Word: tribesmen
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...curls tumbling out of his turban, Mohammed was al-Qaeda's point man in the tribal area prior to the recent truce. After the Taliban's fall in December 2001, he helped fleeing al-Qaeda fighters and their families find sanctuary inside Pakistan, according to several of his fellow tribesmen. Mohammed observes an ancient, pre-Islamic code that exalts honor, revenge and giving sanctuary?even if it's your worst enemy who is asking. And for the Wazir, al-Qaeda weren't enemies; they were considered fellow Muslims fighting the infidel. "These al-Qaeda," marvels clergyman Maulana Hafta Khan...
...with an estimated 400-600 al-Qaeda militants still sheltering in the Pakistani borderlands, Lieut. General David Barno, commander of 15,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, indicated he was unimpressed by the deal between Pakistan and the pro-al-Qaeda tribesmen. "Our view is that there are foreign fighters in those tribal areas who will have to be killed or captured," he said. "It's very important that the Pakistani military continue with their operations." In response to Barno's comments, Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan retorted: "We cannot fire on our citizens, and that is why an innovative...
...Pakistan's long-term solution is to register foreigners living among the Wazir tribesmen as a way of monitoring their activities. The Pakistanis want photos and passport details of the foreigners, some of them hardened al-Qaeda fighters, others Afghan war veterans who settled down as tenant farmers after fighting the Soviets. Mohammed rejects the plan, arguing that Pakistan would turn this data over to Washington and other governments. So far, two deadlines for registration have come and gone, the latest on May 7, and no one has come forward. Americans say the scheme is useless. "We certainly...
...villages, because the foreigners bring in money. One tribal official in Jamrud told TIME he knew of an al-Qaeda fighter living in the hills of Waziristan who was paying $750 a month for a simple, mud-walled house that ordinarily rented for less than $80. Mohammed and his tribesmen also earn cash selling supplies to other Muslim militants?Arabs, Chechens and Uzbeks, according to the official?and by providing al-Qaeda with fresh recruits and guides to assist in raids against American patrols inside Afghanistan. Each fighter receives $450 per ambush...
...unlikely militants can be caught unawares and captured in their tribal-area hideaways in the foreseeable future. Bin Laden's fighters, says Islamabad-based columnist and retired General Talat Masood, "have almost certainly melted away into the hills." Mohammed, meanwhile, is now a local hero. Mobs of cheering tribesmen gather when his six-vehicle convoy, each auto mounted with machine guns, roars past. "I believe in the concept of jihad," Mohammed told reporters in his village of Shakai after the truce was signed, adding that he still considers Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar to be his "Commander of the Faithful...