There are some ethnic tribes in Afghanistan that were influential and organized before the USA retaliated against al Qaeda. The Tajiks are one of them. I would be curious as to the strength of the Northern Alliance (click here) as well.
The Taliban are known to execute people for what seems like no reason at all. The least The West can do is ally the tribes most able to take care of themselves and help them to secure their land and educate their children. Let them grow economies outside that of the poppy culture. There is no reason why the USA can't have tribal ethics as trading partners. We can sell sweaters made from Afghan goat/sheep wool. I am sure there are breeds of goat and sheep in Afghanistan that produce incredible wool for use in making sweaters and other articles for sale in The West.
By Mumin Ahmadi, Mullorajab Yusufi. and Nigorai Fazliddin
Afghan soldiers near the city of Badakhshan in northern Afghanistan on July 4. Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province borders Tajikistan.
Dushanbe - When the Taliban captured a strategically important security checkpoint (click here) near Afghanistan's border with Tajikistan last month, it assigned a Tajik militant to raise the Taliban flag on the site.
The militant goes by the alias Mahdi Arsalon and has a group of fighters from Tajikistan under his command, an eyewitness to the flag-raising and other sources told RFE/RL.
The Taliban also put Arsalon and his group in charge of security in five districts the Taliban seized near the Tajik border in recent months, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to personal security concerns.
The districts are Kuf Ab, Khwahan, Maimay, Nusay, and Shekay -- all parts of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province.
In Afghanistan, Arsalon and other Tajik militants are known as the “Tajik Taliban.” But in reality they are members of Jamaat Ansarullah, which is banned in Tajikistan as a terrorist group.
Jamaat Ansarullah -- also known as Ansarullah or Ansorullo -- was founded by a rogue former Tajik opposition commander a decade ago with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the government in Dushanbe....
The militant goes by the alias Mahdi Arsalon and has a group of fighters from Tajikistan under his command, an eyewitness to the flag-raising and other sources told RFE/RL.
The Taliban also put Arsalon and his group in charge of security in five districts the Taliban seized near the Tajik border in recent months, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to personal security concerns.
The districts are Kuf Ab, Khwahan, Maimay, Nusay, and Shekay -- all parts of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province.
In Afghanistan, Arsalon and other Tajik militants are known as the “Tajik Taliban.” But in reality they are members of Jamaat Ansarullah, which is banned in Tajikistan as a terrorist group.
Jamaat Ansarullah -- also known as Ansarullah or Ansorullo -- was founded by a rogue former Tajik opposition commander a decade ago with the ultimate goal of overthrowing the government in Dushanbe....
