Needlenose

Was reading about Bin Laden’s ‘trail’ from Kabul to Abbotabad, when this little bit caught my eye:

“Gul also accompanied bin Laden to Kunar, where they met Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and his military chief Kashmir Khan, who “provided protection for the group before they continued to an unknown location at the request of Hekmatyar,” the interrogation report said.”

Surely not the same Gulbuddin Hekmatyar who was Shrubya’s ally among the Northern Alliance in 2001, and his daddy’s ally back in the 1980s?  Et tu, Brute?  The Bush’s old pal is a bit irked by the killing of their mutual ’80s pal Osama.  Don’t take his crocodile tears too seriously folks as he whines about all the U.S. injustices in the region, just remember that it was his militia that leveled Kabul after the Soviet occupation because he didn’t get the job he wanted.

I found this puff piece on ‘secret’ negotiations between the US and so-called ‘moderate’ members of the Taliban on HuffPo and I was quickly skimming through it when this bit caught my eye:

Also included in the negotiations is Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the notorious renegade Afghan warlord whose active insurgency continues to fight against U.S. and coalition forces.
Two former Pakistani intelligence officials say a deal was underway in which Hekmatyar would call for an end to his insurgency and be allowed to live above ground in Saudi Arabia with a budget of $85 million. At least one Afghan government official confirmed that a deal with Hekmatyar was being assembled.

Seriously?  Gulbuddin Hekmatyar? If there is any credence whatsoever to the article, Obama will just be the next in line to be taken by this consummate “Khan” artist.

– George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

…Unless you’re George Witless Bush that is.
Swopa’s recent post on how things are starting to ‘turn around’ (in favor of the Taliban) in Afghanistan jibes closely with my thinking of late.

Fubar of Clowntech loaned me an interesting book the other day, The Hidden War by Artyom Borovik. The book is that journalist’s account of the (failed) Soviet war in Afghanistan written in two sections – the first part covers the early part of the war, and the second, the Soviet army’s humiliating withdrawal from the country.

What caught my attention in recent A’stan news was the mention of rebel leader and warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. What makes this guy so interesting is a) he’s a powerful warlord, and b) he’s a serial turncoat. He makes a few cameos in Borovik’s book.

He started out as a communist, but was kicked out of the Kabul Military Academy. At some point the CIA discovered and backed him, and he became a key part of Ronnie “Alzheimer” Reagan’s covert war against the Soviet Union – but he may in fact have stayed on the payroll of the KGB!!!!

Then, as now, he was periodically forced over the border into Pakistan, where he found succor among his fellow Pashtuns and a strong base from which to operate. And operate he did, not only fighting Soviet and Afghani ‘puppet government’ forces, but wiping out large numbers of Mujahideen as well. In addition, of course, to running a hugely-profitable heroin-smuggling operation. After the defeat of the Soviet-installed government, Hekmatyar briefly became Prime Minister, but it wasn’t long before he had a ‘falling out’ with the other leaders and went back to doing what he does best – fighting the government (he’s the guy who had Kabul shelled into the ground).

Although a self-proclaimed ‘Pure Islamist,’ the Taliban wanted little to do with such a treacherous snake, and drove him out in 1996. But Baby Bush ‘rediscovered’ his Pappy’s favorite war-toy, and employed Hekmatyar again as a key part of the Northern Alliance. As anybody other than a total dolt (like Dubya) could foresee, it wasn’t long before Hekmatyar was back to his old tricks, making war on American-installed President Hamid Karzai. Now he’s back in Pakistan, having apparently ‘patched things up’ with the Taliban leaders, and is destabilizing the North-Eastern region of Afghanistan through guerrilla raids and propaganda.