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StrategyPage Afghanistan: The Best Terrorists Money Can Buy
The increase in Taliban violence in Afghanistan over the last year has been caused mainly by money. Terrorism supporters in the Middle East (mainly Saudi Arabia) moved 5-10 million dollars to Pakistan to fund the current fighting. This is known from interrogations of captured Taliban fighters, and months of Afghan and American troops wandering around the back country of southern Afghanistan and just talking to people. The U.S. Army Special Forces are particularly good at this, since many of them speak the local languages, and have developed many contacts in the rural areas. It goes like this. Taliban leaders, many of them returning from exile across the border in Pakistan, showed up in Afghanistan last year with lots of cash. That, plus their tribal and family contacts, enabled them to hire hundreds of fighters. For unemployed, or under- employed, Afghan young men, this was an attractive offer. The recruiting was going on among pro-Taliban tribes. If you signed on, you got $300 cash up front, plus $150 a month for 6-10 days of work a month. That compares to $50-100 a month for a full time job, if you could find it. Many of these guys keep their Taliban activities quiet, for there are a lot of people who support the new national government, or simply were mistreated by the Taliban in the past and haven't forgotten. The government also pays for information. Rest at link. Posted by: ed 2006-03-06 |
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