INTERVIEW WITH ALQAEDA OFFICIAL

By Bady Qarhati

I met him after a lot of struggling. I was in Pakistan for an appointment, but this appointment turned into a series of appointments and I slowly started to lose hope. One morning, I met a new face. He accompanied me on a trip that lasted 22 hours. It was the distance between my location and the Afghan border. There, he delivered me to another face I did not know after a short rest. The time was already past midnight. They made me wear a traditional Pakistani dress and they made me ride in a Jeep that drove alone along the mountainous road which finally led to my destination. I don't want to elaborate on the description of my fears, but that night I found myself surrounded by the darkness of the ground and the darkness of the sky. Total darkness surrounded my journalistic adventure. My fears started to disappear when I met the commander I had come to visit. It was done in a tent raised just for this meeting, in order not to leave any trace behind.

Fresh water, fruits, tea and Lebanese coffee "prepared just for me", in order to make me feel more comfortable. The dialog will be conducted in the morning.

His name is Abdul Adheem al-Muhajir, one of the high-ranking field commanders of Al-Qaida. He is leading a large portion of the guerilla war which started in Afghanistan, after having participated in the confrontation in Shah-e-kot that lead to the liquidation of 16 Americans who were impossible to imprison.

(EDITED)

Qarhat: What about Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden?

Al-Muhajir: Osama has sworn allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful Ameerul Mumineen, Mullah Omar, an allegiance that means total obedience. They are both in good health, contrary to what has been reported by the American and "Americanized" mass-media.

Qarhati: Where does Palestine fit into your agenda?

Al-Muhajir: It is presently found in ours hearts and in ours existence. It is our final destination, however there are obstacles in reaching it at the present time. As to the fight with the Americans, it is indeed like fighting the Jews. They are the other face of the Israeli oppression.

Qarhati: How do you explain the quick withdrawal of the Taliban, especially from Kabul?

Al-Muhajir: Concerning the intense war between the Taliban and the Americans and concerning how the Americans were able to reach Kabul so easily, these are questions that arise from many tongues and from many media organizations. I will answer them from the perspective of someone who has lived this scenario.

There are many reasons for what happened, one cannot ignore any of them or blame one reason over another. The main cause is the lack in preparations and equipment in comparison to the Americans. The difference in the variety of weaponry has greatly affected the battle since the beginning. It enabled the American to undertake various attacks that the Taliban that the Afghan state was not able to cope with. I say this even though the afghan people adhered completely to their country. In such a way that it was hard to distinguish between the Taliban movement as an official corporation and between the people's movement. The proof is that weapons were being distributed to the people and they were allowed to patrol the street with them, something that wasn't allowed before the war. This also applied to the brothers who came from abroad to support and give strength to the Taliban, to both Arab and non-Arab Muslims.

In reality, the battle was waged since the very beginning from the air. Various kinds of aircrafts were noticed; we counted at least 6 types and each type was used for a very specific task. There are the aircraft that carry tons of explosives; there are also aircraft that carry light explosives and high-caliber machineguns that target convoys and vehicles. There are aircraft that are equipped with heavy explosives and heavy machineguns that target complexes, trenches and caves and aircraft that are used for landings on the ground apart from a variety of other weapons.

The Taliban wasn't equipped for this kind of combat; they found themselves isolated in a war that they didn't launched and prepare for sufficiently. This isolation was increased by the abandonment of friends and possible allies like Pakistan, Iran, Russia or China, because the American sanctions encompassed them all. Therefore the Taliban had to confront the American invasion alone and without any allies.

In spite of this all, the Taliban was able to put up stiff resistance. Kabul for example was able to resist the onslaught for more than six weeks while undergoing an air campaign that got monotonous after a while. Due to the absence of military compounds and targets, the American aircrafts started bombing civilians, residential buildings, schools and hospitals.

At this time, the citizens as well as the resistance fighters acknowledged that they were fighting an unfair war. They were also unable to bear the sacrifice of anymore civilian lives. The bombs were harvesting a lot of women, children and elderly, without particularly causing any harm to the Taliban. When Kabul fell, it wasn't really the frontlines that were taken down. It was the desire of minimizing the civilian targets that accounted for most of the casualties resulting from the air campaign. This move took precedent over all other considerations. It was the American air campaign that allowed the so-called "Northern Alliance" to enter the capital. These forces were unable to wage battle without the "carpet bombing" donated by the Americans.

I say this again, the multitude of air born attacks that hit the civilian rear lines pushed the Commander of the Faithful, Ameerul Mumineer, Mullah Omar, to issue instructions to the Military Commanders, asking them to take whatever steps they deem necessary. These Commanders felt that the civilians were most targeted, so they finally decided to retreat. The very fierce and intense campaign was waged with uneven weapons and using children and women as human shields was out of the question. Indeed when the Americans confronted us face to face on the ground in Shah-e-kot, they learned a few lessons that will teach them the art of fighting. The air force was present there too, but we were in a better position to deal with that weapon.

About 200 fighters took part in this confrontation, unlike the 2,000 figure which was propagated at the time. There were 120 fighters who belonged to the "Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan" and about 40 fighters under the command of Mawlawi Sayfulrahman Mansoor. There were also about 30 Arab brothers fighting, most of whom were hardened military experts that received their combat experience in and out of Afghanistan. Therefore no civilians were there and only 200 of us participated. We waged a fierce battle and there was confrontation with the enemy. A wide variety of trenches and natural barriers were also available. When the Americans arrived with their air force, they were unable to do any real damage during the course of their battle so consequently they decided to send in the ground troops.

