As the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates further I thought the following by Peace Reporter would be useful. They run emergency hospitals in places such as Kandahar. You will probably find you agree with some of what he says.
Afghanistan, the suicide bombers' commander
Exclusive interview with Taliban chief mullah Yunus Saheb
This is the first time a western journalist interviews a man that holds such a high rank in the Taliban organisation. Up to this moment Talibans always used spokesmen and official messages to communicate with the world. Why have you now decided to accept an interview with a foreign journalist?
I’m having this interview now because mullah Omar’s assistant told me: “You can have this interview to make the world know the truth about the Talibans”.
What is your position and your role in the Taliban organisation?
I organise the Talibans for the holy war, by inviting people to join the jihad and by sending them to the war with the americans. In particular I organize the shaheeds (suicide bombers). We actually have a list of 300 people ready to become suicide bombers: they freely choose to do it, they come to us and we just give them explosive belts and jackets in order to kill as many americans as they can.
The use of suicide bombers is new for Afghanistan: many people say it is the result of al Qeada’s instructors coming from Iraq. Is it true? Who are this shaheeds?
The shaheeds are not al Qaeda's, they are not coming from outside, they are afghan people. I know them all, and I know they all are afghan people who want to take a revenge against Americans for all the suffering they have caused, for the killings and the humiliations. For example, Us soldiers break in people’s houses for controls, they stay there for hours, they also rape afghan women. People see these things, listen about these things and they don’t want it! So they come to us spontaneously and we help them.
What is your opinion about the present situation in Afghanistan and Karzai’s government?
The government of Afghanistan is not Karzai’s government, because Karzai doesn’t have the rule over Afghanistan. Karzai is only a puppet in US hands, the megaphone of the americans: everything the americans say, he repeats it like a loudspeaker to the afghan people. The parliament too, for example, is composed only by people who are friends with the americans. Karzai's government controls only urban centers. Outside the cities, in the villages, in the mountains, in the desert, we talibans have the control. Here we rule, we decide, we solve people’s problems. Here people come to us if they have a problem, nobody goes to the government.
Therefore you are saying that you Talibans and your jihad against the americans and the afghan government still has support from afghan people? Don’t you think that after almost 30 years of war the afghans are tired of fighting and want only to live in peace?
Afghan people are tired of wars started by invaders. They are tired of being bombed by american B-52, of having their villages and homes occupied by the US Army. It's because they are tired of it that they are ready to fight. Afghan people are with us, not with Karzai’s government! Even if many don’t want to say it openly, this is the reality.
Is there any space for negotiations with Karzai’s government and United States?
We are not the ones who started this war. We were in our houses, in our country and the americans came to remove us and to impose their rule. We are just defending ourselves, we have the right and the duty to defend our houses and our country. If somebody entered your house like this, what would you do? Wouldn’t you defend your house?
We don’t want the americans to come and occupy islamic countries like Afghanistan. We don’t want these ‘kufr’, infidels, in our country. They just have to leave.
Last year we noticed a growth and an extention in your military activity, and now we see that the americans are withdrawing thousands of soldiers from Afghanistan, where they will be replaced by 4,000 British, Canadians and other NATO soldiers. What is your opinion on it?
We grow stronger day after day, because day after day people are supporting the talibans. We are fighting the americans very hard, inflicting them a lot of casualties, much more than they declare.
That’s why they don’t want to stay longer in southern Afghanistan and they are withdrawing their troops. Americans are leaving because they are afraid of us.
For us nothing will change with the arrival of the british, or of others. It will be the same with every foreign army coming to our country: we will start the jihad against them! May be the British have forgotten the lesson we afghans gave them 120 years ago.
And what about the Italian military presence in Kabul and Herat?
As the Quran says, it doesn't matter whoever comes to Afghanistan, if they don't want Islam. There is no difference if they are americans or italians: we fight the jihad against them. But the italians coming to Afghanistan without guns, for purely humanitarian reasons, these people for us don’t represent a problem, because they are here to help our people. They are not our enemies, unlike italian soldiers helping Americans.
In Afghanistan many civilians have been killed in the talibans’ attacks. Do you think that the use of terrorism against civilians is legitimate? Isn’t it against the Prophet’s wish and the Quran?
These are all lies! They always say that civilians are killed in taliban’s attacks, but this is not true. Those killed are always afghan soldiers or policemen or afghan traitors working for the americans or for the government. But they want to hide their casualties in order to say that those killed are civilians. We don’t want to kill normal people: we plant bombs only where americans and Karzai’s soldiers are, but if beside them there are civilians, it can sometimes happen that also normal people die.
The opium trade business, and the money coming from it, are regarded as the main financial source of taliban jihad. Is it true?
