Writing for me is largely about rewriting.

My wife is my in-home editor and reads everything I write.

But the game involves only male names. Because, if it's a girl, Laila has already named her

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

I think the emancipation of women in Afghanistan has to come from inside, through Afghans themselves, gradually, over time.

That's how children deal with terror, they fall asleep.

My family left Afghanistan in 1976, well before the Communist coup and the Soviet invasion. We certainly thought we would be going back. But when we saw those Soviet tanks rolling into Afghanistan, the prospect for return looked very dim. Few of us, I have to say, envisioned that nearly a quarter century of bloodletting would follow.