By William Tucker
Several Days ago Professor Jenni Hesterman authored a piece entitled The Taliban: Time to Make it a Designated Terror Group discussing the need to finally designate the Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in the wake of the failed Times Square bombing. Indeed, it seems quite strange that the Taliban have not been added to the list since elements of the movement have perpetrated terrorist acts against civilians in Pakistan and Afghanistan. There are several reasons that the Taliban have not been added to the list, but each of these reasons flow from a single point of failure; the Taliban is not an organization.
This problem has plagued the U.S. since the Afghan campaign began in 2001. Even today the understanding of the multitude of factions that comprise the Taliban is lacking. The Bush and Obama administrations have pursued the course to negotiate with ‘reconcilable’ Taliban elements, but even those groups are difficult to identify as Shura councils overlap and foreign groups have recruited across the spectrum of Pashtu tribes. This does not mean, however, that designating some of the more notorious movements is impossible.
One in fact sticks out more than most and that is the Haqqani network. The Haqqani network was never really part of the Taliban that ruled Afghanistan until 2001; rather he is a man of vast military experience in the region and was indispensable in aiding Mullah Omar to maintain his hold on the country. Jalaluddin Haqqani is also the main connection between foreign fighters in the region and the Taliban. In fact, Haqqani’s role in supporting terrorism was documented in recently unclassified diplomatic cables dating from 1998. Designating the Haqqani network may not solve all the issues with the Afghan insurgency, but because of Haqqani’s reach it could have a ripple effect to other elements that are harder to identify as an organization.
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