Word: zahir
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...currying favor himself, furiously networking, Afghan-style. On Sept. 15, he dispatched an envoy to the newly arrived U.S. ambassador in Pakistan, Wendy Chamberlin, in hopes of gaining American backing. And last month he sent an envoy to Rome to pay respects to the aged, deposed Afghan King, Mohammed Zahir Shah, whom the U.S. has tapped as a symbolic rallying figure for post-Taliban Afghanistan. But if Shirzai is following the age-old Afghan custom of building bridges, he is also following its equally venerable tradition of nursing grudges. His clan is part of the Pashtun ethnic group, which, with...
Supplies are a major problem. Sitting in a shell-pocked command post with a panoramic view of the Kapisa front lines, Mahmad Zahir, a platoon commander with 21 years of combat experience, pulls out three Kalashnikov rifle magazines from the webbing under his jacket and lays them on the floor for inspection. Two of the three are empty. "We're short of ammunition--for tanks, artillery, machine guns, rifles. It's already cold, but we don't have enough blankets, and we have no winter uniforms," says the bearded, sunken-cheeked veteran. "If the Americans hit the Taliban...
...currying favor himself, furiously networking, Afghan-style. On Sept. 15, he dispatched an envoy to the newly arrived U.S. ambassador in Pakistan, Wendy Chamberlin, in hopes of gaining American backing. And last month he sent an envoy to Rome to pay respects to the aged, deposed Afghan King, Mohammed Zahir Shah, whom the U.S. has tapped as a symbolic rallying figure for post-Taliban Afghanistan. But if Shirzai is following the age-old Afghan custom of building bridges, he is also following its equally venerable tradition of nursing grudges. His clan is part of the Pashtun ethnic group, which, with...
...comes? "There's not a specific plan," admits a State Department spokesman. However, in the back rooms of the world's capitals, an outline is beginning to emerge. The U.N. helped persuade the ousted King to convene a grand assembly, traditionally known as a loya jirga. Three weeks ago, Zahir, who has broad support among his fellow Pashtun, met with representatives of the Northern Alliance in Rome and made a deal under which together they would appoint a council of 120 representatives to select as many as 1,000 tribal elders and respected Afghans for the loya jirga. That group...
...Supplies are a major problem. Sitting in a shell-pocked command post with a panoramic view of the Kapisa front lines, Mahmad Zahir, a platoon commander with 21 years of combat experience, pulls out three Kalashnikov rifle magazines from the webbing under his jacket and lays them on the floor for inspection. Two of the three are empty. "We're short of ammunition?for tanks, artillery, machine guns, rifles. It's already cold, but we don't have enough blankets, and we have no winter uniforms," says the bearded, sunken-cheeked veteran. "If the Americans hit the Taliban...