Word: mullah
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...prisoner. The bulk of Taliban conscripts who survived the war shaved, took off their black turbans and faded into the background. At the same time, only four of the top 50 Taliban commanders surrendered or were captured; those four are now held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, has not been found, and is most probably hiding in Uruzgan province, shielded by true believers. But while the new government in Kabul has struggled to maintain order, Afghan officials and Western diplomats agree: the Taliban is virtually incapable of staging a comeback. Though hardly free from fear...
...date, the 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...
...pragmatism. Karzai and the Americans represent the best hope for now, just as the Taliban did when they wrested control of most of the country from feuding warlords who had delivered only chaos. In the village of Babar Koli, a 22-year-old says he was a guard at Mullah Omar's Kandahar compound. The young man, who would not give his name, says he would not fight again if the mullah himself asked him. He instead wants to continue his religious studies in Kandahar...
...case, it would be a mistake to think the hard-core Taliban have completely disappeared. Mullah Omar sightings have been reported in Uruzgan, and his devoted followers are still around. On one of Tirin Kot's two main streets, 15 or so men sit together on the platform outside a tea shop, looking as Taliban are expected to look. The turbans are almost uniformly black or white, as are the shalwar kameezes, the baggy trousers and long shirts that Afghan men favor. Eyes are shadowed with surma, a carbon-based paste, and the stares are unwelcoming if not hostile...
...Taliban commander. Later he was identified by people outside the shop as Esmatullah Akhond. In a room with pictures of flowers along the walls, he is joined by a second man with a wide face and short beard, identified by bystanders as a Taliban commander called Mullah Sayfullah Akhond (they are not related; akhond is an honorific). They sit cross-legged on the threadbare carpet as dust floats through the dull afternoon light. "We have to hide ourselves because the government is going from house to house looking for us," says Esmatullah. "If they find us, they send...