Results tagged “taliban”

Thousands of pages of previously undisclosed documents compiled by lawyers for 9/11 victims' families probably won't be admissible in court. But they were passed along to the NY Times, which reports that they show Saudi "support for terrorist organizations" at least through 2006. Some documents, obtained from the Treasury Department through the Freedom of Information Act, include sworn statements from various witnesses detailing the transfer of millions of dollars from prominent Saudi charities to Al Qaeda and other extremist groups. At least one charity is controlled by members of the royal family, and another witness said in a sworn statement that he witnessed an emissary for a leading Saudi prince, Turki al-Faisal, hand a check for one billion Saudi riyals (now worth about $267 million) to a top Taliban leader in '98. The Justice Department, which recently urged the Supreme Court not to hear a lawsuit brought by families against the Saudi royal family, is now fighting to keep other leaked classified documents from surfacing in court.

Yesterday, the NY Times revealed that its reporter David Rohde "escaped Friday night and made his way to freedom after more than seven months of captivity in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan...Mr. Rohde told his wife, Kristen Mulvihill, that [fellow kidnapped reporter Tahir] Ludin joined him in climbing over the wall of a compound... They made their way to a nearby Pakistani Frontier Corps base and on Saturday they were flown to the American military base in Bagram, Afghanistan." Rohde, who was previously kidnapped in Bosnia, appears to be in good health, while Ludin injured his foot. The Times and Rohde's family "declined to discuss details of the efforts to free the captives, except to say that no ransom money was paid and no Taliban or other prisoners were released," with Times executive editor Bill Keller explaining, "As other victims have told us, discussing your strategy just offers guidance for future kidnappers." Mulvihill who expressed her gratitude to the Times, U.S. government and other agencies, said, "They just walked over the wall of the compound...We’ve been married nine months. And seven of those, David has been in captivity."

The Washington Post offers a story about how win over Afghan "notoriously fickle warlords and chieftains" by offering them "variety of personal services." This includes "pocketknives and tools, medicine or surgeries for ailing family members, toys and school equipment, tooth extractions, travel visas, and, occasionally, pharmaceutical enhancements for aging patriarchs with slumping libidos." A CIA operative tells the WaPo, "Whatever it takes to make friends and influence people -- whether it's building a school or handing out Viagra." In one example, an older tribal leader with four younger wives was so pleased with the Viagra he "offered up a bonanza of information about Taliban movements and supply routes -- followed by a request for more pills." CNBC's Mike Huckman spoke to Pfizer, whose spokesperson said the pharmaceutical company was "certainly not" aware about the drug's use in the war against terror. But, seriously, what will the government think of next—tabs of LSD?!