Word: tribesmen
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...government in Islamabad had been negotiating for two weeks or longer to try and persuade the Waziri tribal elders to hand over the three main tribesmen who are believed to have been sheltering al-Qaeda operatives. The tribes are heavily armed, and they're traditionally allowed considerable autonomy from the central government in running their own affairs. In response to the government's efforts, the tribal elders hemmed and hawed, and then refused to hand over the wanted men - who, in the meantime, had fled. At that point, an informant walked into the military garrison in Wana and said...
...TIME.com: What would explain the ferocity with which Pakistani tribesmen appear ready to die to defend Arab terrorists...
...sound mediaeval, but Pashtun culture places a higher value on honor than on life. Al-Qaeda operatives in the tribal areas are believed to be living with local families, and some - particularly Uzbeks and Chechens - are said to have married into local families. In the eyes of the tribesmen, for government troops to go in and destroy the houses and force the families off ancestral land is a big no-no. What we're seeing is that because of harsh government action, a lot of tribesmen who couldn't care less about giving sanctuary to Zawahiri or anyone else...
...rode into Afghanistan on a motorcycle soon after the Sept. 11 attacks to foment an anti-Taliban revolt among Pashtun tribes--responded to their overtures? In a word, pragmatism. The Taliban and al-Qaeda are gaining ground in remote areas, where they have found support among Pashtun tribesmen who feel Karzai's government is too top-heavy with Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara tribal leaders--their rivals for political power. By bringing moderate Taliban onboard, Karzai hopes he can garner support among the Pashtun and split the Taliban's ranks. But the President's program could falter at the start: Karzai...
...Laden--might be holed up in the feisty Mohmand tribe's mountain stronghold, which straddles the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The plan was to have the Pakistanis sweep into the tribal area while U.S. troops sealed off the Afghan side, trapping the terrorists. Things went awry when Mohmand tribesmen and Afghan fighters supporting the U.S. forces attacked the Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistanis, unsurprisingly, shot back. All together a dozen were killed or injured, and the U.S. was left to referee a nasty diplomatic donnybrook between key allies...