ASA Brother, I guess I didn't take it that way - I didn't see him as minimizing Mullah Omar. I took it to mean that Mullah Omar was given bad information.. which is why some of the "bad decisions"..
I read once that Mullah Omar was taken off of the list of terrorists or "most wanted". I have not been able to find it since. I also read once that the US was willing to talk with him.. can't find that now either.. but I just did a really quick search. They'll never find him anyway. kaukab siddique wrote: > > > *This is what the Karzai people want to believe, hoping against hope > that the Taliban will split.* > ** > *Note how he tries to minimize Mullah Omar although he is the leader > of Islamic resistance with a big bounty on his head from the U.S.* > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > To: [email protected] > From: [email protected] > Date: Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:17:47 +0000 > Subject: [bangla-vision] Re: Who Are the Afghani Taliban? - Suhail > Shaheen, a former Chief Editor of the Kabul Times > > > Salaamun Alaykum, > > Thank you for this, it was a very interesting read.. > > Wasalaam > Linda > > --- In [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>, Peace Justice > <bejust.pe...@...> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Dear Sir, > > One might get some new info. > >  > > > > > > > > > > > > Who Are the Afghani Taliban? > > Unraveling the Group's Roots, Divisions, and Today's Trend > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > By Suhail Shaheen > > Former Chief Editor of the Kabul Times > > > > > > > >  > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Afghan boys study with a mullah of a cave-mosque, in the Afghan > village of Mulayan, (Reuters photo)The emergence of Taliban was a > landmark event in Afghanistan. It has changed the whole political > scene in the country. Soon after its emergence in Sangsar village in > Uruzgan province, under the leadership of Mullah Omar, the movement > captured many Pashtun-dominated provinces without any remarkable > resistance. The war-weary Afghans welcomed them. They considered > Taliban as their saviors from daily armed clashes. However, after the > capturing of Kabul, Taliban faced dug-in resistance from militias > formed of other Afghan minorities like Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara which > continued until 2001. > >  > > The Roots of the Taliban > > > > > > > > > > After its invasion by the former Soviet Union, religious scholars in > Afghanistan rallied under the banner of Harakate-Inqilabe-Islami > Afghanistan. (Movement for Islamic Revolution in Afghanistan) led by > Maulavi Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi. He was a religious scholar and former > parliamentarian during the ex-king Zahir Shah government. > > His deputy, Malulavi Nasrulla Mansoor, was one of the prominent > members of Khudam-ul-Furqan party during the former king Zahir Shah > Regime. He was also a religious scholar and a Pashtun by ethnicity. > Nasrullah Mansoor splintered from Harakat in 1982, and formed his own > faction under the same name of Harakate-Inqilabe Islami Afghanistan. > > The government of Pakistan did not recognize his newly-founded > party, so he turned to Tehran for financial and logistical > assistance. Iran was funding Mansoor's faction through its diplomatic > channels based in Peshawar. > > The two resistance factions led by Maulavi Mohammad Nabi Mohmmadi > and Maulavi Nasrullah Mansoor formed their own religious students > unions, each by the name of Jamiate Tulabae Afghanistan (Afghanistan > Islamic students Association) and Tanzim Tulaba-ee Harakat (Harakat > Students Organization). > > Their head offices were situated in Peshawar,but their branches were > spread as far as Balochistan and other cities of North Western > Province of Pakistan. The organizers were considering these students > entities as their future strategic assets. > > They prepared them for political leadership in Afghanistan. > Maulavi Mansoor had built a big religious school near Bara, a > semiâEUR"autonomous area near Peshawar, in North Western Province of > Pakistan where teachers gave religious education to the students, as > well as some classes in English and history. > > Another branch of Tanzim Tulaba Harakat operated in Baluchistan. A > parallel faction under the leadership of M. M Nabi Mohammadi had built > a grand religious seminary in Charat Refugees Camp in the vicinity of > Peshawar, Pakistan, where Maulavi Mohammadi was living along with his > family. > > In 1992, before the fall of Najibulla regime, both factions > re-united under the name of Harakate Inqilabe Islami Afghanistan. By > then, the students' organizations had expanded in terms of numbers and > training facilities. > >  > > The Fall of Najibullah's Government  > > > > > > > >  > > After the fall of the last pro-Soviet government in Kabul in 1992, > Afghanistan became a gruesome scene of factional fighting. Various > armed factions controlled parts of the capital city Kabul. At least > 60,000 people were killed as a result of armed clashes. > > > > Fiefdoms emerged all over the country where the word of the > commander was a law unto itself. Unscrupulous gunmen had been imposing > arbitrary taxes on common people, and even raping defenseless women. > People were fed up with the status quo. > > They wanted a relief from these anomalies. Mullah Omar rose to the > occasion by launching a resistance movement against these warlords. > Soon thousands of Jamiate Tulaba and Tanzim Taulaba members joined the > new