Kabul topples with barely a push

Transcription

1 Kabul topples with barely a push Marching into the Afghan capital An Afghan man pushes his bicycle by the body of a dead Taliban fighter along the road leading to Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, on Tuesday. NOTEBOOK By Babak Behnam NBC NEWS PRODUCER KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 13 The road into Kabul reeked of history; the utter devastation brought on by decades of war, drought and neglect. Closer to the Afghan capital, the corpse of an alleged Northern Alliance turncoat lay by the roadside, his Taliban protectors having abandoned him to his fate. Amid the throngs of jubilant troops and the celebrations of a population relieved to see the Taliban leave town, the ugliness of war could not be concealed.

2 NORTHERN ALLIANCE troops described the man dead in the gutter as an alliance commander who had shifted allegiance to the Taliban in 1999, a common practice among Afghanistan s patchwork of ethnic groups. Whatever benefit the change had brought the man two years ago hardly seemed worthwhile today. He was not alone. On Tuesday, as the Northern Alliance rolled into Kabul, reports of retribution circulated widely. There were no signs of the bloodbath feared by some outsiders, but just as certainly, scores were being settled. Five years after being ignominiously driven from Kabul by the Taliban, the fractious coalition of ethnic minorities that likes to call itself the Northern Alliance returned with a vengeance. The Taliban may yet negotiate some kind of accommodation with these troops, but early indications suggest that there would be no mercy for those who betrayed the alliance when it was down. SHATTERED LANDSCAPE Advertisement Driving from Charikar toward Kabul, evidence of Afghanistan s turmoil was everywhere. Buildings were in ruins, bulldozed by the Taliban to prevent their owners from returning and claiming their property. The land in this area was legendary for its vineyards, but now they were decimated. Enormous craters were evidence that the U.S. bombardment had hastened the collapse of the Taliban in the capital. We began to see people as we got to within six miles of the city. They were running out to cheer the incoming soldiers, and the happiness and the sense of relief appeared to be heartfelt. Inside the capital, the main road was jammed with more people. Otherwise, it was pretty calm, except for some sporadic smallarms fire. Northern Alliance soldiers were already set up to prevent LATEST DEVELOPMENTS THE WAR Al-Qaida documents reveal group's inner workings Threat made to kill

3 Daily action by allied military forces Extras to help you understand this complex story: In-depth features Multimedia Interactive library looting and to confiscate kidnapped U.S. reporter weapons. Complete coverage THE HOME FRONT The overriding Terrorists targeted Space emotion among the Needle, dams troops, the media and Bush on road to promote the people of Kabul was Freedom Corps surprise. Nobody Complete coverage expected the Northern Alliance to simply walk into the city. At one store, the owner had turned on the loudspeaker to play music, probably for the first time in five years. Another man came up to me and pointed to his appearance. Look at my hair, how long it is? And my beard, how short it is? If the Taliban was here now, I would be thrown in jail, he said. Under the Taliban s hard-line brand of Islam, music was banned and men were required to grow full beards. A few women also were on the streets, greeting the Northern Alliance fighters and defying one of the most notorious Taliban prohibitions of any contact with men. LIGHT ON It remains to be seen how long the sense of jubilation will last. The fractured nature of the opposition force could quickly lead to bloody quarrels over control of Kabul. There are indications that has already happened in Mazar-e-Sharif, the northern city that fell to the rebels on Friday. The worst devastation of Kabul didn t happen during the Soviet invasion of the 1980 s but after Moscow withdrew and the victorious mujahedeen factions destroyed the city battling over the spoils, killing thousands. One of the first acts of the alliance once it entered Kabul on Tuesday was to take over the Taliban s Radio Shariat, which was immediately renamed Radio The announcer urged soldiers to remove pictures of their factional leaders from their pickup trucks and tanks, calling on them to show their loyalty to

4 Meantime, as the sun set on Kabul, one of the most noteworthy scenes from the roof of the Intercontinental Hotel was lights. The electricity was running in large parts of the city and the people had turned on their lights, now that the Taliban was routed and the threat of U.S. bombing over. Running water remains elusive. But on Day 1 of the new Afghanistan, hope was in the air. The main opposition in Afghanistan is called the United Front, although it s best known as the Northern Alliance because of the location of its enclave. It controls between 5-10 percent of the country, and was mostly ignored by foreign powers until the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Printable version NBC s Babak Behnam is on assignment in 9/11 attack likely was moved up Tribal rivals clash in Afghanistan

5 Group threatens to kill U.S. writer Karzai vows to eliminate terrorists Syria, a wild card in war on terror WashPost: A day to speak of anger and grief Terrorists targeted Space Needle 9/11 attack likely was moved up Enron memo lobbied Cheney on price caps Bush: Help us on homeland defense Axis of evil derides Bush comments Complete coverage MSNBC VIEWERS' TOP 10 Would you recommend this story to other viewers? not at all highly MSNBC is optimized for Microsoft Internet Explorer Windows Media Player MSNBC Terms, Conditions and Privacy 2002 Cover News Business Sports Local News Health Technology Living & Travel TV News Opinions Weather Comics Information Center Help News Tools Jobs Write Us Terms & Conditions Privacy