Taliban: Bin Laden Free to Wage Holy War Against U.S.
Reuters reports that the Taliban regime in Afghanistan has lifted its curbs on Osama bin Laden and indicated that he is free to "wage holy war on the United States". This is a reversal of the Taliban's stated policy of three days ago. On Sunday, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salam Zaeef offered to detain bin Laden and try him under Islamic law if the United States made a formal request.
It is now obvious why the Taliban regime was never recognized by the international community as a legitimate government: its policies are subject to change without notice.
From our perspective, there is little difference between the policies of the Taliban and the so-called War Lords who have controlled Somalia since before the U.S. military intervened there in 1993. Recent reports in the BBC indicate that the situation in Somalia has not changed much recently and Somalia may be another base of terrorist activity against the industrialized nations. It will be interesting to see if the Allies take action in this country in the coming months.