Reforming The Taliban

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai loves all his people. His people also comprise the Taliban. They have no love for him.

But President Karzai is well aware that time is running down where he can depend on the international community to sacrifice its military on behalf of his government. Training of the national police and the Afghanistan military by foreign military associated with NATO and the UN ISAF mission is ongoing and it is hoped that Afghans will finally be able to cope on their own in controlling violent jihadists among them.

The Taliban believe otherwise. They have nothing but contempt for Karzai, his corrupt instruments of administration, and his police and his military. Covertly they have proven themselves quite capable of infiltrating both the military and the police. In uniform as trainees or as simple impostors they have continued their jihadist agenda of wreaking vengeance against foreign interlopers, with Afghans in uniform turning against their foreign trainers.

Three police chiefs have been assassinated thus far, in Kandahar, along with a governor of the province in Kunduz - and police stations are continually being assaulted, new recruits slaughtered. Some of these attacks are not successful, many more are; some are "martyrdom" attacks, and with some the attackers successfully escape to go on to other exploits as Talib faithful.

The Taliban show no mercy, quite capable of the task they have set themselves, attacking and murdering villagers whom they suspect of working with foreign forces, laying traps for foreign forces through the expert manufacture and placing of improvised explosive devices, and withdrawing over the border to sanctuary within the mountainous badlands of Pakistan to regroup and spend the winter before beginning spring assaults.

When they lose members there are always more, eager new recruits to take their place, to be trained and energized in the struggle of the mujahadeen against the foreign elements who have once again invaded their country. A Taliban by the name of Toor Jan was recently interviewed for the National Post by Brian Hutchinson, in Kandahar City.

This commander of the Taliban troops decided he would take advantage of President Karzai's appeal to the militantly violent 'scholars' that if they abandoned their war with Afghanistan they would be welcomed back to normal society, given good employment and protection, cars and housing. Jan was actively involved manufacturing and setting IEDs at a time that Canadian forces were installed in Kandahar. During the 7 years he fought there, 126 Canadian soldiers died.

"We seized opportunities. Sometimes we ambushed. We would sit in a trench, waiting for the foreigners to approach, and then attack. Then we would run away fast, so they had no chance to counterattack. Sometimes we succeeded, sometimes we failed. But the IEDs were fantastic. We would plant them in areas where we knew the foreign troops were coming, and when they came we would just blow them up. From Iran we received RPGs and machine guns."

He described also how he and his men had no compunction about beheading 26 Afghan civilians in a small village. Encouraging them through fear and lies to join them, or at least not to betray their activities to the foreign soldiers. "We told them the foreigners were destroying their houses, their fields, their orchards, and killing their children. That is why the people became angry against them. They became violent against them."

That made recruitment among the villagers far easier. "We had 60 groups of Taliban fighters in Panjwaii. Each group had five to ten Talibs, and they were spread around the district. When we lost someone more fighters would arrive to take their place." He was himself so successful at what he did, he was given the post of district commander.

Finally he decided that the ongoing slaughter on both sides accomplished nothing at all for Afghans and Afghanistan. "The benefits only go to neighbouring countries. The sufferers and the casualties are Afghans. So I decided to switch sides. I heard about this reconciliation process. The government claimed that anyone who comes forward will be saved and can live in Afghanistan in peace."

Although he took part in the interview, and he was candidly clear about what he had done, with no apologies, no hesitation about revealing the atrocities he was involved with, he clearly felt he had nothing to apologize for, even while speaking to a representative of a foreign country, many of whose soldiers he had personally gone out of his way to kill.

But he was clearly less than satisfied with the bargain he had made with the government of Afghanistan. He was under Taliban threat, and had no bodyguards. ISAF had arrested one of his men who had surrendered with him, and his brother remains imprisoned. These are the factions of a country that is expecting that reconciliation will finalize a peace.