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| Afghanistan |
| Reintegration hinges on turncoat Taliban |
| 2011-05-21 |
| Only weeks ago, Mullah Noorul Aziz was thick in the fight against Afghan and United States forces, leading more than 600 Taliban fighters across the deserts, mountains and river valleys of southern Afghanistan to plant land mines and carry out ambushes. Today, his life is in the midst of a complete reversal, having switched sides by signing on to an internationally backed effort to reintegrate militants. The 30-something Aziz's steps into the unknown are treacherous, and highly significant to other Taliban members weighing President Hamid Karzai's calls for them to drop their fight and rejoin the folds of Afghan society. "I believed the president when he said that every Taliban [fighter] is my friend and my brother and that the infidel foreigners should go back to their own countries," says Aziz. "We have to live peacefully here because we are the sons of the soil. He promised to share with us whatever is available to him and his people. [He promised] that we will have cars, houses and jobs like people now siding with the government. [He said] their open embrace is waiting for us." In many ways, the fate of the government's reintegration effort lies in the fate of Aziz who just earlier this year had been appointed the Taliban's shadow governor of the northern Kunduz province. If he can live in peace and safety while managing to eke out a living, and is ultimately accepted into society, it could serve as a signal to Taliban members that they indeed have a stake in a peaceful future. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #4 But his lease is only required until November of Next year. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2011-05-21 20:40 |
| #3 I'm reminded of the old proverb, You can't buy an Arab's friendship. You merely rent it. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2011-05-21 18:49 |
| #2 drug him and RFID him......just in case. He'd understand |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-05-21 17:56 |
| #1 ...and next month he'll be selling his loyalty to someone else. |
| Posted by: gromky 2011-05-21 15:13 |