movement, forming the back bone of the newly-founded group. > > At the outset, their goal was to save the common Afghans from the > grips of the irresponsible commanders and gunmen. Their major > offensisve against Kandahar took place in October 1994. They had > already captured Maiwand district and Spin Boldack border city near > Pakistan. By September 1996, Taliban captured Kabul, the capital of > Afghanistan. > > Tahir Anwary and Arifulla Arif, the alternate heads of Tanzaim > Tulaba became minister and deputy minister of finance in the Taliban > government. > > Asadullah Hanafi, another head of Jamiate Islami Tulaba, got > important slot in the Taliban regime. Other members of the student's > orgizanization took up responsibility as governors, commanders, and > high-ranking officials. > >  > > Taliban's Groups From Inside: > > The Taliban could be divided into four sets of groups: > >  > > 1. Mullah Omar's group > > 2. Late Mullah Rabbani's group. > > 3. Members of other Afghan resistance parties. > > 4. Opportunist elements. > >  > > 1. Mullah Omar's group: Mullah Omar circle formed a radical but > influential group. They held important government slots and were very > influential in decision-making processes. They had sway over other > members. Unfortunately, this group kept Mullah Omar ignorant of what > was happening in response to some of his decisions and other > Taliban's policies. > > > > Mullah Omar hardly met non-Muslim foreign delegations, and was not > watching television either. He was completely relying on his small > clique of protégés. Moreover, some hard-line religious scholars > who tried hard to influence him time and again, were âEUR" in part > âEUR" responsible for some untimely and provocative decisions he > made. They encouraged him, for instance, to: > >  > > - Share no power with former Mujahideen, and crack down on them; > > - Reach no rapprochement with neighbors, particularly Russia and Iran; > > - Ban the Afghan television broadcasts although Taliban had allowed > Al-jazeera branch office to operate in Kabul; > > - Ban women's education although they clandestinely allowed female > students of the faculty of medicine to continue their education at the > 400-bedded military hospital in Kabul; > > - Destroy Buddha Statues. However, Mullah Omar had ordered in 1999 > through a decree that the Buddha Statues should be protected as > historical relics. Yet, in March 2001, he reversed his own decree; > > - Slaughter 100 cows, for celebration, after the demolition of the > Buddha Status. > > > > Distorted information given to Mullah Omar by clandestine hands > played a great role in his decisions whereas some groups misused his > nominal consent to take critical measures of grave consequences. > >  > > 2. Late Mullah Rabbani's group: Mullah Rabbani's circle constituted > the majority of Taliban. They wanted to put an end to the factional > fighting in Afghanistan, and bring about peace by establishing > moderate Muslim regime in the country. > > Prominent figures of these groups did not believe in the export of > the revolution, particularly in the chaotic situation that the country > was passing through. > > Some members of this group included prominent figures like Mullah > Mohammad Ghous, former foreign minister of Taliban, and many others. > >  > > 3. Members of other Afghan resistance parties: The third group > comprised of Taliban who had been members of other resistance parties. > When they became disgruntled with their factions, they joined the > newly formed Taliban Islamic Movement of Afghanistan. They wanted > peace for the common people and a Muslim regime in the country. There > were many former commanders and some qualified people among them, but > they held low-ranking posts and had no role in the policy-making > bodies of Taliban. > >  > > 4. Opportunist elements: > > > > > > > > Some opportunists who joined the Taliban were aiming to obtain > wealth, fame, and power.The fourth element is the opportunists who had > joined Taliban to obtain wealth, fame, and power. This group along > with some ultra-enthusiastic elements among Taliban ranks isolated > Taliban at world level, and created a gap between them and the common > people.  > >  > > Mullah Qalamuddin was chief of the Department of Prevention of Vices > and Promotion of Good at the first days of the Taliban government. > Unfortunately, members of his department frequently misbehaved common > people. > > This distanced the common sympathizers from the movement and even > pushed them toward hostile forces. He issued circular letters on > day-to-day basis, and used to send these letters to media and > NGOs. For example, a circular letter signed by him prohibited women > from using high heels shoes. Such actions caused widespread reaction > at home and abroad. > > After the fall of Taliban, Qalamuddin joined Karzai government and > ran for an Afghan National Assembly seat, but failed. He is now living > in Kabul. Another ultra-enthusiast was Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, the > Taliban minister of Justice. He also created uproars by his > uncalled-for actions. He is said now to be under detention of > Pakistani security forces. > > Mullah Mohammad Wali replaced Mullah Qalamuddin, as the Minister of > the Promotion of Good and Prevention of Vices. He continued along the > previous hard line. > > In an interview with Afghan Islamic Press Agency, Mullah Wali said > that the Afghan Sikh community members should hoist yellow banners > on their houses, and should carry yellow badges on their chests. > > In