Taleban's ex-spokesman shot dead

[Idealism]

Source: BBC News

A former high-profile spokesman for the Taleban has been shot dead in eastern Afghanistan, officials have said.

Mohammad Hanif was killed at his home in the province of Nangarhar along with three other people who were believed to be his relatives.

Some reports said the assailants were wearing Afghan army uniforms.

Dr Hanif, as he was known, was arrested in January 2007, but freed from custody this year. It was thought he no longer had any contact with the Taleban.


Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7755106.stm

[xchrom]

1. it'll be interesting to see if this story develops. nt

[Idealism]

2. according to another report I read, this was a well-executed operation

[xchrom]

6. well -- that' s very interesting --

why was this a 'well executed' operation?

what's the 'need' there?

[Idealism]

7. My guess

The guy knew something about the opium traffickers and who in the government may have had ties to it. Maybe some information on Kharzai's brother, for example. But who really knows, the truth behind the matter won't get out

[xchrom]

8. oh i think it's both as simple -- and complex -- as that. nt

[Hulk]

3. Some of that "new freedom and democracy at work", eh?

Nice they freed him so they could waltz in and butcher him and his relatives for the holidays.

Yeah.....we have really turned Afghanistan around. Now let me get this straight. These were OUR GUYS that butchered him?....or ...???

[Idealism]

4. Karzai doesn't really have control over his country

Between opium dealers and rogue generals that have allegiances to money alone, its a slippery slope

[saigon68]

19. The "Clown" the Mayor of Kabul-- nothing more

And his lips are on the US Taxpayers tit

[KakistocracyHater]

5. lie detector test

hook up a suspect, ask control questions:'do you believe in god(allah), followed by an obvious controlled NO answer'the easter bunny is real'. No words need be spoken by the suspect, body responses alone should give the truth, no torture necessary. Thoughts?

[davidinalameda]

9. I'm not going to cry over one less member of the Taliban running around

don't care if he was still with them or not

he has blood on his hands

[High Plains]

10. Really? No problem with government death squads...

...engaging in summary executions?

And should anyone who has ever participated in an insurgency be summarily executed at will, too?

Strange morality.

[davidinalameda]

13. he wasn't just anyone who participated

he was one of the leaders of a terrorist movement

the Taliban killed thousands, if not millions, of people, including their own citizens

his government had its own death squads

like I said he had blood on his hands

[3.141592653]

14. Your response is interesting to me.

So without any evidence whatsoever you think it's okay to execute a human being?

If I'm reading your correctly all the hostages at the Guantanamo Gulag should be executed and fed to the sharks?

[davidinalameda]

17. no evidence?

honey, it was well documented that he was the spokesman for the Taliban

"A former high-profile spokesman for the Taleban has been shot dead in eastern Afghanistan, officials have said."

reading comprehension is your friend

[3.141592653]

29. oop, my mistake

So if you read something in the media, therefore, it must be true.

"Officials"?

Could you define some "officials" for me? Maybe then I can move up to the level of comprehension you are at.

Honey, let me explain something to you. Unless you have been in Afghanistan, like I have, you don't know 'nuthin. That place is one eff'ed up beyond all comprehension piece of shit craphole. Virtually nothing you read is the truth when it comes to that place.

Yeah, he's probably guilty, but he didn't have a trial, there was no evidence and you are being manipulated by the lazy media. He was tried and executed by a roadside jury. Imagine that if you can. Put yourself in that situation. What if he was innocent?

I urge you to learn, study and try to comprehend before you comment. The world is lot more complex than what you see past the lawn ornaments next to your double wide trailer.

[saigon68]

31. LOL welcome to DU

Nice comeback

[ohio2007]

35. lol

3.14

just a passing pie thrower





blind leading the blind 'honey'

[Amonester]

39. yep. and to think that (those) poor woman (women)...

could have been 'innocent' ('innocents') too...

but it's ok for some.

not moi.

