Wednesday 7 December 2011

After The Sectarian Bombings, What Now For Afghanistan?

What do the bombings say about the evolving nature of the Afghan insurgency? One the one hand, they don't seem to be the work of the Afghan Taliban at all, but of a Pakistani group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami (LeJ-Alami), whose specialty is assassinating Shi'a in Pakistan and whoclaimed credit for the attacks. LeJ-Alami was behind the kidnapping and execution of Taliban godfather and spymaster Col. Imam (despite Taliban efforts to stop it), and is seen by many in the Afghan Taliban leadership as dangerous and uncontrollable. In fact, in a rare move, the Afghan Taliban issued a strongly worded condemnation of the attacks. Over the years, the Afghan Taliban have assiduously strived to portray themselves as a national movement, representing the aspirations of all Afghan ethnicities and sects. They have developed detailed guidelines for their foot soldiers and field commanders, put forth political representatives to explore the possibility of talks, and have even begun to circulate documents that examine in a serious way the nature of a post-American government. One document, meant internally for the Taliban leadership, decried the country's ethnic and sectarian divides and declared they should "try to bring an environment of fraternity among all [ethnicities] of Afghans." LINK.

2 comments:

  1. There are many shadows lurking behind the curtain in Afghanistan.
    This shadow must be very very far back.
    Funny that no one mentions A/Q any more.
    Except when it comes to ramp up the hawks.
    Always follow the money.
    I smell Riyadh.
    The Saudi's and the Paks go way back.
    Just ask the Mujahadeen.

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  2. LJ is one of the groups that Washington has fused together to take AQ's place in Pakistan. Not sure about Riyadh's connection, but LJ has a track record of bombing Shia religious targets. Hard to say who's pulling the strings on an alleged rogue group.

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