| Submit your comments on this article |
| Afghanistan |
| Afghan Rebel Leader Reportedly Declares Cease-Fire |
| 2007-07-19 |
| Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a wanted rebel leader in Afghanistan, has reportedly declared a cease-fire in fighting against the Afghan government. In a statement reportedly signed by Hekmatyar and aired by a private television station, the rebel leader says members of his group are refraining from violence and have "assumed political activity." Hekmatyar Hekmatyar served briefly as Afghan prime minister in the mid-1990s and participated in many of Afghanistan's internecine conflicts. His faction, Hizb-e Islami, helped end the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Hekmatyar later became allied with the Taliban regime, but the Taliban chased him out of Kabul in 1996. In 2006, Hekmatyar appeared in a video aired on the Arabic language Al-Jazeera television station and declared he wanted his forces to fight alongside Al-Qaeda. On July 15, the Afghan Defense Ministry announced that 30 fighters aligned with Hizb-e Islami had laid down their weapons and agreed to cooperate with the government. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #23 Ceasefire? Okay, let's get together and negotiate. You won't need a change of turbans. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2007-07-19 20:35 |
| #22 What the Hek? What? The Hek? What the? Hek? (with apologies to Richard Brautigan) |
| Posted by: Trout Fishing in America Shorty 2007-07-19 18:15 |
| #21 ... the rebel leader says members of his group are refraining from violence and have "assumed political activity." I thought violence was political activity in them thar hills. |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2007-07-19 17:47 |
| #20 I don't recall seeing your nym before, D.R.M. Welcome to Rantburg! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-07-19 16:55 |
| #19 SOP for insurgencies that are losing: Say you will negotiate and use the political process until you can regroup. |
| Posted by: D. R. M. 2007-07-19 14:28 |
| #18 Yup - Hudna. Time to hit 'em hard. |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-07-19 13:33 |
| #17 Must be running low on cannon fodder and ammunition as well as hiding places. I blame it on the dreaded Afghan Winter™ Oh wait, it's summertime? If that d@mn George Bush would've signed Kyoto, we'd no longer have to fear the dreaded Afghan Winter™ |
| Posted by: BA 2007-07-19 13:29 |
| #16 they go through the idiots at State. We're all doomed, DOOMED I tellz ya'! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-07-19 13:20 |
| #15 Problem is, truces do not go thru the military, they go through the idiots at State. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2007-07-19 13:07 |
| #14 This is surrender under the cover of the "political activity". Make it permanent and keep up the good work! |
| Posted by: Angavigum Oppressor of the Leprechauns7589 2007-07-19 12:39 |
| #13 Let me put it another way: Any Western military commander found agreeing to even the remotest kind of truce, ceasefire or other form of temporary halt to hostilities should be courtmartialed on the spot. There is no such thing when fighting Islamic terrorists and to even think so physically endangers all troops under one's command. This needs to become SOP. Islam must be subjected to continuous and unrelenting pressure until it cracks like the glass-jawed bully it is. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-07-19 12:20 |
| #12 During the Soviet invasion he spent more time fighting Massood than teh Soviets. And having his ass handled. Then the ISI tried to use him against Massood but after another defeat they dropped him and brought Mullah Omar. |
| Posted by: JFM 2007-07-19 12:08 |
| #11 Keep hitting them. No mercy. No hunda. You fuckers sowed the wind, now reap the whirlwind. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-07-19 11:47 |
| #10 Maybe he's got bad knees. Really, sneaking around those rocky hills, day and night, running here, crouching there, takes its toll. The old guy prolly needs a good recliner, a beer, and a remote. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-07-19 11:37 |
| #9 Hasn't this guy always been kind of a phony? Always on the periphery of things but never really the main man? Never really sure whose side he's on. Strong enough to be a nuisance but nothing more? Generally untrustworthy? Correct me if I'm wrong but that's always the impression I've gotten. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2007-07-19 11:33 |
| #8 To paraphrase AlanC: No [/Belushi] |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-07-19 11:10 |
| #7 Eyebrows raised right up into my hairline, they did. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2007-07-19 10:46 |
| #6 Gimme an H, gimme a U, gimme a D, gimme a N, gimme a A, what do you have????? HUDNA, HUDNA, HUDNA!!!!!!! Must be running low on cannon fodder and ammunition as well as hiding places. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2007-07-19 10:43 |
| #5 Maybe he finally figured out why his buddy Dadullah never calls him back... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-07-19 10:28 |
| #4 |
| Posted by: lotp 2007-07-19 10:23 |
| #3 US is building a fortification that just happens to overlook the vally where Hek's forces are hiding in Pakistan. Attempts to keep locals from contributing labor are failing - some are intimidated by Hek and radical leaders, others like the pay. Hek's hiding places are growing fewer in number and lesser in security right now. |
| Posted by: lotp 2007-07-19 10:17 |
| #2 ..we wait for futher details.. |
| Posted by: RD 2007-07-19 10:15 |
| #1 my Jaw just dropped, this has gotta be a weasel move...? |
| Posted by: RD 2007-07-19 10:13 |