Talking to the Taliban (Abdul Salam Uncovered in Quetta)

macleans.ca ^ | 01/19/2007 | milwguy

[milwguy]

In recent weeks, the flow of commanders has increased. Most are exiting Afghanistan as the winter months make fighting more and more difficult. Supplies are running out as roads become impassable and littered with overturned trucks that have succumbed to the winter. "This is a major problem we are having right now," says Abdul Salam, one of the district commanders for Panjwai who recently arrived in Quetta from the front lines. "We've lost our flow of weapons because of winter. We only have our old Kalashnikovs, some RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] and a few small guns left."

[milwguy]

Please read the entire article. I was searching for info on who ABDUL SALAM is/was and came across this article from a Canadian News source. It seems the late Mr. Salam was a Taliban Commander of some note, who was a hardliner and this his disposal is a big get. Apparently after he gave this interview he tried to lead his minions back into Afghanistan, he and many of his men were dispatched by our air power.

The main thrust of this very good article is that the Taliban are losing, they can only resort to suicide and roadside bombings because they can't stand and fight our armor or air power. I thought this quote from the late Mr. Salam was very telling;;;;;;;;

there will not be a ceasefire deal. The offer, as genuinely rooted as it is in the suffering of villagers in Panjwai, is clearly a ploy to gain time for Taliban fighters at a time when their resources are depleted. But the fact remains that the Taliban can still pull back and rest over the winter, resorting to opportunistic bomb and suicide attacks rather than direct confrontation. Still, its confidence and cohesion seem to be on the wane. "This is the most difficult fight we've ever faced," says Salam from his hideout in Quetta. "More difficult than the Russian jihad and the civil war because we don't have the right weapons." Can NATO take advantage of this weakness? Spring may bring the answer to that question.

It appears Salam was speaking the truth, as he is now pushing up daisies. May he never rest in peace.

[hnorris]

Most excellent - I like it when the most experienced leadership of our enemies are dispatched without mercy.