Reaping the Whirlwind : Afghanistan, Al-Qa'ida, and the Holy War

459 Pages·2003·3.03 MB·English

by  Michael Griffin

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Reaping the Whirlwind
Afghanistan, Al Qa’ida
and the Holy War
Revised Edition
Michael Griffin
P
Pluto Press
LONDON • STERLING, VIRGINIA
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First published by Pluto Press as
Reaping the Whirlwind: The Taliban Movement in Afghanistan, 2001
Revised edition published 2003 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
and 22883 Quicksilver Drive,
Sterling, VA 20166–2012, USA
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Michael Griffin 2001, 2003
The right of Michael Griffin to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0 7453 1916 5 hardback
ISBN 0 7453 1915 7 paperback
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Griffin, Michael.
Reaping the whirlwind : Afghanistan, Al Qa’ida and the holy war /
Michael Griffin.––New ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0–7453–1916–5 (hbk.)––ISBN 0-7453–1915–7 (pbk.)
1. Afghanistan––History––1989– 2. Taliban. 3. Islamic fundamentalism––
Afghanistan. 4. Islam and state––Afghanistan. 5. Islam and politics––Afghanistan.
I. Title.
DS371.2.G739 2003
958.104'6––dc21
2003008499
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by
Chase Publishing Services, Fortescue, Sidmouth EX10 9QG, England
Typeset from disk by Stanford DTP Services, Towcester
Printed and bound in Canada by
Transcontinental Printing.
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For Wendy Edson, with love
Griffin2 00 prelims 2/6/03 10:04 Page vii
Contents
Maps vii
List of Abbreviations xi
Preface xiii
Timeline xvii
1 The Killing of Najibullah 1
2 City of Night 16
3 Warriors of God 30
4 Mission to Cleanse 48
5 Burning Down the House 63
6 The Zahir Option 78
7 The New Emirates 92
8 Nest of Vipers 105
9 Oblivion’s Feast 118
10 Hostages 132
11 Ignoble Grave 147
12 A Fistful of Dollars 165
13 Satellites and Stars 180
14 The Bicycle Thieves 194
15 Mr Sam vs the Food and Beverage Industry 206
16 Head of the Snake 218
17 Manual of a Raid 243
18 The First Circle 263
19 The Storm of Airplanes 283
20 The Road to Kandahar 308
21 The Battle of Shah-i Kot 334
22 The Raw and the Cooked 353
Notes 387
Appendix 1: The Who’s Who of the Taliban 416
Appendix 2: Principal Characters 418
Index 421
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Griffin2 00 prelims 2/6/03 10:04 Page ix
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List of Abbreviations
ACBAR Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief
ACF Action Contre la Faim
AIG Afghan Interim Government
b/d Barrel per day
BJP Bharatiya Janata Party
BP British Petroleum
CDA Council for the Defence of Afghanistan
CENTCOM US Central Command
CIS Commonwealth of Independent States
DEA Drug Enforcement Agency
DSS Diplomatic Security Service
ECHO European Community Humanitarian Office
ECU European Currency Unit
FM Feminist Majority
GDD Geopolitical Drugs Despatch
GIA Groupe Islamique Armée (Algeria)
HUA Harakat ul-Ansar
HUM Harakat ul-Mujahedin
IB Intelligence Bureau
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
IRP Islamic Revival Party
ISAF International Security Assistance Force
ISI Inter Services Intelligence
JI Jamaat-i Islam
JUI Jamiat ul-Ulama-i Islam
MSF Médecins Sans Frontières
NGOs Non-governmental organisations
NWFP North West Frontier Province
OMON Russian acronym for Special-Purpose Militia Detachment
OPEC Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries
PDPA People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan
PEACE Poverty Eradication and Community Empowerment
PHR Physicians for Human Rights
PFLP Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
PKK Kurdish acronym for Kurdistan Workers Party
xi
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xii Reaping the Whirlwind
PPP Pakistan People’s Party
SCF Save the Children Fund
SLORC State Law and Order Restoration Council
SOC Special Operations Command
TAP Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan gas pipeline
TTA Transit Trade Agreement
UAE United Arab Emirates
UF United Front
UIFLA United Islamic Front for the Liberation of Afghanistan
UNDCP United Nations Drug Control Programme
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund
UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees
UNITA Portuguese acronym for National Union for the Total
Independence of Angola
UNOCHA UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to
Afghanistan
WFP World Food Programme
YWCA Young Women’s Christian Association