Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of what is left on the insurgent side of Hizb-i Islami Hekmatyar (many Hizbis defected to the Karzai government), does an “interview” for CBS. But not really. It’s just an address by Hekmatyar. You got three minutes to waste? Gulbuddin has those three minutes for you:
That was some rather boring, unoriginal and not very insightful posturing. The rumored to be dead Jalaluddin Haqqani recently rose from the grave (looking like crap) to narrate the video of a Haqqani & Son super-massive suicide truck bombing of an ANA post that killed two Americans. Hekmatyar, on the other hand,….. well, never mind. It’s not even worth my time.
The only thing worth noting is the international tone of his monologue. He sounds like he’s speaking mostly to a foreign audience. But like I said; posturing. Strong and persistent rumor has it that he is negotiating with the Karzai government (and a weaker and less persistent rumor had it that his “people” gave some assistance to the non-Hizbis who attacked the Karzai parade). And what will change if he reaches an agreement? I would like to say very little will, but I don’t have access to the info that the Afghan intel guys and the US Army have. Will his commanders (number?) on the ground just look elsewhere for goodies if Hekmatyar quits the game? So without knowing exactly what’s going on in Hekmatyar’s hideout in Pakistan and in Kunar, Nuristan, etc.. I will just say that I will trade you seven Hekmatyars for one Sirajuddin Haqqani.
So that’s $200,000 divided by seven. You do the math.
I do like the small print though: “You may be…” and “Up to.” I wonder what the Pashto version reads? “Inshallah, you may might possibly get some money.”
Also please do not attempt to turn in Los Angeles morning radio show host Adam Corolla and claim that he is Siraj Haqqani. Seriously, do a quick comparison of the two.
Anyways, here’s a report with excerpts of the Haqqani video that show a grinning German Turk going of to martyrdom [video has been removed. Thanks anti-jihadi whack-a-mole cyber warriors. Now we can pretend that Haqqani is dead again]:
And more complete story is here.
OK, no more Bill Roggio imitations from me. I promise more pseudo-anthropology and less speculation on jihadi chicanery.
