Meet a Former Taliban Commander

This is a must read, if you want to understand why what we are currently doing in Afghanistan makes little sense for the short or long run.

"The government has no roots in the community because 95% of the population has a jihadi background. They were fighting for 15-20 years, yet there is no share for the ex-jihadis in this government, even though most of the people in this society are ex-jihadis."

clipped from captaincat.typepad.com Interview with a former Taliban commander I thought you might be interested to read the notes from a meeting I had a couple of weeks ago when I was in Khost province (bordering Pakistan), with a reconciled former Taliban commander (and cousin of one of the most important Taliban commanders operating just across the border in Pakistan today, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, FATA). He is a Mullah (a religious leader) in Khost province, and belongs to one of the most fiesty tribes in Southeastern Afghanistan. In parts, his comments are deeply sad, and reveal how vulnerable he is, despite his connections; yet this is the story of so many Afghans.