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| Students at Science College in Daegu, South Korea, hold photos of their classmate, Im Hyun Joo, one of 21 hostages being held
in Afghanistan. Ahn Young-joon/AP |
Taliban leaves tribal roots for Al Qaeda tactics
The Taliban has adopted more aggressive tactics – such as kidnappings and suicide bombings – imported directly from the Al Qaeda-led global jihad.
from the August 1, 2007 edition
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Negotiating for the release of hostages has always been a natural means of maintaining calm in elders' districts. "We are being killed by both sides: How long should it last?" says Khair Mohammed, an elder from Nangahar Province who speaks in measured tones as he leans forward on one of the guesthouse's brown couches. "But the way forward is that we should get these people [hostages] out peacefully or else it will cause more problems."
This is becoming increasingly difficult, however. In Ghazni, talks with tribal elders to free the Koreans have reportedly broken down. Whatever progress was made at first, with elders securing several deadline extensions, has dissolved. The hard-line Taliban leadership is far more aligned with Al Qaeda than the local foot soldiers, and they have taken control of the situation.
"First, these [kidnappings] happen with the local Taliban who are easy to talk to," says an Afghan government security official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. "But the longer these incidents last, the worse it becomes."
For example, when a German journalist was kidnapped in Kunar Province last week, tribal elders were able to secure his release within hours. But now, the Korean hostage situation is being coordinated by Taliban with connections to Pakistan's intelligence service, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), say the government security official and the governor of Ghazni, Mirajuddin Patan.
Pakistan officials deny any involvement in the kidnapping, and say that the ISI is a favorite Afghan scapegoat.
"Intentionally, Al Qaeda exploits these things to make it difficult for the international community," says the Afghan official.
The goal is to spread fear among Afghanistan's international coalition, and the Taliban – like Al Qaeda in Iraq – has recognized the effectiveness of hostage-taking. "NATO has said there has been no spring offensive," says Pakistani author Mr. Ahmed. "This is the offensive."
As with Al Qaeda's Madrid bombings, "the goal is to create opposition at home for some of these very fragile foreign governments that are facing opposition to their presence in Afghanistan," says Ahmed.
But it could also create problems for the Taliban in Afghanistan, where tribal leaders are still deeply respected. "It was
surprising to me that the Taliban did not accept the reasoning of the elders and important people of Ghazni," says Abdul Salam
Raketi, a former member of the Taliban who is now a lawmaker, and was part of one of the government’s negotiating teams.
"It is really dangerous for the future of the Taliban," he says. "If people are supporting the Taliban a little, they won’t
support them at all anymore because the Taliban did not listen to their elders in negotiations."
Elder Spandagul calls this the work of Chechens and Pakistanis who have come here to wage global jihad – and Afghan elders are powerless to stop them. In times past, tribes had their own militia, but these were disbanded with the establishment of the Western-backed government, and nothing has risen in their place. Many police patrols are unable to venture a mile from their posts.
Mr. Alizai of Kandahar recalls the day that a group of French soldiers came and asked why the Taliban were attacking from his district. "Because I have empty hands," he says. "If we don't have weapons how can we defend ourselves? They come and cut our necks."
It is the waning of a tribal culture that has governed the remotest corners of Afghanistan for generations, say elders. In areas so unconnected to the broader world, tribes still have a role to play in keeping order. But they are increasingly ground between a government seeking the trappings of a modern, centralized power structure and an insurgency seeking to further its own global ends.
"Both the Taliban and the government give us respect because they need us," says Spandagul. "If they didn't need us they would kick us out."
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