Wanted Taliban leader doesn't fear U.S.
Posted: Thursday, April 09, 2009 9:34 AM
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Islamabad, Pakistan
By NBC News’ Mushtaq Yusufzai
PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Afghan intelligence agents are sharing information with militants about U.S. and NATO troop movements, a top Taliban commander told NBC News.
"The people of Afghanistan are with us," said Sirajuddin Haqqani, in an exclusive interview. "The Afghan intelligence officials are sympathetic to the Taliban and they communicate the movements of the occupying forces [U.S. and NATO] to us."
There was no way to confirm Haqqani's claims, but nearly eight years after the attacks of 9/11, the United States has struggled to oust the Taliban and its al-Qaida allies from parts of Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.
On March 27, President Barack Obama pledged a fresh infusion of U.S. troops to the region. "If the Afghanistan government falls to the Taliban or allows al-Qaida to go unchallenged," Obama said, "that country will again be a base for terrorists."
The United States also has hinted at possible negotiations with some elements of the Taliban. On March 31, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Taliban members in Afghanistan who abandoned extremism must be granted an "honorable form of reconciliation" while Defense Secretary Robert Gates noted that a similar rapprochement worked in Iraq.
However, the Taliban commander – who has a $5 million bounty on his head – dismissed U.S. efforts. Haqqani said that, contrary to comments from U.S. officials, there are no moderate Taliban willing to talk to America. As for other negotiations, Haqqani said that rumors of Saudi Arabia brokering peace negotiations with the Taliban leadership were just that – rumors.
Haqqani said Taliban fighters are now more resourceful than in the past. "We have acquired the modern technology that we were lacking and we have mastered new and innovative methods of making bombs and explosives," he explained.
The commander said he travels freely around Afghanistan because most people don’t know what he looks like. The 29-year-old said he keeps a low profile by travelling alone or just with one companion.
Risky trip
This was the second time I travelled across the mountains from Pakistan into Afghanistan to meet Haqqani. Last July, I had no doubt I would get the interview – this time I wasn't so sure.
I had submitted my interview request through two Taliban commanders in South Waziristan. They are men I have known since I was a young reporter – they fled Afghanistan and settled in Pakistan, after the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
But during the past year, the roads in Pakistan’s border areas have become much more dangerous – they are peppered with militants of all persuasions: thieves, warlords, drug lords and bandits who earn a living kidnapping hostages for ransom.
I decided to risk all and go. I left my home at dawn, in the pouring rain, one morning last week and hopped on a bus leaving Peshawar for South Waziristan, along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. I calculated that the 4-1/2 hour uncomfortable bus trip would be safer than travelling by car.
The roof of the bus was leaking badly from the heavy downpour, so the passengers inside were angry and kept shouting at the driver. I was nervous he would stop the bus and order all of us to get off, but he drove on.
‘This is our area,’ says Taliban militant
When we arrived in Tank, a border town on the cusp of the Northwest Frontier Province and South Waziristan, I immediately felt the tension. The Taliban were in full view and in full control.
As we had arranged on the phone ahead of time, a taxi was waiting for me in Tank. I was told to give my phone to the driver and then after about two minutes, a Toyota pick-up truck with black windows pulled up alongside of me and I climbed in. A young fighter, with a thick beard, asked my name. Once I assured him who I was, we never spoke again.
We traveled another four hours to Wana, the main city in South Waziristan. There I was introduced to two Taliban commanders who escorted me to a guest house where I was supposed to spend the night. I was tired and tried not to think of my safety; I just wanted to sleep. It had been a very long day.
Around midnight, the commander came to wake me – we had to leave the location – two U.S. drone aircraft were overhead. Now I was scared.
It was still raining. We moved from house to house, and location to location, all night long until we finally drove across the border.
When my escorts told me that we had arrived in Afghanistan, I became really frightened and wanted to return home.
The commander assured me that we were in an area controlled by the Taliban. "This is our area," he said. "Don’t be afraid."
Heard the bounty news on VOA-Pashto service
We continued to drive along unfamiliar terrain until we reached a non-descript mud-built house nestled in a valley and surrounded by plush mountains. I had no idea where I was but when a second car pulled up alongside of me, there was no mistaking the man who stepped out – he was tall, trim and almost handsome, with dark, mischievous eyes.
When one meets Haqqani, it is hard to believe he holds control over so many men; his demeanor is humble, polite and he listens attentively.
Haqqani is one of the top Afghan warlords; he claims to control Paktika, Paktia and Khost provinces as well as the capital, Kabul.
His father, Jalaluddin Haqqani, was one of the most feared and fearless mujahideen (holy warrior) commanders bankrolled by the CIA to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. The elder Haqqani is in failing health now. His second son, Sirajuddin, took over as the head of his network; he is considered to be so powerful that the United States recently put a $5 million bounty on his head.
I asked him about the reward money.
"I was staying with some people the night it was announced by the Americans," Haqqani told me. "I couldn’t sleep and switched on VOA [Voice of America]-Pashto service on the radio, that’s where I heard the news.
"Why are they wasting their time announcing a reward for me?" Haqqani asked. "The Americans still don’t understand that even if they kill me, there are thousands of ‘Sirajuddins’ in Afghanistan who want only to liberate our homeland from the occupying foreign forces."
U.S. intelligence officials believe that the Haqqani network has helped al-Qaida establish safe havens in Pakistan’s tribal areas after they fled Afghanistan following the U.S. invasion.
When I brought up President Barack Obama’s $15 billion economic aid package to help Pakistan combat militancy in the tribal regions near Afghanistan, Haqqani laughed. "The Americans think they can buy everything," he said. "The more money they give, the more pressure they will put on Pakistan. That money will only turn more people against America and give us more space."
Haqqani also brushed off the looming Afghan elections in August as a farce.
"These people who are holding office are incapable of operating a single government department. How can they run a country?
"It is too early to say how we will react to the elections," he added and indicated it was time for him to leave.