fact, it was his personal view. There was no decision at Taliban > leadership level or a decree issued by Mullah Omar in this > regard. However, it created widespread hue and cries, damaging the > image of the Taliban regime. These Taliban ultra-conservative > officials along with other opportunist elements among the ranks and > files of Taliban added to the defamation of Taliban. > > Even up to this day, the Taliban leadership has not launched > investigation to find out whether these persons were acting by > themselves or were acting by instructions from some foreign > intelligence agencies. > > There is a strong possibility that some secret actors had role in > the provocative actions which contributed to Taliban failure to rise > as a strong model of a Muslim regime for the Ummah. > > The other blunder of Taliban was that its leadership focused more on > defeating the Northern Alliance forces led by commander Ahmad Shah > Massoud rather than on reconstruction and development projects. People > wanted peace, but after peace, they wanted economic prosperity and > employment. Taliban did not meet these demands. > > International community, Muslim countries, and religious scholars > did not try to engage Taliban. Their engagement would have helped > Taliban to frame more popular and pragmatic policies. > > > > In this case, Mullah Omar would not have taken the above-mentioned > decicions. However, the Muslim world just left him to a small clique > of hard-line but sycophant elements. Neighboring countries specially > the Muslim ones must be blamed for this neglect. Unfortunately, this > mistake is being repeated anew. > >  > > After Their Ousting > > > > > > > > > > The Taliban were not familiar with the tactics of underground > struggle. After the fall of Kandahar, Taliban leaders and low-rank > members spread all over Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Gulf countries and > even some went to Europe. > > The Taliban structure of organization fell down. Before the > inception of the American attacks, they had not chalked out a > comprehensive strategy to keep their organization intact in case of > defeat. It was only in 2003 that some leaders of Taliban set to > re-organize the resistance anew. However, they could only launch > sporadic attacks. > > Only in 2004-2005, the resistance gathered momentum. Still, the > Taliban have not been able to win back all their former members from > their private life. About 20-30 percent of former Taliban members > have opted to continue their private life giving up any political > participation up to this day. > > This percentage would have been further high, had the US extremist > policy of detaining and prosecuting them not pushed the Taliban ranks > and file to rally once again around their leadership. The Taliban > leaders are now greatly relying on new recruits. > >  > > Today's Trend > > Still, there are some personality cults among Taliban, like the > protégés of Mullah Omar, Mullah Obaidulla; former defense minister, > Mullah Brother, Mullah Jallaluddin Haqani, and others. However, the > current Taliban leadership is more pragmatic and mellowed.  > > "We would like to live up to the expectations of the people. We want > to be in contact with our people through their representatives, > elders, notables and religious scholars. No doubts there are problems > facing the nation, but these are the grave outcome of the war. On our > behalf, we would try to alleviate their sufferings as far as we can," > Mullah Brother said in a recent interview. > > This is a new trend in Taliban's popular policy. They are usually > reputed for monopolizing power and not catering to the demands of the > masses. > > Mullah Mautasseim Agha Jan, the head of the Political Commission > envisages further share for the Afghans in a national government. > > > > "Upon the withdrawal of foreign troops, the Muslim Emirate will have > consultation with all important circles of the Afghan issue to reach > an understanding about a mechanism of political set-up in > Afghanistan," Agha said. > > However, military commanders who are waging the current armed > battles are rigid in their approach regarding core issues. > Monopolizing power in their hands and not catering to people's needs > are their mistakes, which will keep them away from the masses. They > believe in military solution of the Afghan issue rather than diplomacy. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Suhail Shaheen is a former Chief Editor of the Kabul Times and a > freelance Journalist based in Afghanistan. He can be reached through > politics.inde...@... > > > http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1245846053438&pagename=Zone-English-Muslim_Affairs/MAELayout > > <http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1245846053438&pagename=Zone-English-Muslim_Affairs/MAELayout> > > > > > > For any personal reply, please reply me bejust.pe...@... > > Join me @facebook! > > Thanks a lot for your time. > > BeJustPeace > > N.B.: I never mail any advertisement or spam - so if you get > somethine like this from this account, please forgive me as sometimes, > people may spam using my ID. Wish you all the best. RESPECT. > > > > > > > -- Linda *http://freedetainees.org <http://freedetainees.org/> "If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber'd here While these visions did appear..." - William Shakespeare * --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "bangla-vision" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bangla-vision?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
