Where's Mullah Omar?

Nearly a dozen Taliban commanders who were interviewed by NEWSWEEK for this story say Omar’s silence has become an urgent topic among the Taliban leadership. Most of their rank-and-file fighters remain convinced that Omar is alive, in charge, and guiding the insurgency, they say. But that’s partly because the commanders themselves keep the legend alive and partly because any suggestion in the ranks that Omar is dead, or not in control, might brand the speaker as a nonbeliever, perhaps even a spy. “Asking about Mullah Omar’s whereabouts raises suspicions and is prohibited,” says the senior Taliban intelligence officer. In private conversations, however, that’s just what top commanders are doing…

Skepticism is rising about practically every decree issued in Omar’s name. Eighteen months ago an order allegedly signed by Mullah Omar surfaced, urging the Pakistani Taliban to cease attacking Pakistani military targets and to focus instead on fighting the Americans in Afghanistan. Many insurgents think the letter was written not by their leader but by Pakistan’s Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence. In fact, some senior commanders worry that the ISI may be holding Omar prisoner and issuing self-serving orders in his name. “Sometimes I suspect someone invisible is running this Mullah Omar show,” says the Paktia commander.

Some even say the orders may be American forgeries. This past June, NATO officials in Kabul announced that Coalition forces had intercepted a message from Mullah Omar ordering his men to “capture and kill Afghan civilians, including women, working for foreign forces”—in direct contravention of the previously issued code of conduct. NATO’s Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz says he’s “100 percent sure” the letter was from Mullah Omar. Nevertheless, the Taliban—and at least a few independent analysts—think it’s more likely part of a Coalition psychological-warfare campaign to discredit the insurgents in the eyes of Afghans.