No, it is not true that talibans finance themselves with opium money. It's the Americans and Karzai’s government that want the opium now. I know that Karzai’s brother, Ahmad Wali, is a businessman of the opium trade that sends opium to the border, but there are other examples of how the afghan government is involved in opium business. Why didn't the americans close that business? They say that it's not possible, that it's a big problem, but it would be so easy for them! They simply don’t want to stop it. Why?
The Us government and Karzai blame the pakistani secret services (Isi) fort giving shelter to the talibans, acting as a 'de facto' backline. They are also accused of giving military support to your guerrilla.
I don’t know, I live in Afghanistan, I don’t know about Pakistan. But why now people say that Pakistan is helping talibans? Everybody knows that when americans started the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan was the first country to give bases for their airplanes. Pakistan also imprisoned hundreds of people, and handed them over to the afghan government and to the americans, saying that they were membres of al Qaeda. Pakistan is not supporting talibans!
How is it possible that in four years the americans have not been able to catch, to capture mullah Omar?
Mullah Omar is Amir-ul-Mominin, chief of all the Islam people: it is not possible to find him because people are helping him. We have a lot of safe havens in Afghanistan and a lot of people is ready to die to defend the Amir-ul-Mominin, to avoid him being imprisoned by the americans. They offered big rewards for his capture, nevertheless nobody has been able to catch him.
Let’s talk about the very starting point: 9/11 attacks on Wtc. What is your opinion about it?
In the towers only normal people, civilians have died. Osama didn’t to want to kill normal people: he wanted to kill Bush and the people of the Us government. But none of them have been killed in the Wtc. That attack was Bush’s job, Us government job. They did it with computer-guided airplanes. They did it to have a good excuse to go to war against Afghanistan, Iraq and all other Islamic countries.
So, do you consider the US intervention in Afghanistan not a retaliation for 9/11 but a previously planned action?
Americans came to Afghanistan only to get close to China, Iran and to oil and gas rich former Soviet republics. They told they came here to help Afghan people, but they have neither rebuilt what they destroyed during their intervention.
What is your opinion about that time, about the Taliban government, in particular about what shocked the western world, such as the public executions, the treatment of women? Shoud you ever regain power, would you change anything?
No. We are proud of what we did when we were in power in Afghanistan. We did the right things. When we’ll be back in power in Kabul we will be proud to re-establish the same rules, the good rules of Quran, rules that have been existing for 1.400 years. Lapidations, cutting the hands of thieves: these public punishments are very effective to prevent crimes because people see what happen to criminals and don’t do the same. Women? We respected womens’ rights according to the Quran rule: what the Quarn tells about women, that's what we did.
At that time, Afghans were happy. Only the americans were upset about it because they don’t want Islamic rules.
Exclusive interview with Taliban chief mullah Yunus Saheb
This is the first time a western journalist interviews a man that holds such a high rank in the Taliban organisation. Up to this moment Talibans always used spokesmen and official messages to communicate with the world. Why have you now decided to accept an interview with a foreign journalist?
I’m having this interview now because mullah Omar’s assistant told me: “You can have this interview to make the world know the truth about the Talibans”.
What is your position and your role in the Taliban organisation?
I organise the Talibans for the holy war, by inviting people to join the jihad and by sending them to the war with the americans. In particular I organize the shaheeds (suicide bombers). We actually have a list of 300 people ready to become suicide bombers: they freely choose to do it, they come to us and we just give them explosive belts and jackets in order to kill as many americans as they can.
The use of suicide bombers is new for Afghanistan: many people say it is the result of al Qeada’s instructors coming from Iraq. Is it true? Who are this shaheeds?
The shaheeds are not al Qaeda's, they are not coming from outside, they are afghan people. I know them all, and I know they all are afghan people who want to take a revenge against Americans for all the suffering they have caused, for the killings and the humiliations. For example, Us soldiers break in people’s houses for controls, they stay there for hours, they also rape afghan women. People see these things, listen about these things and they don’t want it! So they come to us spontaneously and we help them.
What is your opinion about the present situation in Afghanistan and Karzai’s government?
The government of Afghanistan is not Karzai’s government, because Karzai doesn’t have the rule over Afghanistan. Karzai is only a puppet in US hands, the megaphone of the americans: everything the americans say, he repeats it like a loudspeaker to the afghan people. The parliament too, for example, is composed only by people who are friends with the americans. Karzai's government controls only urban centers. Outside the cities, in the villages, in the mountains, in the desert, we talibans have the control. Here we rule, we decide, we solve people’s problems. Here people come to us if they have a problem, nobody goes to the government.
Therefore you are saying that you Talibans and your jihad against the americans and the afghan government still has support from afghan people? Don’t you think that after almost 30 years of war the afghans are tired of fighting and want only to live in peace?
Afghan people are tired of wars started by invaders. They are tired of being bombed by american B-52, of having their villages and homes occupied by the US Army. It's because they are tired of it that they are ready to fight. Afghan people are with us, not with Karzai’s government! Even if many don’t want to say it openly, this is the reality.
Is there any space for negotiations with Karzai’s government and United States?
