Anand Gopal » Taliban

Taliban Says it Won’t Meddle in West if Troops Are Withdrawn

Posted in Articles, Security on Dec 5th, 2009

KABUL–The Taliban said in a statement Saturday it would provide a “legal guarantee” that they would not intervene in foreign countries if international troops withdraw from Afghanistan, the closest the movement has come to publicly distancing itself from Al Qaeda.
The Taliban have “no agenda of meddling in the internal affairs of other countries and is [...]

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U.S. Tries New Tack Against Taliban

Posted in Articles, Security on Nov 28th, 2009

KABUL — The U.S.-led coalition and the Afghan government are launching an initiative to persuade Taliban insurgents to lay down their weapons, offering jobs and protection to the militants who choose to abandon their fight.
While President Hamid Karzai’s government has been trying to woo these insurgents for years, the new program marks the first time [...]

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Taliban Punish Voters In Wake Of Afghan Elections

Posted in Afghan Life, Articles, Security on Aug 27th, 2009

KABUL — The Taliban are attempting to exact revenge on Afghan voters and disrupt the ballot count — part of a campaign to exploit the political uncertainty after last week’s presidential election and try to undermine the results.
Since the Aug. 20 election, Taliban fighters have launched nearly a dozen attacks. They have severed the fingers [...]

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Afghan Villagers Attack Taliban

Posted in Articles, Security on Jul 20th, 2009

Villagers attacked the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan, a rare instance of locals turning on insurgents after being promised aid money and security by the government.
Friday’s confrontation was welcome news for Afghan and U.S. authorities, in what is shaping up to be one of the bloodiest months for the U.S-led coalition since the start of the [...]

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Taliban announce ‘countersurge’ in Afghanistan

Posted in Articles, Security on Apr 30th, 2009

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.
The militants have vowed to launch a new offensive against the US and its allies, which are preparing to increase troop levels.
The Taliban have vowed to launch a new offensive this summer in Afghanistan against the government and the foreign soldiers stationed there. The [...]

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In remote Afghan valley, a rare peace sprouts with insurgents

Posted in Afghan Life, Articles, Security on Apr 27th, 2009

Promises of cash and jobs–rather than ideological pledges–help prompt fighters to lay down their arms. But questions remain about the program’s efficiency.
Alasay, Afghanistan - Deep in a mountain valley north of Kabul, Gulab Shah and his fellow insurgents were under siege. It was mid-March, and a French-led military offensive had been pounding their village night [...]

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Briefing: Who Are the Taliban?

Posted in Afghan Life, Articles on Apr 16th, 2009

The umbrella organization includes many different groups fighting the Afghan government and Western forces.
Kabul, Afghanistan - As the Obama administration ramps up focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan, insurgents from both countries have teamed up to confront the rising US troop presence. While the insurgents often get labeled as the “Taliban,” in reality there are [...]

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Coordinated Kabul assault shows Taliban strength

Posted in Articles, Security on Feb 12th, 2009

Insurgents attacked three government offices in a heavily fortified area Wednesday, a day before US envoy Holbrooke’s visit.
Kabul, Afghanistan - Insurgents attacked three government offices in Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least 26 and wounding nearly 60. The assault was one of the most complex [...]

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Who Are the Taliban?

Posted in Articles, Security on Dec 4th, 2008

The Afghan War Deciphered
If there is an exact location marking the West’s failures in Afghanistan, it is the modest police checkpoint that sits on the main highway 20 minutes south of Kabul. The post signals the edge of the capital, a city of spectacular tension, blast walls, and standstill traffic. Beyond this point, Kabul’s [...]

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Some Afghans Live Under Taliban Rule–And Prefer It

Posted in Afghan Life, Articles, Security on Oct 15th, 2008

In provinces just south of Kabul, the insurgents have a shadow government that polices roads and runs courts.
Porak, Afghanistan - After a gang of thieves had continually terrorized an Afghan neighborhood near here months ago, locals decided they’d had enough. “We complained several times to the government and even showed them where the thieves [...]

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