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01apr02
Generaal Hamid Gul, voormalig chef van de Pakistaanse geheime dienst ISI zegt in een artikel van UPI met de kop 'Ex-spy chief: Al Qaida has U.S. prisoners' dat '[T]he Americans [were forced] to make a deal with al Qaida and Taliban fighters and withdraw their troops. "The withdrawal of U.S. troops allowed most of the Taliban and al Qaida fighters to escape and melt away among the Pashtun tribesmen living in the area," said the Pakistani general.'

Hoe kwam dat zo? '[Gul said that the] United States sent "some Americans to Shahikot, dressed as Afghans."Shahikot is the mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan where U.S. forces and their Afghan allies taking part in "Operation Anaconda" have been bombing and fighting several hundred al Qaida and Taliban fighters holed up in a series of cave complexes since March 1. According to Gul the Americans sent to infiltrate the mountain strongholds could speak the local language of Pashto, and some even had beards. "The idea was to slip through the Taliban defenses into the al Qaida hideouts in the mountains. But they were detected and captured." Gul said this forced. "I wonder what the Americans were trying to achieve with this Hollywood-style operation. Afghanistan is no Hollywood. It is a traditional tribal society where even a dog from another tribe is noticed by everyone."

Gul also claimed that not many Taliban or al Qaida fighters were killed in eastern Afghanistan as there was "no face-to-face fighting" and the "bombing is not very effective against those hiding in the caves."