Ahmed Rashid (Urdu:احمد رشید; born 1948 in Rawalpindi) is a Pakistani journalist and best-selling foreign policy author of several books about Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia.

[2] Rashid is often sought after for advice by diplomats in Islamabad and Kabul, and by policy makers in NATO capitals and Washington.

"[1] He is a well known and vocal critic of the Bush administration in relation to the Iraq war and its alleged neglect of the Taliban issue.

[1] Rashid's 2000 book, Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia,[3] was a New York Times bestseller for five weeks, translated into 22 languages, and has sold 1.5 million copies since the September 11, 2001 attacks, "an astonishing number for an academic press.

"[6] "An expert on the Taliban -- until 9/11 he knew them better than almost any outsider -- Mr. Rashid has over the decades turned out to be something of a prophet in the region, though mostly of the Cassandra type, issuing repeated warnings that are ignored by policy makers.