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| Afghanistan | |
| Expelled British envoys tried to turn Taliban chief | |
| 2008-01-08 | |
If they had succeeded it would have been a coup for the western allies shoring up the government of Hamid Karzai in Kabul. Instead, Mervyn Patterson, a high-ranking UN official, and Michael Semple, the acting head of the EU mission to Afghanistan, were expelled after an Afghan national “confessed” to Afghan intelligence that he had accompanied the two to a secret meeting with Dadullah in Musa Qala. Days later the Taliban sacked Dadullah for refusing to obey orders, according to a statement to the Pakistan-based Islamic Press Agency by a Taliban spokesman. He said that sympathisers of Dadullah should break all contacts with him and continue their jihad. Dadullah took over the Taliban’s southern stronghold last May after his brother, Mullah Dadullah, was killed by Afghan forces. Of 86 Britons killed in Afghanistan since October 2001, 27 were killed by the Taliban since Dadullah took charge. He now claims to command more than 25,000 battle-hardened fighters who are loyal to him. Patterson, from Northern Ireland, and Semple, an Irish passport-holder who has worked as a British diplomat in Pakistan, are regarded as two of the most knowledgeable and experienced political officers in Afghanistan. They speak fluent Dari and Pashtun and have extensive contacts. According to friends, they were visiting Musa Qala on a fact-finding mission. However, the governor of Helmand province, Assadullah Wafa, complained to Karzai that they had met Taliban commanders, and demanded action be taken. The UN denied the men were involved in an intelligence operation or that they held talks with Dadullah. Dadullah also denied meeting foreigners. | |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #7 "Semple, an Irish passport-holder who has worked as a British diplomat in Pakistan" Since when do the Brits allow non-citizens to be their diplomats? Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2008-01-08 13:10 |
| #6 Dadullah also denied meeting foreigners. I bet he did, but whether he did or not the bug is out. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-01-08 11:06 |
| #5 While whackjobs here in America are drooling about imagined "conspiracies" of all sorts, the real wheels within wheels are turning, as always, everywhere around the world. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2008-01-08 10:57 |
| #4 What makes this story more credible than the one that they were giving cash and arms to the taliban? The old IRA were Commie, laundering NK's counterfeit "Superdollars" in conjunction with the Russian Mafia through UK banks. The bills were moved in part in diplomatic bags. Large caches of arms and explosives have been found hidden in rural farmhouses in Ireland's Lake District, revered mystical areas frequented by Germans on holiday. An (former) East German family, traveling the EU for the first time, were staying at the same B&B we were, just down the road from the raid. I'd certainly take a closer look at any high-ranking UN official talking to the Taliban. |
| Posted by: Danielle 2008-01-08 10:32 |
| #3 What makes this story more credible than the one that they were giving cash and arms to the taliban? Wanting to believe it don't make it so... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2008-01-08 08:08 |
| #2 And how's Helmand province doing re. terrorism anyway? This sort of suggests certain folks ought to be keeping more than the usual eye on Assadullah Wafa. |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-01-08 05:46 |
| #1 Am I the only one or should these two be put back on the job? |
| Posted by: gorb 2008-01-08 05:45 |