Stardate 20010926.1656 (On Screen): In the summer of 1941, Germany started the largest land war in history when it invaded the USSR. Soviet forces were ill-prepared and were caught off-guard, and took horrendous losses. The front moved forward rapidly, just as it had previously in Poland and in France, and it was looking as if Germany was going to rack up yet another rapid victory over a major opponent. But Germany was slowed by the two traditional allies of the Russians: General Mud and General Winter. A combination of mistakes by Hitler, stiffening resolve by the Red Army, and the deployment of fresh divisions brought in from Siberia stopped the attack just short of Moscow. The Soviet government evacuated the capitol but
Stalin himself stayed there. While it may well be true that if the front had collapsed that he might have had a quick escape planned, he did remain in Moscow as it was shelled and shared the danger with its inhabitants. No-one in the USSR wanted Stalin to die there but the fact that he did not retreat was a major factor in stiffening the morale of the Red Army. It showed his confidence in their ability to stop the attack. In many ways Stalin was a monster, but there was much to admire about him, too.
Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban, is watching with growing concern as his nation disintegrates. The rule of law, such as it was, is nearly gone and crime is rampant; the morale of his army is at an all-time low and it is suffering massive desertions, and there is wholesale abandonment of the major cities of Afghanistan by their residents due to the non-trivial fear of US bombing; they're fleeing en masse to the borders with Pakistan and Iran. In order to strengthen the morale of his people, Omar issues a call for people to return to the cities, saying that the threat of American bombardment is receding. But he himself left the city of Kandahar and went into hiding a long time ago and he issues this "call" from an unnamed location. If he does indeed truly feel that there is no more threat of US bombardment, what better way to prove it than to return himself to Kandahar and to operate there openly? (Why do I have this feeling he's not going to do that?) (discuss)
Update: Of course, if Mullah Omar was truly concerned about the plight of his people, there is an extremely easy way to make sure that the US doesn't bomb: give up bin Laden and close all his training facilities. Judge a man by his actions, not by his words or his clothes. Mullah Omar is no saint; he's a petty tyrant just like so many who have come before him.
