Taliban Commander Turns Self In... For Reward On ‘Wanted’ Poster

[Flashermac]

Sometimes, capturing a Taliban commander requires vast resources and complex operations. Last week in eastern Afghanistan, it required neither.

 

Mohammad Ashan, a mid-level Taliban commander in Paktika province, strolled toward a police checkpoint in the district of Sar Howza with a wanted poster bearing his own face. He demanded the finder’s fee referenced on the poster: $100.

 

Afghan officials, perplexed by the man’s misguided motives, arrested him on the spot. Ashan is suspected of plotting at least two attacks on Afghan security forces. His misdeeds prompted officials to plaster the district with hundreds of so-called “Be on the Lookout†posters emblazoned with his name and likeness.

 

When U.S. troops went to confirm that Ashan had in fact come forward to claim the finder’s fee, they were initially incredulous.

 

“We asked him, ‘Is this you?’ Mohammad Ashan answered with an incredible amount of enthusiasm, ‘Yes, yes, that’s me! Can I get my award now?’†recalled SPC Matthew Baker.

 

A biometric scan confirmed that the man in Afghan custody was the insurgent they had been looking for.

 

“This guy is the Taliban equivalent of the ‘Home Alone†burglars,†one U.S. official said.

 

Wanted posters are often distributed by NATO forces, but rarely have such a direct impact on the apprehension of an insurgent. In restive Paktika province, civilians are typically afraid to pass on intelligence that might lead to an arrest. And insurgents tend to shy away from the urban centers where they’re being hunted, particularly while carrying evidence of their own transgressions.

 

Officials have guessed at what the unusual details of Ashan’s arrest might tell us about the state of the insurgency — its desperation, its lack of resources, its defiance of law and order.

 

But, for now, the consensus has landed on the singularity of Ashan’s act, and the intellectual calculus that led to it.

 

My link

 

 

[panadolsandwich]

Thanks, I love stories like this, they kind of give you an unusual insight into something that's usually so treated so seriously. The kind of stupidity shown by the guy isn't as unusual as you'd expect. In many ways the West credits too much intelligence or cultural credence to these people somehow. When the British banned the practice of Suttee (burning widows on the funeral pyre), the Indians complained that it was their culture - the British replied yes that's all very well but in *our* culture we *hang* people who burn women alive.

 

If you liked this story I would highly recommend the film Four Lions - a clever jihad satire.

[Coss]

One has to think that the "captured Taliban commander" would have thought that he would be let go, or at least easily rescued, after payment, Or he has an IQ of 42.

[panadolsandwich]

One has to think that the "captured Taliban commander" would have thought that he would be let go, or at least easily rescued, after payment, Or he has an IQ of 42.

 

Call me overly curious - but I was wondering how you arrived at the figure of IQ 42?

[baa99]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aboZctrHfK8

[Coss]

Call me overly curious - but I was wondering how you arrived at the figure of IQ 42?

 

As suggested, the answer to - life the universe and everything....

 

42

 

[panadolsandwich]

As suggested, the answer to - life the universe and everything....

 

42

 

 

Nice one, thanks for the link!