Gitmo Ex-Detainee Undermining Afghan Government
One of the captured Taliban detained at Guantanamo Bay has returned to Afghanistan -- and appears to be taking up where he left off. Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef got handed to the US by Pakistanis after the fall of the Taliban government, and now that he has returned to Afghanistan, he wants Hamid Karzai toppled and a "unity government" installed:
Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, has been released from Guantanamo. Though under close observation by the government, he's already creating a stir in Kabul.The black-bearded mullah's expression betrays disgust and rage. "The people don't want (President Hamid) Karzai's government, and they don't want foreigners here in Afghanistan either," says Abdul Salam Zaeef. ...
Zaeef has in no way renounced the teachings and attitudes of his former companions. Why shouldn't chopping off hands and the public execution of women in stadiums be acceptable forms of punishment, when those punished are thieves and murderers? Who in the West, he asks, is seriously bothered by the application of sharia laws in Saudi Arabia, a Western ally? "Today we have no sovereignty here, no security, no national unity and stability," the mullah lectures with growing fervor. "Instead we have crime, corruption and foreigners inside the country who behave like an occupying force."
The Afghans must be given the right of self-determination to choose the form of government and society that is appropriate for them, argues Zaeef, a member of the Pashtun ethnic group. "The majority wants the Islamic system," he says. "You'll achieve nothing here by means of violence. Do you want to shoot an entire people dead?"
Small wonder why Karzai's government watches him like a hawk. They must be so happy that we released a Taliban activist and sent him right back to Kabul. Now he can hold lectures and do some rabble rousing right in the center of the capital -- while Karzai and NATO attempt to beat back Zaeef's compatriots.
Zaeef promises that a unity government, formed without the elected representatives of the Afghan people, will never allow terrorists inside Afghanistan. Zaeef and the dictatorship that would cut off heads and hands of those who violate their religious strictures would never hobnob with their co-religionists who cut off heads and bomb people who violate their religious strictures. He tells Der Spiegel that once the democratically elected government hits the road and his idea of government replaces it, the "faranji" can leave with all their worries magically addressed.
Maybe he forgot about what happened on 9/11 -- but we haven't.
Posted by Ed Morrissey on April 13, 2007 4:43 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (1)
Comments (3)
Posted by SwabJockey05![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 13, 2007 4:57 AM
Maybe he forgot about what happened on 9/11 -- but we haven't
"We" haven't? Maybe...but how do most "remember" it? Like Rosie?
Posted by rbj![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 13, 2007 8:49 AM
Gee, Zaeef, Afghanistan is a dangerous place these days. No telling who might get killed by a bomb or a bullet. . .
Posted by Lew![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 13, 2007 9:03 AM
There's a reason why we don't release prisoners of war, especially LEADERS, before the end of the war. Duh!
What is the incentive now, to take this guy prisoner the next time around? Indeed, what's the point of taking ANYBODY prisoner at this juncture?
Remember, a battlefield is a really messy and noisy and confused place where all kinds of people get killed. Does the phrase "collateral damage" ring a bell?