Europe turned inward. Britain’s global power waned in the 20th century, and Tsarist Russia was reconstituted as t...
2026-02-2209 minThe Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - PodcastThe Taliban Chapter One Podcast OneHello and welcome to a reading from The Taliban – Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Praeger, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing in New York, New York. This reading is brought to you by Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. We begin with Chapter One: The Landscape, The People, and Islamism.
"You can occupy it, you can put troops there and keep bombing, but you cannot win." Soviet Lt. Gen. Ruslan Aushev, who was decorated for bravery during the Soviet 1979-89 war
The Land
...
2026-02-2207 min
The Empire of Terror PodcastEmpire of Terror - Chapter Eight Podcast FourWelcome to the final excerpt of Empire of Terror, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press. This is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This excerpt comes from chapter eight and concludes Empire of Terror.
The Mullahs’ Enemies at Home
As of this writing, Major General Salami commands the Guards and boasts that the organization can meet any domestic threat. The claim is dubious. Protests shook the streets in 2019 and early 2020. Moreover, this “sedition” is deepl...
2026-02-1932 minThe Empire of Terror PodcastEmpire of Terror - Chapter Seven Podcast ThreeWelcome to an excerpt from Empire of Terror, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press. This is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This excerpt comes from chapter seven and discusses corrupt elements in the IRGC.
Persian Mafia
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service defines the underground economy as income earned off the books. It includes laundered income and trade in explicitly illegal goods, such as narcotics and weapons. Many developing countries hav...
2026-02-1810 minThe Empire of Terror PodcastEmpire of Terror - Chapter Three Podcast SixWelcome to an excerpt from Empire of Terror, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, by Mark Silinsky, published by Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press. This is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This excerpt comes from chapter three and discusses prisons.
Imprisonment and Prisons
Iconic prisons are engines of gruesome lore about sadism, injustice, and audacious escape attempts. The Tower of London in Britain, the Bastille in France, and Alcatraz in the United States have left legacies captured in popular culture. In Russia, the Peter an...
2026-02-1707 minThe Empire of Terror PodcastEmpire Three Chapter Three Postcast OneWelcome to an excerpt of Empire of Terror, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press. This is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This excerpt comes from chapter three and explores the creation of the Guards.
The real war is a cultural war. . . . There are so many television and internet networks that are busy diverting the hearts and minds of our youth away from religion, our sacred beliefs, morality, modesty, and the like. —Ali Khame...
2026-02-1713 minThe Empire of Terror PodcastEmpire of Terror - Chapter Three Podcast OneWelcome to an excerpt of Empire of Terror, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press. This is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This excerpt comes from chapter three and explores the creation of the Guards.
The real war is a cultural war. . . . There are so many television and internet networks that are busy diverting the hearts and minds of our youth away from religion, our sacred beliefs, morality, modesty, and the like. —Ali Khame...
2026-02-1706 minThe Empire of Terror PodcastEmpire of Terror - Chapter One Podcast TwoWelcome to an excerpt of Empire of Terror, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press. This is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security.
“I am Cyrus, who founded the Persian Empire and was King of Asia. Grudge
me not, therefore, this monument.” —Inscription on the tomb of Cyrus the Great
Iran sits at the strategic center of the greater Middle East. Once boasting the most powerful kingdom of its day, Iran’s influence waned over...
2026-02-1606 min
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon PodcastJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Nine Podcast TwoWelcome to an excerpt from Jihad and the West, Black Flag over Babylon by Mark Silinsky, with a foreword by Sebastian Gorka. It was published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington and Indianapolis. This reading is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This excerpt comes from chapter nine and examines two cases of Westerners who became militant Islamists.
The statistics are stomach-churning: almost 250 innocents have been murdered in France in the past eighteen months by terrorists—more than the total number of French nationals killed by them in the entire twentieth century....
2026-02-1508 minJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon PodcastJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Eight Podcast NineWelcome to an excerpt from Jihad and the West, Black Flag over Babylon by Mark Silinsky, with a foreword by Sebastian Gorka. It was published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington and Indianapolis. This reading is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This excerpt comes from chapter eight and explores the mental health of Western Islamists.
The Caliphate
Before 2016, some of the Caliphate’s recruiting was loud, open, and unmasked. There was unfettered street proselytizing, and when young men traveled in packs, they were sometimes emboldened. For example, a...
2026-02-1506 minJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon PodcastJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Seven Podcast TwoWelcome to an excerpt from Jihad and the West, Black Flag over Babylon by Mark Silinsky, with a foreword by Sebastian Gorka. It was published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington and Indianapolis. This reading is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This reading continues with Chapter Seven and, particularly, the ISIS-inspired killing in California. In that attack, a husband-and-wife pair of ISIS supporters murdered health inspectors in San Bernardino. After they killed fourteen and wounded far more, they went on Facebook to pledge allegiance to the Islamic State. How the Caliphate was involved...
