In an interview with bin Laden's fourth eldest son Omar, Reuters reported in a piece entitled "No Love Lost for Al Qaeda" that:
Omar bin Laden witnessed a 1998 encounter in which the Taliban leader demanded the al Qaeda chief leave Afghanistan following al Qaeda bombings of East African U.S. embassies that drew U.S. strikes on Afghanistan.
In tense exchanges, Osama bin Laden won a reprieve by telling Mullah Omar the demand was "giving in to infidel pressure" and therefore un-Islamic, the book says.
But according to this account, Mullah Omar ended the encounter by refusing to eat a meal bin Laden's men had prepared and did not bid farewell, an insult his father had to accept.
"He (Osama bin Laden) could not afford to get into a battle with the Taliban. He would lose, and he knew it," wrote Omar.
Perhaps the war contractors are seeing all those billions slipping away. There is no good reason to avoid talking to the leadership, since they resemble nothing more than a spent force looking for a face-saving way out. Any posts they are offered will be largely ceremonial. Afghanistan will never return to Shiara law.
Please join Robert Naiman's campaign to push the Obama administration into supporting talks. It's okay; Afghans are rather used to shooting at each other one day and then eating goat stew together the next. It's no big deal. It's a warrior society. Go to Robert's End the War in Afghanistan Action Page and send an email to your representatives.
Perhaps this long-suffering people's time in the sun can finally begin, after the tragic misfortune of being born in a place which powerful empires consider a "chess piece," to be buffeted in one direction or another by backing one extremest faction over another as the people starve. It's time for the real games to begin.
The diarist is co-founder of Jobs for Afghans.
Makeshift Gym in Kabul, Likeness of Arnold
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