[High Plains]

15. And what about the blood on the hands of your political leaders?

Are they fair game for summary execution, too?

[davidinalameda]

20. my political leaders?

interesting phrasing there

when my political leaders belong to a regime that summarily executed thousands, if not millions, of its own citizens, then we'll talk

let's not forget as well that the Taliban has been responsible since it left power for killing thousands of others, including American men and women

and let's not forget that the Taliban was responsible for protecting and harboring bin Laden

I don't care if this guy is dead

if you want to be an apologist for these evil people, go for it

[ngant17]

21. when the Soviets were fighting the Taliban

guess who was supporting these killers?

[davidinalameda]

22. who might that be?

I don't know?

wow-you're just too smart for me

[Alamuti Lotus]

28. Mutilated history..

Soviets did not fight the "Taliban", the resistance at the time was composed of a wide variety of factions and warlords. After the withdrawal of Russian forces and the collapse of the communist-leaning gov't, the warlords (a variety of factions backed by United States, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, and others) turned on each other. To sweep aside the chaos they had created in the vaccuum, the (initially, fiercely independent) "Taliban" movement swept aside all of these foreign-backed warlord factions.

[ohio2007]

36. don't throw facts into the mix

It doesn't make for revisionist story time ;)


Yes, Soviets attacked all Afghan tribes after their puppet requested help.

And the Taliban turned on their "brothers in arms" after the Soviets pulled out, with a little foreign outside help of their own.

bottom line;

It was a shit hole under the taliban opium oppressive thumb. ( oh, but the cut the production of poppy in unauthorized areas of the country...so, to some, "taliban good" )


Why would anybody return now after leaving that shit hole running from the Soviets ? cuz she was clueless six month old with visions of proud,dignified people I suppose.

Why would they return now after the Taliban fundies no longer rule like they did in the 90's ? cuz she feels safe roaming around in western controlled zones I suppose again.

She isn't safe to return at all but she did put together a decent video.

Afghanistan - "Yalda's Kabul" (Nov.2008)

"I'm returning to Kabul, my first visit since my family fled the Russian invasion 25 years ago. They escaped on horseback carrying me with them I was just six months old. Because of my personal ties to this country I have always romanticized Afghanistan, a nation of proud people, dignified, ready to defend their land against foreign invaders. But 30 years of war has left the country broken

snip

video
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ad8_1228174148

Why do the taliban continue to burn girls schools and throw acid in their pupils ?

bc when we leave,

it will still be a drug cultivating shit hole run by the fundies.....

most likely.

And one drug clinic built last year will end up like the old Russian cultural center when the Soviets left and alla help those who worked with the americans the way the South Vietnamese did
The addicts don't drink alcohol bc the price of opium is so cheap. It grows like weeds everywhere.
Life is cheap and will remain that way when we leave. No change for them

end screed

[Alamuti Lotus]

37. Should heed your own advice

Rahmani, about 50, is a member of the Taliban's shura (council) and a close adviser to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, with whom he is in daily contact; so much so that in Taliban circles he is considered Mullah Omar's shadow. During Taliban rule (1996-2001), Rahmani was governor of Kandahar province, the Taliban's spiritual heartland.
-----
Asia Times Online: Please introduce yourself. How were you introduced to the Taliban movement? How did you became governor of Kandahar province? What is your relation with the Taliban movement at present?

Mullah Mohammad Hasan Rahmani: My name is Hasan Rahmani. I am a former governor of Kandahar province. I was involved with the Taliban movement from its beginning. It was an Islamic movement, and I had been involved in jihad, so I joined it. Later, when some areas were conquered by the Taliban, I was appointed as governor of Kandahar, and till the last I remained in this position.
-----
ATol: The Taliban are blamed for attacking unveiled women with acid in Kandahar. What is the reality?

