Collaboration suspected in Afghan jail break
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KABUL — The daring prison escape of nearly 500 Taliban through a tunnel that took months to dig could never have happened without Afghan officials turning a blind eye or actively collaborating, experts said.
Some went further, suggesting they may even have condoned the plot as a way of building bridges with the Taliban and furthering peace efforts by President Hamid Karzai’s government as Nato troops start withdrawing.
Either way, analysts agreed the operation at Kandahar prison was a major win for the Taliban at the start of the Afghan fighting season, which Western officials see as key to assessing how far a US-led troop surge has succeeded.
“This is a tremendous achievement for the Taliban because the Taliban were under heavy pressure in the greater Kandahar area... and now they have been able to free some high-profile commanders,” political analyst Haroun Mir said..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110427com3.html
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