Word: kot
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...early morning, and a group of men are squatting on stones by the trickle of a river that runs through Tanali, a village outside Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province in south-central Afghanistan. Some wear turbans; some do not. A few have long beards; others a few days' growth or none at all. The differences are trivial, though, given what unifies them. This village is their home. And, says Mullah Muramza, a slight, young man gently cradling a small bird in his hands: "Everyone here was with the Taliban...
...story of the war in Afghanistan has focused on the ones who got away, chief among them Osama bin Laden, Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and, according to an Afghan intelligence official, "99% of the hard-core leadership" of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. But if Tirin Kot is any indication, most of the Taliban rank and file are not in hiding. They are back in their hometowns, farming, opening shops in the bazaar or just looking for work. The intelligence official estimates there "could be as many as 10,000, maybe more." Where? "Man, just look around...
...Taliban in town are being monitored by the new local authorities loyal to President Hamid Karzai, and special forces regularly patrol Tirin Kot. Despite some reports of harassment and beatings by the town's police force, Talibs say their return has caused little friction. They are quite open about their Taliban affiliations. Afghan security officials admit they have neither the budget nor the reach to fully investigate these men for abuses during the Taliban period. Sardar Mohammed, head officer of Tirin Kot's district police force, says the Taliban foot soldiers are not a problem. "They surrendered and gave...
...evident among the men in Tirin Kot that not all members of the Taliban were equal in their devotion to the movement. As the Taliban swept across the country in the mid 1990s, the group became an amalgam of true believers and those who sought protection, a salary and food. Many non-Taliban commanders capitulated to the movement rather than fight, in order to retain their power and their men. Among the people of Tirin Kot, there is a binding dedication to Islam but not to the specific brand preached by the Taliban and especially not to the extreme forms...
...dangerous for us to gather," says Sayfullah, who claims he was arrested and imprisoned in Tirin Kot but later released. "We live alone or in groups of two because if there are more, the government will think we are plotting something." They are clearly distressed by the new government, which they see as an un-Islamic, American puppet regime, and appalled by the return of movies and music to Afghan streets. Furthermore, Esmatullah says, "We hear on the radio that Americans are calling the Koran the book of terrorism. If this is true, there will be another holy...