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Taliban Recruit 8th Graders to be Suicide Bombers

16 November 2010 04:47 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The International Security Assistance Force spokesman and the NATO Senior Civilian Representativeâ€™s spokesperson gave an update on coalition operations in Afghanistan during a news conference Nov. 14 at the ISAF headquarters here, APA reports quoting isaf.nato.int (International Security Assistance Force) web-site.

German Army Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz showed clips from an insurgent propaganda video that inflated false claims about ongoing operations and coalition and Afghan causalities. According to Blotz, the sophisticated videos are produced to seduce young men to become suicide bombers and to raise money. â€œFirst, they need young people who are willing to dieâ€”to be treated as disposable war materiel,â€ Blotz said, â€œAnd second, the Taliban need money to continue their campaign of violence against the Afghan people.

The videos, purchased at a public bazaar in Khost, contain video clips of suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices detonating against coalition forces.

â€œThe Taliban claim they protect the Afghan culture from foreign influence, but in this video they appeal for money and try to recruit foreign fighters,â€ Blotz said. â€œThese videos promote a culture of death that has no national following or basis in religious doctrine. These videos distort the truth and [make] arguments that attempt to legitimize a culture of death for Muslim youth.â€

ISAF was able to match the two suicide attacks depicted in the video with operational reporting from last February, Blotz said.

In one incident, Mohammad Musa, a resident of Sar Roza District in Paktika Province, and a student in a religious school, drove a white Toyota Corolla packed with 200 pounds of homemade explosives into a coalition supply convoy in Khost. An MRAP vehicle that was the target of the bombing was slightly damaged. One soldier was slightly injured and returned to duty the same day.

â€œThis young Afghan manâ€™s suicide did not impact ISAF operations,â€ Blotz said.

In another segment, Ustad Mohammad Yaser, a Taliban spokesman, made a plea for funds.

â€œâ€™Now we have one suicide bomber for each one of NATO and American tanks and trucks, but we do not have enough suicide vests and funds to support such operations,â€™â€ Yaser said in the video.

â€œThis is the future the Taliban have in mind for the youth of Afghanistan,â€ Blotz said. â€œIn contrast, the Afghan Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth Affairs recently conducted Afghanistanâ€™s first National Youth High Council General Assembly. The Youth High Council is a platform for youth to voice their concerns, exchange ideas and support peace building and governance development up to the village level.â€

Blotz also pointed out that lower-level insurgents have been invited by the President of Afghanistan to renounce violence, stop support to terrorists and accept the Afghan constitution as the conditions for rejoining Afghan society with honor.

In Khost, the same location where the Taliban distributed the video, the Afghan government partnered with the international community to build a hospital facility, and up to twenty schools, roads and agricultural business.

â€œThese are the types of initiatives Afghan young people said they wantâ€”education, jobs, and a voice in their government,â€ Blotz said. â€œClearly the Afghan government has a positive vision for the future of Afghanistanâ€”what we have just seen in these videos by the Taliban is not the future that the Afghan people want.â€

The NATO SCR spokesperson Dominic Medley gave an update on the NATO Lisbon Conference scheduled for Nov. 19-20 in Portugal.

â€œOn Friday and Saturday this week, the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit takes place in Lisbon in Portugal,â€ Medley said.

â€œThe 28 NATO nations will expand into the 48 ISAF nations and will be joined by President Karzai and the Government of Afghanistan delegation, along with the UN Secretary General, the World Bank, Japan and others,â€ Medley said.

The meeting will look at two main issues. The first will be to launch the transition process â€“ by which the Afghan National Security Forces will take lead security responsibility throughout Afghanistan starting in the first half of next year 2011.

â€œThis is President Karzaiâ€™s aim, which NATO endorses, of taking security responsibility with NATO ISAF in support by the end of 2014,â€ Medley said.

Secondly, the meeting will launch a long-term partnership between NATO and Afghanistan, an enduring partnership, Medley said. NATO will continue practical support in terms of training, development, capacity building and political dialogue.

â€œThe Allianceâ€™s commitment is for the long term, and the military commitment is for the long term as the combat mission moves towards a support role,â€ Medley said. â€œBeyond that, NATO will have an enduring political commitment to Afghanistan. This is an important signal for the Afghan people. There will be no vacuum as a result of the transition process. On the contrary NATO will stay as long as it takes to finish the job.â€