Gulbuddin Hekmatyar backgrounder
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and his group, according to Peter Bergen, received huge amounts of US aid, and of Saudi aid also:
Quote:
Author Peter Bergen states that "by the most conservative estimates, $600 million" in American aid through Pakistan "went to the Hizb party, ... Hekmatyar's party had the dubious distinction of never winning a significant battle during the war, training a variety of militant Islamists from around the world, killing significant numbers of mujahideen from other parties, and taking a virulently anti-Western line. In addition to hundreds of millions of dollars of American aid, Hekmatyar also received the lion's share of aid from the Saudis.[21]"
21. Bergen, Peter L., Holy war, Inc. : inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden, New York : Free Press, c2001., p.69
That's a version of a lot of things...
To answer your direct question, a literal translation of Talib or Taleb is "A Person in need (of something)" in Arabic. It is popularly used for 'student.' The normal plural would be 'tullab' in Arabic but the Pashto plural is to add the 'an (Which in Arabic makes it 'two students'). A large batch of Koranic students out of the Paksitani Madrassas became the best organized and the largest of many factions in Afghanistan after the USSR departed. Since they were mostly students and were quite religious, they called themselves the Students; the Taleb An in Pashto. They later became the de-facto government is Afghanistan.
The world Talib is also used for 'seeker,' context dependent, in Arabic, Urdu and Pashto. It's also a popular name for boys in both India and East Africa. Abu Talib was the uncle of Mohammed and the Father of Ali, the founder of the Shi'i sect of Islam.
Webb as he often does opened his mouth before engaging his brain... :wry:
Those links posit some stuff that has been said and / or corroborated by others and refuted by still others. The owners acknowledge they're apostate Muslims. Some of their stuff is over the top but most is sorta reasonable. Viewers choice...
P.S.
David is right below -- I should have clarified that those were Afghan Students out of the Pakistani Schools and that it was an Afghan aggregation. It was supported to an extent and partly funded by Pakistan -- and Saudi interests...
New Taliban: Insights from the Afghan Field
On Monday 23 November Dr Antonio Giustozzi, Research Fellow at the Crisis States Research Centre at the London School of Economics, spoke on his edited book “Decoding the New Taliban: Insights from the Afghan Field” (C Hurst & Co, 2009). Described as 'the authority on the Taliban'.
Speech: http://www.iiss.org/whats-new/iiss-p...-afghan-field/ (27 mins) and Q&A (37mins). I had a snag as the volume was too low to listen easily.
Dr Antonio Giustozzi is a research fellow at the Crisis States Research Centre at the London School of Economics and has already authored “Empires of Mud” (C. Hurst. & Co, 2009), “Koran, Kalashnikov and Laptop: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan 2002-2007” (C Hurst & Co, 2008), and “War, politics and society in Afghanistan, 1978-1992” (Georgetown University Press, 2000). He is currently researching various aspects of governance and politics in Afghanistan and has written several articles and papers on this subject, covering 'warlordism', the formation of the new Afghan National Army, the Afghan insurgency in the 1980s and state building. He previously served in the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (2003-4).
Taliban strategy to capture foreign troops and civilians
All,
I thought I would highlight this since it is open source and to ensure wide dissemination. The Quetta Shura Taliban, in one of their publications, advocates capture operations of coalition troops and foreign civilians. More at the link and here.
The Taliban Are Still Here to Stay
I am sure SWC have discussed the Taliban in many ways, but possibly not under this heading.
SWC member Melissa Payson co-authored an article 'The Taliban Are Still Here to Stay' here:http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-a...-here-to-stay/
Melissa has worked both sides of the Durand Line and was last working in North Waziristan.
Just a few quotes:
Quote:
The only real solution to both nations’ existential crises is to engage directly in politics that are local, tribal, and perpetual. With the clock ticking rapidly for NATO to deliver stability in South Asia, success will depend on a paradigm shift in the West’s ability to grasp and act upon this.
Point 1:
Quote:
First, the local. Both NATO forces and the Afghan government are meant to follow the current Marja battles with a governance strategy of winning over Taliban commanders and fighters and engaging villages in economic reconstruction projects.
Point 2:
Quote:
Engaging directly with the tribal population must be the second pillar in any partnership...Any effective strategy must acknowledge and integrate the permanent staying power and territorial legitimacy of the Pashtuns....
Finally:
Quote:
Finally, we have to come to terms with the perpetual nature of negotiations with local and tribal populations. A longer time horizon can save us from repeating the mistakes of the past, such as focusing solely on military solutions and attempting to buy off capital elites. To avoid Afghanistan becoming another Vietnam, these will have to continue long after Obama has brought the troops home.
Amidst the "spin" over Marjah, the ambiguities of the "round up" of the Quetta Shura and far more - now the SWC can comment.