Afghan Taliban versus Arab Taliban?
Today's report on the suicide bombings in Afghanistan by Carlotta Gall (New York Times) emphasizes how much more frequent the bombings have become, but tucked in at the end of the article is a curious detail. She says that the Taliban forces who have been operating in the Panjwai district (near Kandahar) have "tried to distance themselves from the suicide bombings that have killed civilians and damaged shops". They have posted fliers saying that outsiders ("foreign Taliban") were responsible for those attacks and they would be subject to capital punishment. This is because they are concerned about their image. Also, local villagers are blaiming "foreigners or outsiders" for the suicide bombings and that "ordinary Taliban" are merely fighting the NATO forces. She also quotes a witness of the Taniwal bombing who claims that the bomber "appeared to be an Arab." Supposition, presumably, but whether true or not, it seems clear that the "Arabs" are being blamed for the suicide bombing. And that the Taliban are divided over suicide bombing -- the typical Afghan point of view versus the militant Arab viewpoint.
RLC
Some other interesting publications in the last few days:
David Isby, an old hand in the Afghanistan wars, points out thecontradictory messages Musharraf has given out in the last few days.
A Tale of Two Pakistans: Musharraf's Dramatic Claims Unwittingly Highlight Contradictions
By DAVID ISBY
Published: September 25, 2006 (The National Interest)
President Pervez Musharraf during his visit to Washington made a series of statements dramatic enough to cheer any book publisher.
more…
Hafizullah Gardesh and Wahidullah Amani report from Kabul that the Afghan leadership is "bemused" by Musharraf's statements to the western press. I think I would use a different word: frustrated.
Afghans Bemused by Mixed Messages from Musharraf
By HAFIZULLAH GARDESH and WAHIDULLAH AMANI
Published: September 17, 2006 (Institute for War and Peace Reporting)
Islamabad is outflanking Kabul in the debate about where the Taleban are based and whose fault it is that they are still there.
more…
Massoud Ansari and Colin Freeman point out that the signature of Mullah Muhammad Omar on the Waziristan deal (between the tribes and Pakistani army) reveals how plainly in sight he is, despite the many claims that the Americans and Pakistanis have been unsuccessfully searching for him for five years!
Omar role in truce reinforces fears that Pakistan 'caved in' to Taliban
By MASSOUD ANSARI and COLIN FREEMAN
Published: September 24, 2006 (The Telegraph UK)
The fugitive Taliban commander Mullah Omar has emerged as the key player behind the movement's controversial peace deal with Pakistan.
more…
A Canadian author notes Karzai's appeal that Islamic schools "teaching hatred" should be abolished - he refers to the schools in Pakistan.
Abolish Islamic schools that teach hatred: Karzai
By DINA BEBLAWI
Published: September, 23, 2006 (Montreal AFP)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday urged the international community to put an end to Islamic schools that teach hatred and produce suicide bombers.
more…
Helen Womack of the Daily Telegraph reports to her British audience the warning of a former Soviet Officer, that the Allied powers will suffer the same embarrassment in Afghanistan as the Red army did. Well do the British in fact know: they lost most of an army there in the mid-nineteenth century.
You will be driven from Afghanistan just as we were, Russian generals warn
By HELEN WOMACK
Published: September 24, 2006 (The Telegraph UK)
British troops will be forced to flee Afghanistan, say former Soviet commanders who oversaw Moscow's disastrous campaign against the mujahedeen in the 1980s.
more…
Barnett R. Rubin provides information from his last conversation with Hakim Taniwal before his murder by a suicide bomber.
The Death Of an Afghan Optimist
By BRNETT R. RUBIN
Published: September 17, 2006 (Washington Post)
"We lost a friend today." A suicide bomber had blown up the car of Hakim Taniwal, the governor of Paktia province on Afghanistan's frontier with Pakistan, killing him and two aides.
more…
Craig Pyes and Kevin Sack in a special article for the Los Angeles Times report on abuses of Afghans by American troops. Again, the failure to understand a foreign language trips up our men on the ground. It is tragic all around.
Two Deaths Were a 'Clue That Something's Wrong'
By CRAIG PYES and KEVIN SACK
Published: September 25, 2006 (Los Angeles Times)
A Special Forces team in Afghanistan failed to alert its superiors. Witnesses tell of torture.
more…
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