Word: tribesmen
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...ceremony, a modest affair by Afghan standards, was a celebration of traditional headgear. Tribesmen from the east sported vast swaths of butter-yellow silk looped into view-blocking turbans, while their southern cousins opted for the more somber black and gray. Northerners were identified by their flat-topped woolen pakols; the urban élites by their peaked karakul caps. They were outdone only by the portraits of Afghanistan's former rulers that lined the walls of the reception hall - some of those wore helmets. The first few rows were occupied by suited foreign dignitaries, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary...
Under a blistering sun, the tribesmen queue impatiently for attention. Sweat drips from their head as they attempt to edge closer to the doors of the refugee registration center in Dera Ismail Khan, on the edge of the tribal areas in northwest Pakistan. As time slips by, so does their restraint. Waving angry fists with one hand and clasping their documents with the other, the group of men heaves toward the doors. Police officers on duty scatter the unruly crowd with forceful swings of their long bamboo sticks...
...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...
Greed. Mutual suspicion between Karzai and his Western allies. Pro-Karzai tribesmen elevated to government posts only to take revenge against their ancient rivals. These factors contribute to the catastrophic failure of attempts to wean the guerrillas away from fighting. And unless the situation changes - rapidly - it is unlikely that the next government of Afghanistan will fare any better at winning over the Taliban. Indeed, the next government will probably be led by Karzai, who will lack credibility after the pervasive claims of vote-rigging in the presidential election. Given that everyone from President Obama on down to his military...
...Helmand, where coalition forces have encountered fierce Taliban resistance, British officials rightly concluded that many of the Taliban fighters were local tribesmen with grievances against Karzai's personally appointed officials, many of whom were shaking down villagers for bribes. In 2007, A British-led program to rehabilitate Taliban fighters and give them job training was abruptly shut down by Karzai himself, who accused the British of colluding with the Taliban. The situation is complicated by a century and a half of suspicions about Britain's colonial legacy in Afghanistan...