Prior to this, they sent us nine truckloads of "Apostate forces" [Afghan American allies]. We were able to finish them all and Commander Sayfulrahman was able to confiscate all their weapons. After that they all started crying like women. At the end, we released the survivors. They escaped from our sights and from Allah, just like a child run away from something that scares him. With this, the Americans decided to send forth their soldiers.

During the first day, they sent down 3 units, each in a different location. Each unit contained at least 50 soldiers. One of these units was countered by only 3 Mujahideen, one of them equipped with machine guns with 250 extra shots, nothing more. The second one was equipped with a normal machine gun and 2 rocket-propelled grenades. And the third one carried 2 machine guns with six magazines of ammo. These Mujahideen fighters alone were able to elude and vanquish this advancement without outside help, before being supported by another 15 fighters.

In the wake of this event, night combat erupted following the advancement of the last two units. The Americans used bombers that operated in darkness and they attacked one of our gathering which lead to the death of more than 20 Mujahideen. We continued to fight until daybreak then we decided to retreat to safer locations close to a village called Shah-e-kot. The battle continued there for six days under the command of Mullah Jawad, the brother of Commander Sayfulrahman.

During those days, the advancement of the Americans was perpetual. And we were able to drag them every time to the middle of a tightening noose. This kept happening until they decided to stop their operations in order to reduce losses, so they returned once again to aerial attacks. I swear by Allah, these attacks did not stop for one moment during the whole period of the fighting. In spite of this all, we were able to conduct effective missions that impacted behind the rear-lines of the Americans. We were in perpetual motion, always moving in circles.

The American casualties would have been much higher if they sent down more soldiers. After one week of fighting, we were obliged to leave the village with some of our afghan allies. During the climb down, we encountered sixteen American soldiers in full combat gear. Keep in mind that the combat gear of an American soldier exceeds in quality and quantity the equipment of five of our fighters with regard to their firepower, punching power, and their ability to fight at night using advanced technological weapons.

Our personal weapons are well known, they are spoils of war that we acquired from fighting the Russians in the war against the Soviets in the first Afghan Jihad. Nevertheless those American soldiers weren't able to fire a single shot in our direction, they sat in the corner of the room crying and lamenting. After we figured that they couldn't accompany us in our retreat, we decided to execute them all at once. I say this in order to give proof of the form of fighting we are wishing. Indeed the Americans know that facing the Mujahideen on the ground is a hard task. They also lost a number of aircraft because we excel in the use of our humble weapons.

Going back to the question about Kabul, I say that the truth concerning what the Americans call a success happened only because of the air campaign and through targeting innocent civilians in particular. You have seen the numbers of casualties that fell in Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar and other provinces. The Taliban leadership figured that if their resistance continued, will have to bear the burden of the continuous onslaught on these innocents. Therefore the decision to retreat took place.

I recall the first statement of the Commander of the Faithful, Ameerul Mumineen, Mullah Omar, where he spoke about what we were going through. The statement was released at the beginning of the battle and contained three main points. The first point addressed the Mujahideen in every place, and especially in Afghanistan. It contained the words of Allah (SWT): "So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, and you will be superior (in victory) if you are indeed (true) believers." [Quran 3:139]

Indeed this fact makes clear that this battle is an Islamic war against the devil, a battle between the allies of The Merciful one [Allah (SWT)] and the allies of Satan. In the second point, he mentioned that the American empire, indeed we will see this soon if Allah (SWT) wills it, will get annihilated in Afghanistan; just like their Russian and British predecessors.

The third point was that the Americans would not be happy if they step foot inside Afghanistan, because this Jihad will be converted into a guerrilla war. All of this shows that the Commander of the Faithful [Mullah Omar] had a clear vision since the beginning. He knew totally well that retreating from cities and crowded areas was a decision which had to be taken. This retreat was the only way to shift this battle from a confrontation between an aggressive military army targeting civilian resources and an attacked state with all its civil and military institutions that is defending its people and country into a guerrilla war at the right time. Every day that goes by, the Americans sustain casualties and losses. In summary, what happened in Afghanistan was a transition from an impossible war with uneven weapons into a possible war. It allows us to decide the exact time and place on the Afghan soil of the next battle, where the first round isn't necessarily the last one.

Qarhat: What is the truth concerning Osama bin Laden's allegiance to Mullah Omar, Commander of the Faithful?

Al-Muhajir: Shaykh Osama bin Laden has indeed sworn allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful [Mullah Omar]. This allegiance means complete obedience to us Muslims. He (Shaykh Osama) was one of the Arab Commanders who led the Mujahideen in the first Afghan Jihad, before supporting the Taliban and swearing allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful. On this account, he is a member of the Muslim community and he possesses rights just like every other Muslim in Afghanistan; he also has duties just like every other Muslim.

Qarhati: Is this obedience still active during the war?

Al-Muhajir: The nature of the war has changed but we haven't heard yet that Mullah Omar has removed his commanding rank. Neither did we hear that Shaykh Osama bin Laden has turned back on his obedience. The Emirate is still standing and we are struggling to reestablish it; the obedience is currently active.

Qarhati: Many people doubt in Osama bin Laden's commitment to Palestinian, even though he swore that "America will never dream of safety until safety becomes a reality for us living in Palestine." Are the events that occurred in America a result of what is happening in Palestine?

Al-Muhajir: Shaykh Osama bin Laden thinks of America as a big cancer and a snake that is causing all the humiliations Islam is going through today. He sees America as a strategic target that will lead to victory in Palestine and in all the other lands of Islam. Striking the Americans is similar to directly striking all the tyrants who are behaving arrogantly on all the Muslims in the world.

source:JUS