Afghans Turn to Taliban ‘Government’


CANBERRA — As the Afghan government is failing to maintain a rapport with local people, the Afghans are turning to the Taliban, which are running courts and hospitals, to fill in the gap.
"A government that is losing to a counter-insurgency isn't being outfought, it is being out-governed,” David Kilcullen, a senior adviser to US commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal, told Australia’s National Press Club, reported Reuters on Monday, August 31.

“And that's what's happening in Afghanistan."
Kilcullen said the Afghan government of Hamid Karzai was failing to respond to the needs of the local Afghans.
Therefore, local Afghans are increasingly turning to the Taliban to solve their disputes, he said.

Afghanistan has been in a state of political limbo since the August 20 disputed elections, who saw widespread fraud.
Partial results have placed incumbent Karzai in the lead, but not enough to avoid a second round against his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.
Allegations of fraud during the vote gathered more momentum on Monday.

Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) said it is investigating more than 2,500 fraud allegations during the ballot.
"We have received 691 complaints which are priority A," said EEC spokesman Ahmad Muslim Khuram.
He said 2,097 complaints had been received since election day, with the total since campaigning began in mid-June at 2,564.
The flood of complaints has heightened concerns that the legitimacy of the final results and any Karzai victory will be compromised.

"It's too early to say it (the result) will change because somehow we didn't finish our investigation,” Khuram said.
“Priority A means these complaints are serious enough and have evidence."
Election officials are expected to announce results from around 52 percent of polling stations later Monday, which will include results from 35 percent of polling stations already made public.

Shadow Govt
Kilcullen said that the Taliban are running shadow governments in many Afghan districts.
"It's a direct challenge to the international security forces," added Kilcullen, an Australian military officer and adviser to former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The Taliban are now running a network of 15 Shari`ah courts in the south to solve disputes between the locals.
The Afghan group has also set up an ombudsman’s office near Kandahar to hear complaints from local Afghans.
"If the Taliban do something that offends you, you go to the ombudsman and you complain, and they hear the case,” said Kilcullen.

“Sometimes they fire or even execute Taliban commanders for breaking the code of conduct."
The Taliban were ousted by the US, which invaded Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks.

Since their ouster, the group has been engaged in protracted guerrilla warfare against foreign forces and the West-backed Karzai government.
A recent report by the Senlis Council said Taliban has permanent presence in more than half of Afghanistan.

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Ordinary Afghans with their problems are increasingly turning to the Taliban, and not to Karzai regime. As IslamOnline pointed out, this is not surprising, since it is the Taliban who are running courts and hospitals and etc.

"A government that is losing to a counter-insurgency isn't being outfought, it is being out-governed," David Kilcullen, a senior adviser to US commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal, acknowledged. - And that's what's happening in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has been in a state of political limbo since the so-called "elections" on August 20, IslamOnline writes.

While the Western invaders developing propaganda campaign around "a fair counting of votes" the Taliban, according to Kilcullen, without waiting for the results of "elections", are already running governments in many Afghan districts.

Thus the Taliban are now running a network of 15 Shariah courts in the south to solve disputes between the locals, and has also set up an ombudsman's office near Kandahar to hear complaints from local Afghans.

"If the Taliban do something that offends you, you go to the ombudsman and you complain, and they hear the case," explained Kilcullen, an Australian military officer and adviser to former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. - Sometimes they fire or even execute Taliban commanders for breaking the code of conduct.

Against this backdrop, the Americans are trying to "correct" the situation with the help of a rabid propaganda.

Thus US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, said that as a result of operations by Western troops a disruption of Taliban was allegedly occurred. "The extremists disrupted, major caches of opium, heroin and drug paraphernalia are captured," Holbrooke said.

Meanwhile facts show the opposite - the Taliban is stronger and organized than ever, and NATO and US forces are facing serious problems in the organization and supplement of their troops.

Typical in this regard that, immediately after the Holbrooke's statement, it was reported that the Taliban has destroyed a large convoy of supply vehicles of NATO and US troops on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan

25 trucks with weapons, foodstuffs and ammunition were burned down. Fuel tanks for occupation troops were destroyed.

The operation was conducted in the Pakistani region of Chaman near the Afghan border. The exact number of destroyed and injured NATO soldiers is not reported. Meanwhile, Pakistani sources report "numerous human casualties".


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