HR: This is propaganda aimed at defaming the Taliban. Nobody knows who threw the acid. Throwing acid on any human being, whether a man or a woman, has never been the Taliban’s policy and the Taliban deny their involvement in such acts.
-----
interview link

[Idealism]

26. Interesting thought pattern

"when my political leaders belong to a regime that summarily executed thousands, if not millions, of its own citizens, then we'll talk"

But when your political leaders summarily execute hundreds of thousands, and their mere presence in a region promotes the death of over a million people, its ok because its another country's citizens?

[EFerrari]

18. He was a mouthpiece, like Dana Perino. n/t

[davidinalameda]

23. I expect better from you

there is no comparison between the Bushies and the Taliban

when the Bushies start executing thousands of Americans in football stadiums, then you can make that comparison

[EFerrari]

24. I was comparing one mouthpiece to the other.

And the best that can be said for Bush is that he murdered people in secret black ops sites and by proxy in countries like Egypt and not in stadiums in public.

Do you remember this guy? He tried to get out before the invasion. He was nothing. Not like Omar who Bush has let sit in Karachi all these years.

[davidinalameda]

25. I don't remember him

who is he?

[EFerrari]

27. I remember him because he always looked like a deer in headlights.

He was the guy that spoke for the Taliban during those awful days when Bush was supposedly "negotiating" with them for bin Laden. So, clips of him talking got into our news broadcasts.

One side or the other was always going to kill him -- and, he knew it all that long time ago.

[Alamuti Lotus]

30. millions?!

hyperbole much?

[ohio2007]

16. "Some reports said the assailants were wearing Afghan army uniforms. "

Article didn't say it was afghan army that took out the big dog

snip
Some reports said the assailants were wearing Afghan army uniforms.
snip

Taliban have and use Afghan army uniforms when they conduct operations also,
so,

"inside job" can't be discounted.

[Marrah_G]

34. How about all those Taliban ordered executions?

How about the enslavement and slaughter of women during the Taliban Government? How about the reduction of women to lower then farm animals? Bought and sold, raped, assaulted, beaten. Resorting to self-immolation to escape life.

Forbidden to speak, laugh, be seen, have their footsteps heard. Fingers removed if caught with nail polish.

Denied medical treatment for the most simple things.

Denied education or employment.

Not even allowed to step foot outside without a husband, brother or father. If they do not have a husband, brother or father then they can stay inside and pray neighbors keep them from starving.

So I have a little bit of a tough time swallowing your outrage at government death squads.

[underpants]

11. Gee sorry to hear about that

not

[tabasco]

12. Good riddance.

I wish all the taliban would die.

Stupid hateful people.

[Marrah_G]

32. Good- The more they eliminate the better

They have no redeeming qualities. None. The world is a better place without them.

They are worse then the Nazi's in ideology and thankfully less in numbers.

Anyone who thinks I am heartless because of my feelings towards the Taliban is ignorant of who and what they are, in my opinion.

[EFerrari]

33. Except this wasn't an "elimination", it was a murder and in theory

we're in Afghanistan to restore the rule of law, not to cheer murders.

[Psephos]

38. It's not Minneapolis

and his organization harbored no such beliefs that would prevent them from doing the same...quite the contrary. What was done to him would have brought him pious respect and upgraded social status had he done it to someone else. He would gladly have slit your throat, for example, were you in the way of his religious and political beliefs.

The rule of law can only be approached by successive approximations, by a slowly-growing trust by citizens that order is displacing rule by raw power. Rule by law can never be implemented until strongmen who use death, fear, and zealotry to maintain their hold are gotten rid of.

He's been gotten rid of.

[EFerrari]

40. You've just paraphrased Sharia. I assume you know that. n/t

[Psephos]

43. Not only is your reply not right, it isn't even wrong.

It's a diversion.

[jbane]

41. B-O-O H-O-O

Lay down with dogs and you get fleas, or in this case, dead.

[DS1]

42. Good. Hope it hurt.