Asia Times
May 5, 2005
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

The US, content in the belief that all support systems for the Taliban had been withdrawn and their financial lifelines completely dried up - and with moderate Taliban being drawn into the mainstream political fold in Afghanistan - has been shocked by a new phase of fierce Taliban resistance this spring.

The visits of Lieutenant-General David Barno, commander of US troops in Afghanistan, and chief of US Central Command, General John Abizaid, to Islamabad and their insistence that Pakistan restart a powerful campaign against al-Qaeda and the Taliban is the result of a new realization that the Taliban problem is back to square one.

Not only are the Taliban primed in the latest techniques in guerrilla warfare, they have also got their hands on fresh resources - both in terms of personnel and supplies - which the US had believed were choked off.

Against the backdrop of a strong re-emergence of the Taliban across south and southeastern Afghanistan, especially when Kabul is claiming to have split the Taliban, a powerful operation has been planned in a specific belt along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border that starts in the North Waziristan tribal area in Pakistan and runs south as far as the Afghan province of Zabul.

Zabul is where the former student militia that became known as the Taliban rose against feuding warlords who were tearing Afghanistan apart in the mid-1990s, and with an exemplary military mobilization seized control of most major Afghan cities without much bloodshed before taking power in Kabul in 1996.

According to some reports, the operation in North Waziristan has already started. However, it is unlike the ones adopted in South Waziristan in the past to root out Taliban and foreign fighters. The blueprint for this operation was prepared on the advice of US intelligence, which pin-pointed areas in Miranshah, Mir Ali and near Data Khail. The operation is aimed at specific targets, rather than broad actions.

Asia Times Online has unconfirmed information that a raid was conducted on Jalaluddin Haqqani's house in North Waziristan, and that his son, Sirajuddin Haqqani, was taken into custody. Jalaluddin is a legendary mujahideen commander from the Afghan resistance against the Soviets in the 1980s and a key figure in the present Taliban resistance. (Through the eyes of the Taliban, May 5, 2004)

Sirajuddin was apparently the main contact in the Taliban's latest strategy of guerrilla warfare which revolves around recruiting youths to be given specialized training for targeted attacks.

Apart from targeting the Taliban, there is another reason for the latest offensive in the North Waziristan region. Intelligence gathered from local tribals by US operatives and shared with their Pakistan counterparts suggests that in the past several weeks top al-Qaeda figure Dr Aiman al-Zawahiri had been sighted in different places, including Birmal (in Paktika province in Afghanistan, near North Waziristan) and in Zabul province, today's epicenter of the Taliban resistance.

Further, according to sources close to Afghan tribals, Taliban leader Mullah Omar was also seen in Zabul, as was the Taliban's top commander, Mullah Dadullah. The presence of these men, along with al-Zawahiri, suggests that meetings took place in Zabul aimed at escalating the level of the resistance.

Taliban re-emergence
Up until 2003, the US was appreciative of Pakistan's role in hunting down al-Qaeda, but dissatisfied with its efforts against the Taliban, complaining that Islamabad still sided with them.

However, when the US agreed to cultivate a Taliban force - on strong Pakistani recommendations and assistance - to support Hamid Karzai in the runup to last year's presidential elections, the US was satisfied that Pakistan had stopped supporting the Taliban, and hoped that the resistance would die a natural death in the absence of material support and safe sanctuaries. (See US turns to the Taliban, June 14, 2003.)

And the US continued to broaden its base of influential former pro-Taliban commanders. A great success was Mullah Abdus Salam Rocketi, a powerful warlord who supported the Taliban during their rule, who sided with Karzai. Rocketi was provided with huge funds to distribute among tribal chiefs in Zabul and Kandahar to buy their support to block Taliban activities in their areas during the presidential elections.

A similar deal was struck with veteran pro-Taliban commander Saifullah Mansoor (son of a legendary commander of the Afghan resistance against the Soviets, Nasrullah Mansoor). He had previously carried out deadly actions against US troops in Shahikot, in which 18 US soldiers were killed, in early 2002. Saifullah was paid a huge bribe to ensure that he would not interrupt the election process in Zarmat and Gardez.

Similarly, bribes were distributed to local warlords in Khost and Paktia to ensure smooth elections, which the US-backed Karzai won easily. At the same time, to gain support among Afghan warlords, the US and the Kabul administration turned a blind eye to the huge number of poppy fields in Afghanistan, from which the majority of the world's heroin is now produced.

However, in doing all of this, a major factor was ignored: the powerful tribal bonds of Afghan society. In giving money to people like Rocketi and Mansoor, it is a sure bet that some of it made its way to the Taliban. Similarly, by allowing warlords to grow poppy, some of their profits would filter through to the Taliban.

The logical result is the re-emergence of the Taliban - more monied, more resourceful and better organized.

Syed Saleem Shahzad, Bureau Chief, Pakistan, Asia Times Online.

Copyright 2005 Asia Times Online Ltd

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