Word: talibans
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...Steve is a fearless journalist,” stated James Hider, a Middle East correspondent for The New York Times, about his colleague at the newspaper, Stephen Farrell. A force of NATO commandos had just freed Farrell on September 9 after the Taliban kidnapped him and his translator in the Taliban-occupied Kunduz province of northern Afghanistan four days earlier. Yet four deaths in exchange for one reckless journalist’s story is an impossible transaction to defend. Journalists must exercise more caution in reporting from war-torn areas like Afghanistan. Their bravery can quickly turn into a vainglorious...
Still, when set against the doomsday scenarios being painted six months ago, when terrorist attacks frequently struck major cities and the Taliban had advanced to within 70 miles of Islamabad, Pakistan's offensive in the Swat Valley is cause for moderate optimism - and it has been a popular success. But, as fighting continues in pockets and key leaders remain at large, it remains to be seen whether Pakistan can hold on to territory and see through a reconstruction effort. (See pictures of refugees fleeing the Swat Valley...
...counting of ballots, the whole process was deeply flawed," he says. "I can swallow the bitter pill of my own defeat, but not the injustice, nor the fact that Afghanistan will be ruled illegitimately for the next five years." This, he says, plays straight into the Taliban's hands. "The Taliban can say that 'It's only us who can bring justice to this country, not Karzai, not the international community.' " (Watch a video of Abdullah on the campaign trail...
...same greed," Abdullah says. The presidential challenger advocates an interim caretaker government until a second round of voting takes place. "It's only by showing the credibility of the election process that we have any chance." Otherwise, "this country will slip out of our hands to the Taliban." (See pictures of a photographer's personal journey through war in Afghanistan and Iraq...
...Pashtun vote in the south. Abdullah's ties to the late warrior-poet, Ahmed Shah Masood, killed by al-Qaeda a few days before 9/11, help Abdullah's support in the north because Tajiks revere Masood as an exemplary leader who single-handedly held off the Soviets and the Taliban. On the other hand, Abdullah's Masood connection is a turnoff to many Pashtun tribesmen, who viewed Masood as just another troublesome warlord. It doesn't matter that Abdullah's father was a Pashtun...