Page 2 of
2 How the Taliban prepare for
battle By Syed Saleem Shahzad
resistance. He relates how, when he has to
travel in high-risk areas, a friendly, highly
placed government official from Kandahar takes him
in his jeep - complete with official license
plates. He adds that much of the material he
sources comes from the government.
Commenting on the Taliban's tactics, he
said, "We follow the techniques of
remote-controlled explosive devices used by the
Iraqi
resistance. But our technology is different. The
Iraqis improvise with various explosive materials
and then link it to a remote control.
"Our
source of explosives is anti-personal and
anti-tank mines. These were in the possession of
various warlords who looted them after the fall of
the communist government in Kabul [early 1990s].
They either sold or donated the mines to us," said
Abdul Jalil.
"These mines are our main
source and we link them with remote controls and
effectively blow up our targets. But this is not
the
only source - the other source is American
bombs.
"Many of the bombs they drop from
the air do not explode. I am an expert in defusing
these unexploded bombs, and there are many others
like me. We extract all the explosives inside the
bomb shells and use them for sacrifice [suicide]
attacks," said Abdul Jalil.
Over endless
cups of tea, Abdul Jalil, Mehmood and Hamid
discussed the various colors of the Taliban-led
resistance.
"The Taliban will be ready to
mobilize next summer, but the lead role will be
played by local tribes and pro-government
warlords. All tribes, including the one Hamid
Karzai belongs to [Durrani], do not support the
Kabul government. The Taliban will be a leader,
but the main engine will be dissatisfied tribes
and warlords," said Abdul Jalil.
The three
men stressed that during the winter lull in
fighting, the Taliban would focus on establishing
better coordination among their rank and file and
in improving their links in the government. Secret
arms dumps would also be restocked.
On
the road again Along with colleague Qamar
Yousufzai, we planned to travel to Musa Killa,
where, after a prolonged fight and siege by the
Taliban, British forces evacuated the area and
handed over control to tribal elders.
Abdul Jalil pointed out that the two of us
should not travel alone in a taxi. While this
correspondent could pass for an Afghan, Qamar
looked Pakistani. We therefore decided to share a
taxi with several other people.
As soon as
we left Kandahar, the driver began playing a
cassette tape of Pashtu music. Immediately one of
the passengers objected, and demanded that the
tape be ejected and his played instead. So we then
traveled along to the sounds of Taliban jihadist
songs (but with no music) condemning the United
States in particular and the West in general.
This was followed by a tape extolling the
Prophet Mohammed and attacking cartoons published
in the West that ridiculed him. The singer vowed
that revenge would be taken by defeating the
Americans in Afghanistan.
On the way to
Helmand province we passed through several
official checkpoints, but the Afghan police didn't
check anything, only demanding that the driver pay
10 Pakistani rupees.
"This is not an
octroi [toll]. This is pure extortion by
the police and we pay because we do not have any
option," the driver muttered. The Afghan police do
not have a good reputation among the masses. They
are notorious for being involved in extortion, and
they love to shake down strangers. They are not
beyond kidnapping, and even assassination.
As the taxi approached the district of
Gerishk and the last police checkpoint before
Taliban country, the passenger who had supplied
the tapes asked with a smile, "Now tell me, who
are you are and why you are going to Musa Killa?"
"I am a journalist and want to see how the
Taliban manage their areas and how they operate,"
I told him, fully aware that he must be Taliban.
"Oh, a journalist ... you mean the people
who play with danger. Meet me, I also play the
same game," he said with a laugh but without
providing his name.
But he was not joking.
He turned out to be part of the Taliban structure
in Helmand coordinating activities between Taliban
strongholds in the province and Taliban pockets in
Kandahar city.
The Taliban in Helmand are
expected to play a central role in the planned
fall of Kandahar. Many top field commanders are
already concentrated there and Taliban leader
Mullah Omar is expected to spend some time in the
province making formal tribal arrangements that
will unify all tribes under one pro-Taliban flag.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia
Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be
reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com.
(Copyright 2006 Asia Times Online Ltd. All
rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
only source - the other source is American
bombs. 
