Kabul was very popular with the hippies in the Sixties and Seventies. It was very quiet and peaceful.

The country [Afghanistan] faces enormous problems. There is a violent insurgency hampering the rule of law and developmental efforts.

I grew up with some kind of storytelling instinct, and when I write, my default setting is to find a story and then to tell it. It's the only way I know how to write.

There was brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that even time could not break. - Amir

Nothing happens in a vacuum in life: every action has a series of consequences, and sometimes it takes a long time to fully understand the consequences of our actions.

If America taught me anything, it's that quitting is right up there with pissing in the Girl Scouts' lemonade jar.

I think the scale of the conflict [in Afghanistan] has dramatically changed in 2003. You're now facing a much more motivated, well-supported enemy. I don't see any quick end to this thing.