AP exclusive: Top Afghan warlord splits from Taliban? Update: U.S. arrests Taliban commander — in Pakistan
posted at 11:01 am on March 8, 2007 by Allahpundit
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It’s Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the former Afghan prime minister who’s been waging freelance jihad on U.S. forces since 2001 and in conjunction with the Taliban since 2003. He’s an “evil sod” whose handiwork inspired an almost singular hatred in our pal Major John Tammes during his tour of duty in Afghanistan. He’s also the guy who bragged in December about having cost the GOP the midterm elections.
Hekmatyar, I mean. Not Tammes.
Now he wants to chat.
Fugitive Afghan rebel leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar told The Associated Press his forces have ended cooperation with the Taliban and suggested that he was open to talks with embattled President Hamid Karzai…
Still, Hekmatyar, who once served as Afghan prime minister, insisted he had a large pool of fighters who could sustain a long struggle and sent a defiant message to President George W. Bush that he had no hope of defeating the insurgency…
“It was not a good move by the Taliban to disassociate themselves from the joint struggle,” he said. “Presently we have no contact with the Taliban. In fact, Hezb-i Islami [Hekmatyar's militia] is the only party in Afghanistan which has the capability to form a strong, stable Islamic government in Afghanistan.”
He boasted a few months ago about having helped Osama escape from Tora Bora so I’m thinking the chances of a deal here are slim. The Counterterrorism Blog doesn’t know what to make of this either: it could be disinformation or it could be a publicity stunt, which he’s been known to pull from time to time. Or, it could be that the spring NATO offensive has put the fear of god into him. If it’s scary enough to turn jihadis into transvestites, it’s scary enough to elicit a truce offer perhaps.
Meanwhile, an Indian paper claims the Taliban has captured two Pakistani nuclear scientists. Anti-Pakistan propaganda — in an Indian paper? Bombshell!
Update: Another dicey report which, if true, won’t win Musharraf any friends at home. But it is sweet. No wonder Hekmatyar wants to deal.
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Oh, great. A strong Islamic government, just what we were wishing for.
amerpundit on March 8, 2007 at 11:05 AM
BTW, like the graphic, Allah.
amerpundit on March 8, 2007 at 11:07 AM
I got your truce right here, it’ll arrive via .50 caliber just poke your head out of your hole long enough for our messenger to get good sight alignment and sight picture.
Theworldisnotenough on March 8, 2007 at 11:28 AM
The Indian media is not monolithically opposed to the Musharraf regime. Certainly there are sticking points about the Kashmir region that most Indians consider obnoxious, but they actually have a free media, as opposed to the Pakistani media.
I wouldn’t reject out of hand purportedly anti-Pakistan news just because it came from Indian sources. They’re just the ones who have the greatest vested interest in monitoring Pakistan’s nuclear arsenals closely. It’s entirely plausible that subversive elements in the Musharraf regime would engineer this to
a) weaken Musharraf’s position with the U.S.,
b) destabilize Musharraf’s tentative detente with India or
c) (less likely) leverage a nuclear Al-Qaeda to initiate a war for the Kashmir region.
I don’t trust Pakistan farther than I can throw them. It isn’t a stretch that this could be true.
spmat on March 8, 2007 at 11:36 AM
Does that photo look like Ben Stein, or is it just me?
Didn’t he host the show “Win Allah’s Virgins?”
Hening on March 8, 2007 at 11:45 AM
Almost singular? Nah, let us go ahead and say full blown singular hatred. Rotten $%#*! He could have easily been part of the reconciliation and reconstruction of his country - but he chose to devolve into a crazed, quasi-banditti state instead.
We had winnowed his “large pool of fighters” down to onesies and twosies. Of course, they still managed to let several 107mm’s fly at Bagram - twice they got a bit close for comfort, thanks very much. He’s been playing both sides, all the better to come to an accomodation with the winner.
major john on March 8, 2007 at 11:48 AM
Looks like Cheney rattling a few cages in that part of the world is already paying off.
Pelosi and Waxman will have to investigate this good news with more hearings.
You know we should have sent Cheney to Niger. We would have found the yellowcake uranium set aside for Saddam, Libby would be a free man and Joe Wilson would still be an unemployed has-been ambassador depending on his wife to find him a job.
fogw on March 8, 2007 at 12:34 PM
Arrest?
Did they read him his “rights”?
Where is the ACLU lawyer?
Was bail set?
Can he make a phone call?
Will a judge let him off with “time served” due to “good behavior” according to Allah?
PinkyBigglesworth on March 8, 2007 at 12:35 PM
Knock him out, plant a tracking device under his skin and send him back to buddies. Then airmail him a few MK-84 JDAMs. Happy St. Patty’s Day azzhole!
Tony737 on March 8, 2007 at 1:05 PM
If a rope noose was good enough for one former captured leader to depend on, it should be sufficient for this terroristic clown.
Cheaper than bullets, biodegradable, and re-usable.
The Green way to off despots.
profitsbeard on March 8, 2007 at 1:12 PM
Oh, Tony, I LOVE IT when you talk like that. (profitsbeard, you too!)
KelliD on March 8, 2007 at 1:26 PM
Yes, thanks for that. Considering I live in Illinois, I have no impact in any elections, at any level. Well, except for my City Council…
major john on March 8, 2007 at 2:16 PM
Terms of Surrender:
1. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar must surrender his person and stand down any combatants.
2. If done in a speedy and efficient fashion his troops may recieve their parole, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar a speedy trial.
3. Failure to Surrender may result in contact with JDAMs, CBUs, or Thermobaric devices known for causing “The Death” in those who have not surrendered.
Jones Zemkophill on March 8, 2007 at 2:22 PM
Korben Dallas: “Anyone else wanna negotiate?”
- The Cat
MirCat on March 8, 2007 at 2:32 PM
I suspect that he knows his jig is about up.
georgej on March 8, 2007 at 3:42 PM
From a comment at the Jawa link:
I know it’s fictional, but God I’d love to see Cheney as president.
p.v. cornelius on March 8, 2007 at 6:39 PM
awww c’mon. Thats Ben Stein with a beard. :)
johnnyU on March 8, 2007 at 8:35 PM