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SBS Dateline | Behind Enemy Lines
This was aired on SBS in Australia, thought you guys might enjoy it. Here are a few comments from the Journalist on the live chat..
**9:25
Paul Refsdal:
Johno, for the moment the Taliban believe they are winning. They would eventually negotiate, but it will be a tough bargain.
**9:28
Paul Refsdal:
Jordan, they did not beat me or anything. They just wanted money. One of my captors even kissed my hand and asked for forgiveness
**9:30
Paul Refsdal:
Mary, the Taliban is many different groups. These are mountain people from Kunar and dress according to their traditions. Some were even shaving
**9:32
Paul Refsdal:
Chafic, I did not escape. After six days the pressure on Omar within the Taliban was too big and there was a chance that al Qaida would try to get me, so Omar turned me over to the authorities.
**9:35
Paul Refsdal:
John, I did no go to make propaganda, neither for the Taliban nor against them. I entered their area with an open mind, and even though I was surprised by how “normal” they were, tried to report as objectively as possible what I observed with them.
**9:38
Paul Refsdal:
Tom, not to automatically trust anyone who say he is a mujahedin. Money do strange things to people.
**9:42
Paul Refsdal:
Michael, This war can drag on for decades. The possibility of the coalition defeating the Taliban is just as unlikely as the Taliban defeating the coalition. At the end of the day, there must be a negotiated settlement with either the Taliban being a part of the central government or getting regional government in their areas in the South and in the East. The question will ultimately be whether the Taliban should control three or five ministries, ten or twenty provinces. The Taliban feel that they are winning and is not in a hurry to reach a negotiated settlement.
**9:50
Paul Refsdal:
Mary, their grievances seemed to be the presence of foreign forces in their area. My guess is that as soon as the coalition leaves, these men find something more constructive to do than fighting.
**10:10
Paul Refsdal:
Ryan, I honestly do not think the Taliban will "go international", they are not al Qaida.
**10:12
Paul Refsdal:
Allen Peters, I was nine days with Dawran, and seven days as Omar's "guest"
**10:12
Paul Refsdal:
Dav, they did not ask anything in return for letting me film. Though, they thought I was there to film their strength, their big guns, etc
**10:16
Paul Refsdal:
Travis, the Americans were not aware of my presence. They might have confiscated my films.
**10:20
Paul Refsdal:
Max, Dawran is still fighting, but loosing his family must have affected him. He seemed like an emotional person.
**10:27
Paul Refsdal:
Allen peter, the problem in Iraq was the influence of al Qaida, the Taliban seems more nationalistic than global. The group I stayed with was also a part of the people there.
**10:30
Paul Refsdal:
Allen Peters, I was traveling in Afghan clothes. The Afghan police would not bother me if they had discovered me. If they would have known that I was going with the Taliban, for sure they would not have bothered me ;-)
**10:38
Paul Refsdal:
Ian, I did not see the children going to school, actually I believe there was no school nearby. I specifically asked Dawran about girls education, and he seemed positive.
You can find the whole online conversation in here
This was aired on SBS in Australia, thought you guys might enjoy it. Here are a few comments from the Journalist on the live chat..
**9:25
Paul Refsdal:
Johno, for the moment the Taliban believe they are winning. They would eventually negotiate, but it will be a tough bargain.
**9:28
Paul Refsdal:
Jordan, they did not beat me or anything. They just wanted money. One of my captors even kissed my hand and asked for forgiveness
**9:30
Paul Refsdal:
Mary, the Taliban is many different groups. These are mountain people from Kunar and dress according to their traditions. Some were even shaving
**9:32
Paul Refsdal:
Chafic, I did not escape. After six days the pressure on Omar within the Taliban was too big and there was a chance that al Qaida would try to get me, so Omar turned me over to the authorities.
**9:35
Paul Refsdal:
John, I did no go to make propaganda, neither for the Taliban nor against them. I entered their area with an open mind, and even though I was surprised by how “normal” they were, tried to report as objectively as possible what I observed with them.
**9:38
Paul Refsdal:
Tom, not to automatically trust anyone who say he is a mujahedin. Money do strange things to people.
**9:42
Paul Refsdal:
Michael, This war can drag on for decades. The possibility of the coalition defeating the Taliban is just as unlikely as the Taliban defeating the coalition. At the end of the day, there must be a negotiated settlement with either the Taliban being a part of the central government or getting regional government in their areas in the South and in the East. The question will ultimately be whether the Taliban should control three or five ministries, ten or twenty provinces. The Taliban feel that they are winning and is not in a hurry to reach a negotiated settlement.
**9:50
Paul Refsdal:
Mary, their grievances seemed to be the presence of foreign forces in their area. My guess is that as soon as the coalition leaves, these men find something more constructive to do than fighting.
**10:10
Paul Refsdal:
Ryan, I honestly do not think the Taliban will "go international", they are not al Qaida.
**10:12
Paul Refsdal:
Allen Peters, I was nine days with Dawran, and seven days as Omar's "guest"
**10:12
Paul Refsdal:
Dav, they did not ask anything in return for letting me film. Though, they thought I was there to film their strength, their big guns, etc
**10:16
Paul Refsdal:
Travis, the Americans were not aware of my presence. They might have confiscated my films.
**10:20
Paul Refsdal:
Max, Dawran is still fighting, but loosing his family must have affected him. He seemed like an emotional person.
**10:27
Paul Refsdal:
Allen peter, the problem in Iraq was the influence of al Qaida, the Taliban seems more nationalistic than global. The group I stayed with was also a part of the people there.
**10:30
Paul Refsdal:
Allen Peters, I was traveling in Afghan clothes. The Afghan police would not bother me if they had discovered me. If they would have known that I was going with the Taliban, for sure they would not have bothered me ;-)
**10:38
Paul Refsdal:
Ian, I did not see the children going to school, actually I believe there was no school nearby. I specifically asked Dawran about girls education, and he seemed positive.
You can find the whole online conversation in here
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