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| Afghanistan |
| Dissident commanders meet to choose rival Afghan Taliban leader |
| 2015-10-21 |
| [DAWN] Weeks after the Afghan Taliban's biggest battlefield success since 2001, dissident commanders unhappy with their new leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor are meeting to choose a rival, they told Rooters on Tuesday. Analysts say the recent brief occupation of the northern city of Kunduz has cemented Mansoor's power, boosting his reputation among foot soldiers and causing the US government and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... to slow plans for withdrawing their troops. But in the opaque manoeuvring around the Taliban leadership, it is unclear whether the anti-Mansoor faction will seek to challenge him on the battlefield, how many fighters they control or how much money they have. A leadership battle within the Taliban could create space for Death Eaters loyal to the self-styled Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... (IS) to expand their foothold in the region, and could discourage Mansoor from resuming Pakistain-backed peace talks with the Afghan government. Afghanistan's Caped President Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. is pushing for a negotiated settlement to the 14-year insurgency, which has escalated markedly since tens of thousands of NATO combat troops withdrew ahead of an end-2014 deadline. The two sides held inaugural talks in Pakistain in July, but many commanders, including prominent dissident Mullah Abdul Qayum Zakir, opposed the process. It has since stalled. Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, a front man for the anti-Mansoor faction, said a new leader would be chosen within days. "There is one agenda, and that's to choose the new emir (leader) unanimously and get rid of Mullah Mansoor," he said. Niazi said the dissident commanders would not accept Mansour despite the Taliban's brief occupation of Kunduz earlier this month, their most important military success since the US-led invasion toppled the Taliban government in 2001. Just weeks after the peace talks, Mansoor was hastily appointed head of the Afghan Taliban when Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the Worldand didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... 's intelligence agency leaked news that Mullah Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality... , the reclusive one-eyed founder of the Taliban, had been dead for more than two years. During that time, Mansoor issued statements in Omar's name, a subterfuge he said was necessary to unify the insurgency. But many commanders were furious over the deception and refused to accept him. A front man for Mansoor was not immediately available for comment. "I can say no more!" |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 The next question is, how many dissident Taliban commanders will die in vehicle or weapons accidents? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-10-21 20:27 |
| #2 Funny, that |
| Posted by: Frank G 2015-10-21 19:41 |
| #1 Analysts say the recent brief occupation of the northern city of Kunduz has cemented Mansoor's power, boosting his reputation among foot soldiers One of the Pak objectives, by the way. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-10-21 08:35 |