March 18, 2001

Afghanistan's Taliban demand international recognition
KABUL, March 18 (AFP) - The foreign minister of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia Sunday accused the world community of isolating the Islamic regime and demanded international recognition.

Taliban surprised at world reaction to demolition of Buddhas
KABUL March 18 Kyodo - Taliban authorities are surprised by the world's reaction to their destruction of the two giant Bamyan Province Buddhas,

Explaining the Taliban: Why they rule with terror, smash Buddhas
What sort of religious regime would demand the demolition of grand artworks that have stood for nearly 2,000 years? Or eliminate schooling for girls after age 8? Or chop off the hands or feet of thieves at stadium rallies?

Taliban May Let Press See Smashed Buddhas
Updated 10:14 AM ET March 18, 2001
KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement said Sunday it might soon let journalists inspect the rubble of two giant statues of the Buddha it has destroyed.

The world fails to halt tyranny
Bangkok Post
The indescribably sad destruction of the two standing Buddhas of Bamiyan last week was another lesson in the limits of international power.

Afghan Taliban says its minister was bomb target
KABUL, March 18 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement said on Sunday its education minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, was the target of a powerful bomb blas

Taliban offer peace talks: Opposition
The Times of India
KABUL: Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement has offered to hold peace talks with its opponents, the opposition Hezb-e-Wahdat party representing t

The Road of Last Resort
Broken by Drought and War, Afghans Take Flight to Survive
By David Finkel
Washington Post Staff Writer
TORKHAM, Afghanistan
He is standing unsteadily on the eastern edge of Afghanistan, a hollowed man with an unbuttoned coat, a torn wool cap and dust-coated eyebrows. Dead fields.

'Afghan opposition commander defects'
The Times of India
KABUL: An Afghan opposition commander and 150 of his men have switched over to the ruling Taliban movement in the eastern province of Kunar,

In border row with Pak, Taliban talk tough
The Times of India
ISLAMABAD: A week after Pakistan denounced its close ally Taliban for its decision to destroy 2000-year-old Buddha statues, the Afghan militia has

An Ethnic Mosaic Implodes
The Los Angeles Times
By CHARLES SANTOS
NEW YORK--The Taliban has completed its destruction of the magnificent Buddha statutes of Bamian despite international pleas to preserve them. There has been

FBI Report Identifies Intermediary Between Bin Laden And Planners of USS Cole Bombing
NEW YORK, March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- According to FBI documents obtained by Newsweek, a top security adviser to suspected terrorist Osama Bin Laden is

Afghan Angst Bay Area community watches Taliban depredations from afar
San Fransisco Chronicle
In Kabul, Herat, Kandahar and other cities in Afghanistan, Now-ruz -- the traditional Afghan New Year -- will pass on Tuesday without fanfare. In the Bay Area, scores