Word: fahim
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...Meanwhile in Kabul, local factions have begun turning their newly acquired firepower on one another. Last month saw two pitched gun battles at the gates of the presidential palace in Kabul?while Karzai was inside working?between different bands of the palace guards: Panshiris loyal to Defense Minister Mohamed Fahim and another group from Badakshan province allied to former President Burhanuddin Rabbani. The latest confidential U.N. report on security, seen by TIME, concludes that a full-fledged "power struggle" is under way. "Those elements that have the most to lose from a stable and democratic order in Afghanistan have begun...
...Civil Aviation Minister Abdul Rahman, who was murdered at the Kabul airport two weeks ago. Though Karzai presides, it is apparent that while he possesses the ceremonial trappings of his office--a presidential guard and an off-tune military band--the real power lies elsewhere. Defense Minister Mohammed Qasim Fahim and Interior Minister Younus Qanooni both arrive for memorial prayers with a retinue of armed warriors. The assorted dignitaries remove their shoes to enter the local mosque. Karzai later notes with black humor that a Cabinet member's shoes were stolen. It's a tough crowd...
...afternoon, Karzai holds a press conference on aid, but all the journalists want to talk about is the minister's assassination and whether it presages a power struggle with the heavyweights of the Northern Alliance, Fahim and Qanooni. Karzai deflects the question, exhibiting the bouncy optimism that many take for naivete. He's like a high-wire artist pretending to be only a few feet above ground. "How do I do this?" says Karzai. "I don't know. I just go ahead...
...paints a similar picture of the capital; Karzai is in charge, but might is wielded by Uzbeks and Tajiks of the Northern Alliance. Different worlds are colliding, and the groups from north must cope with Pashtuns from the south. Discussions are said to be ongoing with defense minister Mohammed Fahim, of the Northern Alliance, to forge a durable arrangement. Says Akhund, "Only a few Pashtuns remain with Karzai for his protection." It will be better when he doesn't need them...
...battlefield. The special forces were not just on the ground; they were also blending in, riding horses in a cavalry charge while using handheld lasers to guide bombers to their targets. The Pentagon began to bomb the Taliban front lines, north of Kabul--the step that got Fahim moving. As a White House official put it later, "We said, 'O.K., if you won't move till we start hitting targets in front of you, we'll hit targets in front of you.' And we started bombing the valley...