We are not the ones who started this war. We were in our houses, in our country and the americans came to remove us and to impose their rule. We are just defending ourselves, we have the right and the duty to defend our houses and our country. If somebody entered your house like this, what would you do? Wouldn’t you defend your house?
We don’t want the americans to come and occupy islamic countries like Afghanistan. We don’t want these ‘kufr’, infidels, in our country. They just have to leave.
Last year we noticed a growth and an extention in your military activity, and now we see that the americans are withdrawing thousands of soldiers from Afghanistan, where they will be replaced by 4,000 British, Canadians and other NATO soldiers. What is your opinion on it?
We grow stronger day after day, because day after day people are supporting the talibans. We are fighting the americans very hard, inflicting them a lot of casualties, much more than they declare.
That’s why they don’t want to stay longer in southern Afghanistan and they are withdrawing their troops. Americans are leaving because they are afraid of us.
For us nothing will change with the arrival of the british, or of others. It will be the same with every foreign army coming to our country: we will start the jihad against them! May be the British have forgotten the lesson we afghans gave them 120 years ago.
And what about the Italian military presence in Kabul and Herat?
As the Quran says, it doesn't matter whoever comes to Afghanistan, if they don't want Islam. There is no difference if they are americans or italians: we fight the jihad against them. But the italians coming to Afghanistan without guns, for purely humanitarian reasons, these people for us don’t represent a problem, because they are here to help our people. They are not our enemies, unlike italian soldiers helping Americans.
In Afghanistan many civilians have been killed in the talibans’ attacks. Do you think that the use of terrorism against civilians is legitimate? Isn’t it against the Prophet’s wish and the Quran?
These are all lies! They always say that civilians are killed in taliban’s attacks, but this is not true. Those killed are always afghan soldiers or policemen or afghan traitors working for the americans or for the government. But they want to hide their casualties in order to say that those killed are civilians. We don’t want to kill normal people: we plant bombs only where americans and Karzai’s soldiers are, but if beside them there are civilians, it can sometimes happen that also normal people die.
The opium trade business, and the money coming from it, are regarded as the main financial source of taliban jihad. Is it true?
No, it is not true that talibans finance themselves with opium money. It's the Americans and Karzai’s government that want the opium now. I know that Karzai’s brother, Ahmad Wali, is a businessman of the opium trade that sends opium to the border, but there are other examples of how the afghan government is involved in opium business. Why didn't the americans close that business? They say that it's not possible, that it's a big problem, but it would be so easy for them! They simply don’t want to stop it. Why?
The Us government and Karzai blame the pakistani secret services (Isi) fort giving shelter to the talibans, acting as a 'de facto' backline. They are also accused of giving military support to your guerrilla.
I don’t know, I live in Afghanistan, I don’t know about Pakistan. But why now people say that Pakistan is helping talibans? Everybody knows that when americans started the war in Afghanistan, Pakistan was the first country to give bases for their airplanes. Pakistan also imprisoned hundreds of people, and handed them over to the afghan government and to the americans, saying that they were membres of al Qaeda. Pakistan is not supporting talibans!
How is it possible that in four years the americans have not been able to catch, to capture mullah Omar?
Mullah Omar is Amir-ul-Mominin, chief of all the Islam people: it is not possible to find him because people are helping him. We have a lot of safe havens in Afghanistan and a lot of people is ready to die to defend the Amir-ul-Mominin, to avoid him being imprisoned by the americans. They offered big rewards for his capture, nevertheless nobody has been able to catch him.
Let’s talk about the very starting point: 9/11 attacks on Wtc. What is your opinion about it?
In the towers only normal people, civilians have died. Osama didn’t to want to kill normal people: he wanted to kill Bush and the people of the Us government. But none of them have been killed in the Wtc. That attack was Bush’s job, Us government job. They did it with computer-guided airplanes. They did it to have a good excuse to go to war against Afghanistan, Iraq and all other Islamic countries.
So, do you consider the US intervention in Afghanistan not a retaliation for 9/11 but a previously planned action?
Americans came to Afghanistan only to get close to China, Iran and to oil and gas rich former Soviet republics. They told they came here to help Afghan people, but they have neither rebuilt what they destroyed during their intervention.
What is your opinion about that time, about the Taliban government, in particular about what shocked the western world, such as the public executions, the treatment of women? Shoud you ever regain power, would you change anything?
No. We are proud of what we did when we were in power in Afghanistan. We did the right things. When we’ll be back in power in Kabul we will be proud to re-establish the same rules, the good rules of Quran, rules that have been existing for 1.400 years. Lapidations, cutting the hands of thieves: these public punishments are very effective to prevent crimes because people see what happen to criminals and don’t do the same. Women? We respected womens’ rights according to the Quran rule: what the Quarn tells about women, that's what we did.
At that time, Afghans were happy. Only the americans were upset about it because they don’t want Islamic rules.
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