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The people suffering most from the Taliban were Afghans.

One thing that I noticed is having met some former Taliban is even they, as children, grew up being indoctrinated. They grew up in violence. They grew up in war. They were taught to hate. They were, they grew up in very ignorant cultures where they didn't learn about the outside world.

The Taliban is resilient.

Talking to the Taliban is a process the Afghans have to manage. It is their country.

The existence of the Taliban, in my view, is a tragedy for Afghanistan. We as Americans need to understand our role in helping bring that tragedy about. So I think it's important to look at the stories about why these people are fighting.

Islam tells us every girl and boy should be educated. I don't know why the Taliban have forgotten it.

Afghan women, as a group, I think their suffering has been equaled by very few other groups in recent world history.

The Taliban's acts of cultural vandalism - the most infamous being the destruction of the giant Bamiyan Buddhas - had a devastating effect on Afghan culture and the artistic scene. The Taliban burned countless films, VCRs, music tapes, books, and paintings. They jailed filmmakers, musicians, painters, and sculptors.

The Buddhas had to be destroyed by the Taliban to get the world thinking about Afghanistan.