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Mark Silinsky
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The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Six Episode Thirteen
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. 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...
2026-03-09
04 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Six Episode Twelve
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. 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...
2026-03-09
05 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Six Episode Nine
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. 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...
2026-03-09
06 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Six Episode Eight
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. 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...
2026-03-09
05 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Six Episode Seven
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 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...
2026-03-09
05 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Six Episode Six
Murder 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...
2026-03-09
05 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Six Episode Five
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. 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...
2026-03-09
07 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Six Episode 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. 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...
2026-03-09
08 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Six Episode 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, 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...
2026-03-09
07 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Six Episode Two
Weapons “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...
2026-03-08
06 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Six Episode One
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, 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...
2026-03-08
06 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Five Episode Six
Non-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...
2026-03-08
06 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
Taliban Chapter five Episode Five
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, 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...
2026-03-08
14 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
Taliban Chapter Five Episode Four
The 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...
2026-03-08
08 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Five 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. 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...
2026-02-26
05 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Five Podcast Two
The 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...
2026-02-26
11 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The 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...
2026-02-26
07 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban Chapter Four Podcast Fourteen
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. 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...
2026-02-26
08 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast Thirteen
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. 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...
2026-02-26
07 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast Twelve
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. 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...
2026-02-26
09 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast Eleven
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, 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...
2026-02-26
10 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast Ten
Winter 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...
2026-02-26
10 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast Ten
Winter 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...
2026-02-26
06 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban Chapter Four Podcast Nine
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. 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...
2026-02-26
06 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast Nine
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. 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...
2026-02-26
07 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast Eight
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. 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...
2026-02-26
06 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast Six
Thank 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. ...
2026-02-26
06 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast Six
Thank 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...
2026-02-26
13 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast Five
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. 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...
2026-02-26
08 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban _ Chapter Four 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. 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...
2026-02-26
09 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Four Podcast One
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. 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...
2026-02-26
08 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Three Episode Five
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. 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...
2026-02-26
05 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The 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...
2026-02-26
08 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The 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...
2026-02-26
08 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Three 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. 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...
2026-02-26
08 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Three Episode One
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. 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...
2026-02-26
06 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Two 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. 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...
2026-02-26
09 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Two 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. 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...
2026-02-26
04 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban Chapter Two 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. 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...
2026-02-26
04 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter Two Podcast One
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. 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...
2026-02-26
06 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter One Podcast Six
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. 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...
2026-02-26
09 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter One Podcast Five
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. 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...
2026-02-22
09 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter One 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. 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...
2026-02-22
09 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban - Chapter One 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. 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...
2026-02-22
08 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The 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...
2026-02-22
09 min
The Taliban - Afghanistan’s Most Lethal Insurgent Group - Podcast
The Taliban Chapter One Podcast One
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. 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 ...
2026-02-22
07 min
The Empire of Terror Podcast
Empire of Terror - Chapter Eight Podcast Four
Welcome 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...
2026-02-19
32 min
The Empire of Terror Podcast
Empire of Terror - Chapter Seven Podcast Three
Welcome 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...
2026-02-18
10 min
The Empire of Terror Podcast
Empire of Terror - Chapter Three Podcast Six
Welcome 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...
2026-02-17
07 min
The Empire of Terror Podcast
Empire Three Chapter Three Postcast One
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 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...
2026-02-17
13 min
The Empire of Terror Podcast
Empire of Terror - Chapter Three Podcast One
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 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...
2026-02-17
06 min
The Empire of Terror Podcast
Empire of Terror - Chapter One Podcast Two
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. “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...
2026-02-16
06 min
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Podcast
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Nine Podcast Two
Welcome 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....
2026-02-15
08 min
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Podcast
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Eight Podcast Nine
Welcome 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...
2026-02-15
06 min
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Podcast
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Seven Podcast Two
Welcome 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...
2026-02-15
10 min
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Podcast
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Four Podcast Seven
Welcome 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...
2026-02-13
08 min
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Podcast
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon, Chapter Four Podcast Five
Welcome 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...
2026-02-13
07 min
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Podcast
Jihad and the West Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Four Podcast One
Welcome 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...
2026-02-12
14 min
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Podcast
Jihad and the West Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Two Podcast Four
Welcome 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...
2026-02-12
06 min
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Podcast
Jihad and the West - Black Flag Over Babylon Chapter Two Podcast Two
Welcome 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...
2026-02-11
12 min
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Podcast
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Chapter Two Podcast One
Welcome 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...
2026-02-11
06 min
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Podcast
Jihad and the West - Black Flag Over Babylon Chapter One Postcast Five
Welcome 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...
2026-02-11
18 min
Jihad and the West - Black Flag over Babylon Podcast
Jihad 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...
2026-02-11
18 min