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The Gangs of Afghanistan
October 23, 2007: U.S. intelligence in Afghanistan
has identified the most dangerous new Taliban leader as 40 year old Siraj
Haqqani. His father was a leader in the 1980s fight against the Russians.
Haqqani belongs to a Pushtun tribe which lies astride the Afghan-Pakistan
border, and has a long tradition of fighting outsiders. Haqqani is the most
notable of the "new generation" Taliban leaders. The new, younger, guys are
pushing aside the 1980s generation, and advocating greater use of sheer terror,
and paying more attention to making money via drug smuggling, kidnapping and
whatever brings in cash. Haqqani has a $200,000 price on his head, and runs his Taliban crew more like a gangster,
than a religious leader. As has happened to many revolutionary organizations in
the past (like the Irish Republican Army and the Italian Mafia), the Taliban is
turning into a purely criminal organization, with less emphasis on the original
goals.
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