Word: tribalized
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...last urban strongholds in Kandahar and Jalalabad, headed, no doubt, for the hills where they'll hope to reprise the mujahedeen guerrilla tradition. But reports suggest much of the post-Taliban south is now being carved up among various local Pashtun commanders. Fighters loyal to Arif Khan, a local tribal leader, are said to hold Kandahar's airport. One Yunus Khalis has claimed Jalalabad and the Pakistani border town of Torkham. And so on. With the Taliban gone, most local warlords who once fought on their side have mutinied, and are now staking their claim in a post-Taliban political...
Even after the meek inherit the rest of the Earth, Afghanistan may remain reserved for warlords. Don't be fooled by high-minded discussions in the West about giving the Afghan people a broadly representative government -ethnic and tribal strongmen are carving out fiefdoms faster than you can say "Taliban retreat," and it may well be these "facts on the ground" that determine the shape of the next government...
...send plumes of the thick smoke of lamb fat into the air, and yellow taxis ply their trade. The Alliance leader Ustad Mohammed Atta has become the unofficial mayor of Mazar, sitting cross-legged on the floor of his new home, receiving a stream of visits from town elders, tribal leaders and messengers from the frontlines...
Though turbans and veils are associated with Muslims--at least in the West--they actually have little to do with Islam, and lots to do with cultural or tribal mores, says Jean Abinader, managing director of the Arab American Institute. "The veil is not required in Islam," he says, although dressing modestly is. It is local interpretation that dictates that women not be seen. Turbans also reflect local culture (except in the case of Sikhs), or often geography. Says Abinader: "Different turbans are outgrowths of the different climates in which they are worn...
...reclaim half of the country in less than a week, opening the way for Russian logistical support that will likely prevent a Taliban comeback in the north for the foreseeable future. And now that they're no longer the masters of all Afghanistan, many local warlords and even Pasthun tribal leaders currently aligned with the Taliban may be inclined to switch sides...