Western-backed Afghan warlords paraded 19 Al Qaeda prisoners in a
dusty courtyard for the international press yesterday. British news
organizations paid as much as $2,000 for exclusive access to them.
But there was no sign of the No. 1 US target: Osama bin Laden.
Indeed, while local Afghan leaders declared a well-earned (and
conveniently timed) "victory" Sunday on the first day of Eid - the
three-day post-Ramadan Islamic feast - US bombers kept up their
attacks in the snowy peaks of eastern Afghanistan.
The pause here underscores for the US the perils of relying on
proxy fighters with different goals. Afghan troops are taking a
break to enjoy the religious holiday, and savor and cash in on their
battlefield gains. But their "break" occurs as Al Qaeda's top ranks
may be escaping through the mountains into Pakistan.
The two-week battle for Tora Bora has so far produced an
estimated 200 dead Al Qaeda and 31 prisoners of war. American and
British Special Forces are still racing to and from the front lines
determined as ever to root out remaining Al Qaeda holdouts and find
new clues as to the whereabouts of the evasive bin Laden.
But the battle for Tora Bora has begun to look more like a tale
of two entirely different battles.
One is a Western battle to end international terror; and the
local warlords clearly want to do that too. But it also appears that
these warlords are as interested in making as much money as possible
out of the world's current interest in eastern Afghanistan.
The three main warlords tried to explain yesterday how they had
beaten Al Qaeda - even as they refused reporters a promised tour of
the caves of Tora Bora, which allegedly include bin Laden's personal
quarters.
During the battle for Tora Bora, the Afghan warlords divided up
the mountains in the area into three equal parts and "cleared" the
enemy out of their respective territories.
While the world's press was going up one mountain valley to
witness the battle, senior Arab operatives in Al Qaeda were being
smuggled down another valley near the famed Khyber Pass on their way
out to Pakistan. The "safe houses" that moved the human goods were
being run by Afghans with strong connections to the Jalalabad
government.
The goal of taking bin Laden "dead or alive" has never,
apparently, been a top priority of the Afghan commanders, senior
commander Haji Zahir said yesterday.
A statement from the son of the retired regional governor, Haji
Qadeer, seems to bear that out. "Our mujahideen are up there, but
they aren't fighting, they are just looking through caves," he said.
"We fought this battle without shoes and food, but we still felt it
was our mission to put an end to Al Qaeda. We succeeded. As for
Osama, I can't say much more until I see him with my own eyes."
Commander Zahir and his fellow Afghan "freedom fighters" have
already had a genuine victory of sorts. …
