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STRATFOR.com
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THE INTERNET SOURCE FOR GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE
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Taliban Fighters Less Likely to Surrender
November 29, 2001
Summary
International Red Cross workers Nov. 28 began removing the bodies of hundreds of dead Taliban prisoners from a compound near Mazar-e-Sharif, where an uprising by the group sparked three days of intense fighting. The overwhelming response from the Northern Alliance, backed by British and American advisors and U.S. air strikes, left no survivors. The extreme use of force could lead any foreign Taliban fighter heretofore considering surrender to now see little choice but to fight to the death.
Analysis
International Red Cross workers Nov. 28 began removing the bodies of hundreds of dead Taliban prisoners from the Qala-e-Jhangi fort, near the Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif. An uprising by the prisoners, most of whom were Chechen, Pakistani or Arab Taliban fighters, led to a three-day clash with Northern Alliance and foreign forces. According to reports, all of the 300 to 600 prisoners were killed after intense fighting backed by U.S. air strikes on the compound.
The overwhelming force used by Northern Alliance and coalition forces to quell the uprising has raised concerns from other Arab and Muslim nations, including Iraq and Pakistan. More directly, the deaths of the prisoners send a strong signal to other foreign fighters still inside Afghanistan. Any thought they may have had about surrendering before has been wiped away, leaving little choice but to comply with Taliban orders to fight to the death.
For U.S. and coalition forces active inside Afghanistan, this exacerbates a difficult situation. Defense officials have already warned that hardcore Taliban fighters were unlikely to surrender, and could resort to suicide missions. U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during a press conference Nov. 26 coined the phrase "dead-ender type" in reference to Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Rumsfeld said Omar and other Taliban and al Qaeda members were unlikely to ever surrender or be captured alive, and essentially suggested that the dangers of taking any such prisoner far outweighed the benefits.
(The Rest of the Story)
(c) 2001 Stratfor, Inc.
Dan
Taliban Fighters Less Likely to Surrender . . .