2026-02-1510 minJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon PodcastJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Four Podcast SevenWelcome to an excerpt from Jihad and the West, Black Flag over Babylon by Mark Silinsky, with a foreword by Sebastian Gorka. It was published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington and Indianapolis. This reading is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This excerpt comes from chapter four and introduces the deadly Western women of the Caliphate.
Deadly Women
Some women, like some men, are sadistic and power hungry, and the Islamic State provides them with opportunities. The British “White Widow” Samantha Lewthwaite married one of the perpetrators...
2026-02-1308 minJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon PodcastJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon, Chapter Four Podcast FiveWelcome to an excerpt from Jihad and the West, Black Flag over Babylon by Mark Silinsky, with a foreword by Sebastian Gorka. It was published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington and Indianapolis. This reading is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This excerpt comes from chapter four and introduces the deadly Western women of the Caliphate.
Deadly Women
Some women, like some men, are sadistic and power hungry, and the Islamic State provides them with opportunities. The British “White Widow” Samantha Lewthwaite married one of the perpetrators...
2026-02-1307 minJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon PodcastJihad and the West Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Four Podcast OneWelcome to an excerpt from Jihad and the West, Black Flag over Babylon by Mark Silinsky, with a foreword by Sebastian Gorka. It was published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington and Indianapolis. This reading is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This excerpt comes from chapter three and turns to Western universities and militant Islam.
Blue-Eyed Jihad: The Caliphate’s Foreign Legion, Part One
Introduction
Earlier chapters provide the background for examining foreign fighters. Chapter 4 explains the draw of the Caliphate. Who is an average fore...
2026-02-1214 minJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon PodcastJihad and the West Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Two Podcast FourWelcome to an excerpt from Jihad and the West, Black Flag over Babylon by Mark Silinsky, with a foreword by Sebastian Gorka. It was published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington and Indianapolis. This reading is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security.
Profile Four: The Ever-Angry Mr. Bukhari Wants His Shoe Back
Asghar Bukhari is a leading voice for angry Muslims in Britain. A founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK, he discusses world events on European television and radio. He has appeared on Sky News, Russia...
2026-02-1206 minJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon PodcastJihad and the West - Black Flag Over Babylon Chapter Two Podcast TwoWelcome to an excerpt from Jihad and the West, Black Flag over Babylon by Mark Silinsky, with a foreword by Sebastian Gorka. It was published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington and Indianapolis. This reading is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This comes from chapter two and will examine “Eurabia” – the crossroad of a secular Europe and an impassioned and mushrooming Islamic cohort there.
Eurabia
Many Europeans were initially nonchalant about the cultural shift, but some later regretted this indifference. Many late-middle-aged and elderly intellectuals today miss the arti...
2026-02-1112 minJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon PodcastJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Two Podcast OneWelcome to an excerpt from Jihad and the West, Black Flag over Babylon by Mark Silinsky, with a foreword by Sebastian Gorka. It was published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington and Indianapolis. This reading is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This comes from chapter two and will examine “Eurabia” – the crossroad of a secular Europe and an impassioned and mushrooming Islamic cohort there.
Eurabia
Many Europeans were initially nonchalant about the cultural shift, but some later regretted this indifference. Many late-middle-aged and elderly intellectuals today miss the arti...
2026-02-1106 minJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon PodcastJihad and the West - Black Flag Over Babylon Chapter One Postcast FiveWelcome to an excerpt from Jihad and the West, Black Flag over Babylon written by Mark Silinsky, with a foreword by Sebastian Gorka. It was published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington and Indianapolis. This reading is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This reading is from the first chapter and begins with the full life and tragic death of Khaled al-Asaad, also known as Mr. Palmyra.
Walid al-Asaad, son of Khaled al-Asaad
Khaled al-Asaad, “Mr. Palmyra,” a beloved eighty-two-year-old antiquities scholar, devoted his life to exploring, preser...
2026-02-1118 minJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon PodcastJihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Chapter One Podcast 4
Welcome to an excerpt of Empire of Terror, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, written by Mark Silinsky and published by Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press. This is presented by Kensington Security Consulting, which brings education to national security. This excerpt comes from chapter One.
Ideological Divergence
While all four ideologies converge on seven points, they diverge on three issues, namely, the role of religion, the distribution of wealth and property, and the nature of utopia. In terms of the first, communism is atheistic, and f...
2026-02-1118 min