Egg on America’s Face: Taliban Chief Was a Fake

The United States and Afghanistan were led down the garden path when a man claiming to be the Taliban’s second in command took part in phony peace negotiations with them. His real identity is still unknown.

It sounded really promising when it became known that secret negotiations between the Taliban leadership and the West had been taking place for months. There was rekindled hope that perhaps the war might soon be ended. The participation of one person was especially good reason for optimism. That man was Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, the Taliban’s second most powerful figure after Mullah Omar. Then came the bitter truth: The New York Times reported that this Mansour wasn’t all he appeared to be.

Now the United States and Afghanistan are forced to admit that “Mansour” made fools of them both. An unidentified Western diplomat in Afghanistan said this Mansour wasn’t genuine, admitting, “and we gave him a lot of money.” The three top-level meetings with high-ranking NATO officials to which “Mansour” traveled from Pakistan were, therefore, not very productive. The phony Taliban leader even met with President Hamid Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul several weeks ago.

The Grim Struggle for Peace

The incident underscores the uncertain and often grotesque measures Afghan and U.S. leaders are willing to take in order to find a way of ending the war in the Hindu Kush that has raged now for nine years. Taliban leaders are currently hiding in Pakistan, where they are suspected of enjoying the protection of circles close to the government. At the same time, the Pakistani government receives billions of dollars in American support.

Some sources in the United States are now claiming that they had doubts about Mansour’s identity right from the beginning. Unlike previous conditions set by the Taliban, he didn’t insist on a withdrawal of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops and participation of the Taliban at the negotiating table as preconditions for peace talks. Suspicions didn’t arise, however, until after the third meeting, when an Afghan negotiator who had known the real Mansour for years said this man had no resemblance to him. How the Americans were able to finally determine the false identity is just as unknown as the man’s real identity. He’s quite possibly a Taliban agent.

“The Taliban Is Smarter than the Americans”

A high-level official in the Kabul government considers that a possibility and says, “The Taliban is smarter than the Americans and smarter than our intelligence service. They play little games.”

Meanwhile, something nobody wants to admit is becoming increasingly clear: The Taliban is in no hurry to engage in peace negotiations. Taliban leader Mullah Omar claims the United States is “a cunning enemy that only wants to appear ready to negotiate.” Sayed Amir Muhammed Agha, former Taliban commander, said in an interview he’s convinced the Taliban has no interest in peace negotiations. “Whenever I talk to the Taliban, they never accept peace and they want to keep on fighting. They are not tired,” Agha commented.