FT does Kandahar
Good article in yesterday’s Financial Times newspaper on Amir Mohammad Agha, very much a so-called ‘key player’ in Arghandab district of Kandahar province. Matt Green outlined why he might be important to the viability of US forces in the district, possibly (although I don’t know this) invited down there by the 82nd Airborne to impress on Amir Mohammad Agha the importance of which way he decides to choose. In any case, I don’t imagine any ‘decision’ taken by Amir Mohammad Agha to be public and clear-cut. I was greatly disappointed, however, that Matt missed out on the key point when it comes to Amir Mohammad Agha – he is Mullah Mohammad Omar’s father-in-law. (and with that, he also missed the extremely important 1980s context and just how involved Amir Mohamad Agha was involved in the early years of the Taliban movement post-1994.