EFL
There seems to be no shortage of stupid young recruits willing to take up arms and join the Taliban in Afghanistan. At an imposing jail on the outskirts of the southern city of Kandahar, birthplace of the ousted Islamic militia, prison officials say there are 50 to 60 "political inmates," a term usually used to describe Taliban guerrillas. Reuters met a small number late on Wednesday, all young men or teenagers who, whether for faith, money or out of pure ignorance recently joined the "jihad," or holy war, declared by the Taliban against U.S.-led foreign troops, aid workers and their "helpers." All said they came from neighboring Pakistan.
| It must be kind of embarrassing for the Talibs to have so few actual Afghans among their ranks... |
They were selected by an Afghan intelligence official so it was unclear how representative they were of the prisoners; Kabul pins the blame for rising Taliban violence largely on Pakistan.
Reuters forgot their scare quotes around "selected".
"I am a Talib," said Rahmatullah, an 18-year-old from the central Afghan province of Uruzgan. "I was studying in a madrassah in Chaman and was told by the Taliban to join them and join the jihad," he added, referring to a Muslim religious school. Two months ago in Chaman, a border town in Pakistan, Rahmatullah met Mullah Mateen who went with him to the Pakistani city of Quetta where he joined 10 more fighters. They went by taxi to the Maruf district of Kandahar province and a few nights later a group of 20 launched an unsuccessful attack on an officialâs house during which Rahmatullah, who wears a blue turban and a wispy black beard, was caught. "I donât care much for the Talibanâs opinion. I was just given money and fought for money," he said unapologetically. He was paid $55 for his troubles.
I guess itâs true, you get what you pay for. Quality gunnies cost money, Iâll bet Saddamâs boys are paying top dollar.
| I'd guess they're still getting them relatively cheaply in Iraq, as well. Cannon fodder's cheap and easily replaceable. If it's not, the jihad economic model doesn't work... |
The Taliban drew its strength in the 1990s from "talibs," or Islamic students, mostly in Pakistani madrassahs. Despite promises by Islamabad to reform them, they are widely seen as a continuing source of militant Islamic teaching.
| They're run by the Pak religious parties, naturally. They're the actual organizations making war against us... |
Mohammad Ramazan, a nervous-looking 20-year-old, was told to go and fight for the Taliban in Afghanistan by Mullah Mohammad Issah, a cleric in a Quetta madrassah. "Mullah Issah was teaching at the madrassah. He taught that the Americans are in Afghanistan and you have to go and join the Taliban and fight the jihad," he said.
Somebody needs to pay Issah a late night visit.
Wearing a skullcap and "shawal kameez" shirt, Ramazan recounted how he had also gone to Maruf, but decided to run away when he realized he had made a "big mistake."
"Wait a minute, we have to die before we get the virgins?"
He said he heard Taliban guerrillas discussing plans for attacks on U.S. forces and Afghan government soldiers. An intelligence official overseeing the interviews said Ramazan was involved in fighting but did not have a gun when caught. "I really miss my family, my wife and my mother. They come into my dreams every night," said Ramazan, before being led off back to his cell. Both inmates said they had met Pakistanis among the Taliban fighters, but no Arabs. An undisclosed number of more senior members of the militia are in U.S. custody at Kandahar air base or in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, prison officials said.
Iâll bet that all non-Afghan/Pakistani prisoners are being held by the US for "questioning" someplace safe. Afghanistan gets to keep the locals.
Mullah Sabir, alias Momin, deputy for senior Taliban commander Mullah Abdur Rahim, told Reuters members of the al Qaeda network were not operating in Afghanistan.
al Qaeda has moved to the Iraqi front, more chances at glory.
"The jihad will continue against coalition, and especially U.S. and British, forces and Afghan forces, because this is our religious duty," he told Reuters from an undisclosed location via satellite telephone.
Monitored by the CIA. |
It said the police operation took place on Friday in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni province, where the insurgents seized 23 South Koreans on July 19. The commanders who were killed during this operation were directly involved in the kidnapping case of the Korean hostages, the ministry said in a statement. It did not provide any further details or the identities of the slain Taliban. 
Afghan and US-led coalition forces said at least 39 suspected insurgents were killed in clashes since Monday, including a Taliban commander involved in the kidnapping of South Korean church workers while suicide blasts killed three police officers.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan police killed a Taliban