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Al Qaeda

(Encyclopedia)Al Qaeda or Al Qaida äl kīˈĕdə, käˈĭdä [key] [Arab.,=the base], Sunni Islamic terrorist organization with the stated goals of uniting all Muslims and establishing a transnational, strict-fund...

Maimana

(Encyclopedia)Maimana or Meymaneh both: māˈmänə [key], city (1979 pop. 38,250), capital of Faryab prov., N Afghanistan, near the Uzbekistan border. A walled city inhabited mainly by Uzbeks, Maimana is a market ...

Flynn, Michael Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Flynn, Michael Thomas, 1958–, U.S. military officer and government official, b. Middletown, R.I., Univ. of Rhode Island (B.S., 1981). Commissioned as ...

Zahedan

(Encyclopedia)Zahedan zähādänˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 361,623), capital of Sistan and Baluchistan prov., SE Iran, near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan. One of Iran's poorer cities, Zahedan is a road j...

Middle East

(Encyclopedia)Middle East, term traditionally applied by western Europeans to the countries of SW Asia and NE Africa lying W of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Thus defined it includes Cyprus, the Asian part of T...

Sistan

(Encyclopedia)Sistan sā– [key], border lowland region of SW Afghanistan and E Iran, c.6,000 sq mi (15,540 sq km), fed mainly by the spring flood of the Helmand River and other streams. At low water, the region i...

Karshi

(Encyclopedia)Karshi kərshēˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 168,000), S Uzbekistan, on the Kashka-Darya River. It is the center of a fertile oasis that produces wheat, cotton, and silk. Karshi was founded in the 9th cen...

Bolan Pass

(Encyclopedia)Bolan Pass or Bholan Pass both: bōlänˈ [key], gap in the central Brahui Range, W Pakistan; c.60 mi (100 km) long, alt. 5,880 ft (1,792 m). A railroad and highway cross the pass en route to the Afgh...

détente

(Encyclopedia)détente, relaxation of tensions between nations, applied particularly to a period of improved relations between the United States and Soviet Union in the 1960s and 70s that resulted as the hostilitie...

Khyber Pass

(Encyclopedia)Khyber Pass kīˈbər [key], narrow, steep-sided pass, 28 mi (45 km) long, winding through the Safed Koh Mts., on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border; highest point is 3,500 ft (1,067 m). The routes throu...