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View Full Version : Taliban peace Talks?


ORAC
22nd Aug 2006, 07:37
Maybe we are hitting them where it hurts of late....

London Free Press - Tue, August 22, 2006: Taliban want bodies back

They seek the return of their dead fighters after bloody battles on the weekend.
By TERRY PEDWELL, CP

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- Taliban forces asked that the bodies of their dead fighters be returned yesterday after a weekend of bloody battles with Canadian and Afghan forces.

Afghan government officials said 72 Taliban fighters were killed in a massive ground, air and artillery assault in the volatile Panjwaii District, west of Kandahar. NATO called the battles, which began late Saturday and ended in the early-morning hours Sunday, a "big blow" to the Taliban, eliminating up to 10 per cent of their estimated numbers in southern Afghanistan.

At least 22 bodies were returned by late yesterday, said Haji Niamatullah, a member of the Kandahar provincial council and part of the government's reconciliation program. The rest, many of which had been buried, were to be retrieved and handed over today, Niamatullah said. "They will be collected today and will be handed over to Taliban in Sperwan," Niamatullah said. Sperwan is a village about four kilometres outside the city of Panjwaii.

Following Islamic human rights code, Afghan security forces assured the Taliban they would not be attacked while retrieving the bodies of their fallen comrades. "You don't say anything to the person whom we are sending, and we will not attack you in that duration," an Afghan official told Taliban leaders.

The return of war dead is a Muslim honour tradition that goes back to the battle of Ahzab in ancient Mecca. It is said that a renowned enemy warrior was killed and his body fell into a trench the Muslims had dug for the defence of Madina. Enemy forces presented ten thousand dinars to the Prophet Mohammed and requested that the dead body of their fallen warrior be handed over to them. The Prophet is said to have replied: "I do not sell dead bodies. You can take away the corpse of your fallen comrade."

Following the weekend fighting in Panjwaii, relatives, friends and family of the Taliban also had asked that bodies be returned for burial.

As well, Afghan officials see the return as another gesture in hopes the Taliban will reconcile with the government of Hamid Karzai.

Behind-the-scenes talks aimed at convincing the insurgents to put down their weapons in Panjwaii began late last week when moderate Taliban leaders requested negotiations with the United Nations or NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). An intermediary in those talks said yesterday the UN had not replied to the request, but the reconciliation process would continue.

A Taliban source said the UN would have to speak with Taliban elders in Pakistan, where they were holed up. "The Taliban who are in Panjwaii District, they are just warriors," the source said. "They don't have that talent to talk to someone for the reconciliation."

Despite peace efforts, violence continued in the south.

Another nine insurgents were killed in "a precision strike" shortly before midnight Sunday in Now Zad, in northern Helmand province west of Kandahar, NATO said. A prominent insurgent, Hajji Zaheer, was believed to have been among those killed.

tablet_eraser
22nd Aug 2006, 13:51
"Peace" is to "Taleban" as "Truth" is to "New Labour".

Anathema.

Yellow Sun
22nd Aug 2006, 14:56
"A moderate Taleban" = One who is out of ammunition

YS

SASless
22nd Aug 2006, 15:42
A Taliban source said the UN would have to speak with Taliban elders in Pakistan, where they were holed up. "The Taliban who are in Panjwaii District, they are just warriors," the source said. "They don't have that talent to talk to someone for the reconciliation."


By all means....return the bodies....and have plenty of UAV's, Apaches, and B-52's stacked up to celebrate the wake in true style....when the AK's start shooting in the air....scream self defense and dump several loads of bombs from the Buffs, follow that raid up with a free fire session for the Apaches....insert the troops and sweep the area.:E