November 10, 2001	Saturday	Shaba’an 23, 1422

PESHAWAR, Nov 9: Key Afghan opposition commanders are on the verge of abandoning the fight against the Taliban because their confidence in US military strategy has collapsed.

Insurgents are no longer willing to infiltrate eastern Taliban- controlled Afghanistan because they believe American blunders are destroying the opportunity to spread revolt against the militia.

The stark warning came from two respected Mujahideen leaders, who said that comrades from the war against the Soviet Union had been willing to defect from the Taliban and join the uprising, but Washington’s refusal to supply weapons or cash had left the plot stillborn.

Haji Mohammad Zaman and Haji Abdul Ghafar said in a joint interview with the Guardian newspaper that their frustration was turning to despair.

In a sweeping condemnation of the allied strategy, they said US commando raids were pointless and the Northern Alliance was unreliable. They alleged Pakistani intelligence agents were secretly supporting the Taliban.

Mr Zaman said he would abandon Peshawar and return to exile in France if the allied campaign did not change direction in the next few weeks.

Medium-ranking Taliban commanders in the eastern provinces, including the city of Jalalabad, had promised to defect at the first sign of a credible insurrection, but the Peshawar-based opposition was crippled by its lack of vehicles, weapons, satellite phones and cash, said Mr Zaman.

“We want to fight and everything is ready on the ground but we don’t have the resources we need, none of it has come. Unless it does we can’t move,” said Mr Zaman.

“We can’t understand the Americans. We have been in regular contact and told them what we need. They are crazy people, they don’t know anything.”

Commando raids “achieved nothing” and an invasion of US ground troops would only solidify Taliban support, said Mr Zaman. “The Americans will be defeated if they work according to their plan.” A Taliban official chuckled at his opponents’ concerns. “They know if they enter Afghanistan they will be like sparrows and we will stamp on them.”—dpa