"Talking to the Taliban"

[MarkOttawa]

A major piece of work at the Globe and Mail (mulitmedia presentation), led by their Afstan correspondent Graham Smith. What struck me most in the first story is what little interest ordinary Taliban types seem to have in their senior leadership. So there should be opportunities for talk, ignoring the leadership, at various points.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/talkingtothetaliban

For example:

Afghanistan: New Helmand Governor Confirms Desire For Talks With Taliban

The new governor of an embattled province in southern Afghanistan has confirmed his intention to negotiate with "second- and third-tier" Taliban to achieve greater security.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/03/6577fde7-395c-47f4-987f-925a4861dfc1.html

Mark
Ottawa

 

[GGboy]

What a peculiar story ...
It's being written by the Globe almost as if it were an opinion poll, yet a sidebar to the main article (the first in a six-part series) reveals methodology that is clearly non-representative and highly susceptible to manipulation even given the best of intentions and motivations. The interviews with the Taliban were conducted by an unnamed Afghan "fixer" for the Globe, who also selected the subjects and asked questions from a list prepared by Graeme Smith the Globe's reporter. Even assuming the fixer(s) in question was honest and not subject to intimidation or manipulation by the Taliban, he/they clearly had limitations in what they could ask of the insurgents which they acknowledged.
Having said all that, and assuming this isn't a bit of Taliban agit-prop in whole or in part (and clearly what these characters have to say should be taken with a large grain of salt) there are some interesting tidbits of int in here, at least insofar as it gives some insights into the mindset of Taliban foot soldiers.

 

[Flip]

I'm waiting for the other clips to come out before I pass judgement.

I suspect that the theme of the whole thing is that NATO is picking on the wrong guys in the war on terror and the Taliban are more reasonable than we have been led to believe.

Just my gut - maybe that piece of sausage I was sharing with the cat. Not sure.

 

[Pikache]

Either way, it's an interesting look at some of the Taliban and how they think.

Can't defeat an enemy unless you have an understanding of how they think

 

[sgf]

What a peculiar story ...
It's being written by the Globe almost as if it were an opinion poll, yet a sidebar to the main article (the first in a six-part series) reveals methodology that is clearly non-representative and highly susceptible to manipulation even given the best of intentions and motivations. The interviews with the Taliban were conducted by an unnamed Afghan "fixer" for the Globe, who also selected the subjects and asked questions from a list prepared by Graeme Smith the Globe's reporter. Even assuming the fixer(s) in question was honest and not subject to intimidation or manipulation by the Taliban, he/they clearly had limitations in what they could ask of the insurgents which they acknowledged.
Having said all that, and assuming this isn't a bit of Taliban agit-prop in whole or in part (and clearly what these characters have to say should be taken with a large grain of salt) there are some interesting tidbits of int in here, at least insofar as it gives some insights into the mindset of Taliban foot soldiers.

Given the fact this article is online, I dont blame the fixer for not wanting to have his name published.

 

[GGboy]

Nor do I. But it underscores the point that he was at least potentially subject to enemy manipulation and/or intimidation.

 

[sgf]

Perhaps, but how else would the reporter get his story.. It may not have been a  perfect, method  but I dont remember reading anything else like this interview in a long while

 

[GGboy]

Actually, it's been done a couple of times before and IMHO done better than the Globe's version.
To choose but one example, Jim Farrell of the Edmonton Journal, in a front-page and quite lengthy article on Oct. 8, 2005 (the "teaser" to this story is repro'ed below)

QUETTA, Pakistan -- Maulvi Noor Muhammad, a close associate of Osama bin Laden, has a blunt threat for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.
"They have the same views as America," he warns . "I have a message for the Canadian government: do not help America. Do not interfere with our freedom. You will die."
The Journal's Jim Farrell spoke to Muhammad at his Islamic party office in a pro-Taliban frontier region of Pakistan.
In a sometimes-disturbing 90-minute interview, Muhammad praised bin Laden as "the greatest personality in the world," defied Pakistan's bid to reform madrassa religious schools and shared his chilling version of the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

 

[Nemo888]

It's not treason to convince brainwashed followers that we are not just Northern Alliance enforcers there to take their property away. Hearts and minds is usually cheaper than guns and bombs, but you have to walk the walk.