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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan Warlord Feared Teaming Up With Qaeda and Taliban |
| 2002-05-31 |
| Remnants of al Qaeda and the senior leadership of the Taliban are trying to build ties to a warlord, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, with the goal of attacking American-led forces and undermining the interim government in Kabul, senior American and British military officials here said today. This comes as a surprise to somebody? Where've they been? Since Mr. Hekmatyar returned to Afghanistan earlier this year after several years of exile in Iran, he and his Islamic Party have been considered a threat to the government led by Hamid Karzai and to coalition troops operating here. But while coalition officials initially thought Mr. Hekmatyar was plotting to seize power for himself — as he brutally but unsuccessfully tried to do in the 1990's — they say they have now gathered intelligence indicating that he is also building alliances with al Qaeda and the Taliban. That's because he's been out of power and the Talibs destroyed part of his organization and absorbed the rest. He's a pariah and nobody likes him except for his klan. Having been pushed out of eastern Afghanistan into the semiautonomous tribal areas of western Pakistan, senior Qaeda and Taliban officials are now thought to be trying to use Hekmatyar and his organization in Afghanistan to mount terrorist attacks to disrupt the selection of a new national government by the loya jirga. "He has links to al Qaeda and Taliban," a senior coalition military officer said. "He could be used by them to create a vector for them to return to power." Zackly the same as he intends to use them to return to power... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |