The mysterious Afghan warlord trusted to spread peace in a divided province

The Times (London) ^ | January 12, 2008 | Anthony Lloyd

[Wallaby]

Britain's last chance of securing this treacherous corner of Afghanistan lies in the hands of a piratical, black- turbaned figure with long beard, white cloak and silver-sequinned slippers with curled toes.

Mullah Abdul Salaam may not look much like a white knight. He served as a commander in the Taleban and even today his true loyalties remain suspect. The 45-year-old former Mujahidin guerrilla could, however, decide the fate of the British mission to stabilise the lawless province of Helmand, where this week he was put in charge of the key district of Musa Qala.

"He's not just the best show in town," one British officer remarked. "He's the only show in town."

Mullah Salaam's rise to power in Musa Qala, the test case for British efforts to evict the Taleban and install central authority, is a classic Afghan tale of intrigue, bloodshed, farce and fate.

...the former warlord explained how last year he had severed relations with the Taleban, was courted secretly by a foreign diplomat and eventually swapped sides to join the British-led effort.

"The Taleban called a shurah (council) to attack the district centre and coalition forces there but though invited I did not attend nor fight"...

He was then approached by Michael Semple, an Irish diplomat ...[who] managed to put together a deal with the former Taleban commander....

The result was operation Mar Karadad, which had to be accelerated at the end of November when Kabul heard news that Mullah Salaam, now back in Musa Qala, had attracted the attention of the Taleban and the uprising was imminent.

There was one big hitch. There was no uprising. When Afghan, British and US units closed in on Musa Qala last month, Mullah Salaam stayed in his compound in Shakahraz, ten miles east, with a small cortege of fighters...

[RDTF]

I really wanted to see those silver sequined shoes

[endthematrix]

"was courted secretly by a foreign diplomat and eventually swapped sides"

[ARE SOLE]

I couldn't locate a pic of his fancy sequenced shoes but I found a snap of his combat boots.

[ViLaLuz]

“Mullah Abdul Salaam may not look much like a white knight. He served as a commander in the Taleban and even today his true loyalties remain suspect.”

We were already duped once in Musa Qala. Don’t we ever learn? STUPID STUPID STUPID!

[UKTory]

That’s the way things have always been in Afghanistan though with different power bases and changing loyalties, and the simple fact is that we don’t have enough troops on the ground there to hold these areas ourselves.

Afghanistan is 50% bigger than Iraq, with a population about 4 million greater. 140,000 troops weren’t enough in Iraq and there had to be a surge to be able to pacify some areas. So 50,000 in Afghanistan certainly isn’t going to allow the same kind of tactics to be used.

[RDTF]

ha!