Taliban kidnappings rise, but style differs from Al Qaeda

The release of an Italian reporter in Afghanistan Monday sheds light on Taliban tactics.

from the March 20, 2007 edition

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Mastrogiacomo's capture and release are a window into why the Taliban have been more tolerant of journalists than has Al Qaeda.

"Al Qaeda in Iraq has ... the idea that all foreigners are the enemy. This has never been the case with the Taliban," says Ahmed Rashid, author of "Taliban."

Instead, the Taliban have targeted those they see to be working for the current Western-backed government, whether they be politicians, Western troops, or contractors and aid workers. This also might have played into the abduction of Mastrogiacomo. The Taliban initally misidentified him as a British writer named John Nichol – who had previously been a member of the Royal Air Force – calling Mastrogiacomo a British spy.

The Taliban consider themselves the legitimate Afghan government, and require journalists to alert them of their plans to travel through Taliban-controlled areas. In the past, most journalists have been detained for not alerting the Taliban of their travel plans, and then released once Taliban authorities have established that they were not spies or government officials.

This is an outgrowth of the Taliban's roots in the "holy war" against the Soviets, when journalists were often the best allies of the mujahideen. "These people know what Western journalism is," says Mr. Rashid.

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