Afghanistan, allies to launch new effort to return Taliban to society
A previous program foundered because of inadequate funding, one official says. This time, the emphasis is not merely on amnesty, money and jobs but also on improved coordination among authorities.
January 27, 2010 | LA Times - By Alex Rodriguez and Julian E. Barnes
Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan, and Washington — Afghan soldiers held the mullah at gunpoint outside his house while they stabbed at the walls and floors with bayonets, searching for hollow spots where he might have hidden explosives or weapons.
The mullah pulled a government document from his pocket stating that he had forsaken the Taliban and had been granted amnesty. He showed it to an Afghan soldier, who shoved it back at him.
February 09, 2010 | U.S. army soldiers launched a preliminary operation Tuesday in support of a planned U.S.-Afghan attack on the largest Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan. The Afghan operation is one of the biggest attacks on the Taliban. Gregg Carlstrom says that this will probably not change the course of the war.
