Word: zahir
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...violent pastViolence, betrayal, intrigue and infighting have been endemic to Afghanistan's politics for the past quarter century, first among the royals, then among the communists and finally among the anti-Soviet mujahedeen - and right now its the latter who are reclaiming power. King Zahir Shah, who the U.S. hopes will return from exile in Rome and lead a democratic renaissance, was overthrown in 1973 by his cousin, Mohammed Daoud, who was himself overthrown by a communist military coup in 1978. But as infighting among two rival communist factions became more violent and chaotic, the Soviets invaded...
...while the old mujahedeen carve the south into fiefdoms, Northern Alliance commanders appear to have done the same with the major towns of northern Afghanistan. Nobody is waiting for the king to lend his authority to a power grab, because he simply doesn't have any. Not surprisingly, Zahir Shah has no plans to return to Afghanistan just...
...prominent Pashtun war commander Abdul Haq--who was betrayed and executed by the Taliban while trying to recruit tribal elders for a revolt--U.S. hopes are pinned on Hamad Karzai, a pro-Western Pashtun nobleman who is in southern Afghanistan, urging tribal elders to back exiled King Mohammed Zahir Shah...
...Outside Kandahar, some anti-Taliban forces mobilized behind Hamid Karzai, a commander who supports the exiled King Mohammed Zahir Shah. Karzai spent weeks working undercover in Afghanistan, drawing on his old tribal networks and recruiting chieftains to join the battle. His strategy was to sever the Taliban from its tribal links, winning over local chiefs with promises of peace and international aid. Karzai's men advanced from Uruzgan, north of Kandahar; on the other side of the city, thousands of armed men from southern border towns loyal to another tribal elder, Ghul Agha Sherzai, moved into positions in the hills...
...talks in Kabul, a slap down of Pakistan's suggestion that "moderate Taliban" elements have a role in a future government. (The Alliance believes "moderate Taliban" is an oxymoron, and is hostile to any Pakistani influence in Kabul.) And while the U.S. had hoped to see the exiled King Zahir Shah return and take the leading role in convening a new government, Northern Alliance leader Burnharuddin Rabbani made clear Tuesday that the king could return, but as a citizen rather than a sovereign. Pakistan...