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Afghan Taliban say insufficient evidence bin Laden is dead
Reuters – An Afghan man reads a newspaper article on Osama Bin Laden's death, at a roadside tea shop in Kabul, …
By Hamid Shalizi Hamid Shalizi – 1 hr 12 mins ago
KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan Taliban said on Tuesday they had not seen sufficient evidence yet to convince them that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is dead, their first comment since U.S. officials said [he] was killed in Pakistan.
"As the Americans did not provide any acceptable evidence to back up their claim, and as the other aides close to Osama bin Laden have not confirmed or denied the death ... therefore the Islamic Emirate consider any assertion premature," said a statement emailed to media by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
The statement said the Islamist group... would not offer any comment until they had seen evidence from bin Laden's aides.
Washington has so far not released any photographs of bin Laden's body or the burial, raising doubts in some Islamist forums about whether he was killed.
...the Taliban had remained quiet until Tuesday, despite a relatively sophisticated media network they had developed over the past few years.
The once-media shy Taliban, who banned television and music when they ruled Afghanistan during the late 1990s, are usually quick to publicize their attacks, opinions or exploits.
Their long silence was seen by some analysts as another deliberate attempt by the Taliban to distance themselves from al Qaeda as they try to convince the international community their ambitions are only focused on Afghanistan."
My idea : they simply were showing prudence in not speaking out rashly before more is clear.
Why is there such a loaded analysis that everything they do has a secret "agenda"...maybe some people
are projecting onto the purported enemy THEIR OWN ways of handling situations, always out to convince
the public and having ulterior plans and motives.
Reuters – An Afghan man reads a newspaper article on Osama Bin Laden's death, at a roadside tea shop in Kabul, …
By Hamid Shalizi Hamid Shalizi – 1 hr 12 mins ago
KABUL (Reuters) – The Afghan Taliban said on Tuesday they had not seen sufficient evidence yet to convince them that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is dead, their first comment since U.S. officials said [he] was killed in Pakistan.
"As the Americans did not provide any acceptable evidence to back up their claim, and as the other aides close to Osama bin Laden have not confirmed or denied the death ... therefore the Islamic Emirate consider any assertion premature," said a statement emailed to media by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
The statement said the Islamist group... would not offer any comment until they had seen evidence from bin Laden's aides.
Washington has so far not released any photographs of bin Laden's body or the burial, raising doubts in some Islamist forums about whether he was killed.
...the Taliban had remained quiet until Tuesday, despite a relatively sophisticated media network they had developed over the past few years.
The once-media shy Taliban, who banned television and music when they ruled Afghanistan during the late 1990s, are usually quick to publicize their attacks, opinions or exploits.
Their long silence was seen by some analysts as another deliberate attempt by the Taliban to distance themselves from al Qaeda as they try to convince the international community their ambitions are only focused on Afghanistan."
My idea : they simply were showing prudence in not speaking out rashly before more is clear.
Why is there such a loaded analysis that everything they do has a secret "agenda"...maybe some people
are projecting onto the purported enemy THEIR OWN ways of handling situations, always out to convince
the public and having ulterior plans and motives.
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