Stardate 20011115.0332 (On Screen): Via a very indirect communication link, the BBC interviewed Mullah Omar, and it makes very interesting reading. Not to put too fine a point on it, he's delusional. He sounds uncannily like Hitler was described to be in the spring of 1945 when it was clear that all was lost; the man was still full of plans and ideas about how the war was going to be turned around. (Which never happened, of course.) Both seem to believe in miracles: for Hitler it was going to be high tech weapons which would turn the tide, whereas Mullah Omar truly seems to be expecting God to show up and directly affect the struggle. He says there is "a plan" for the destruction of America -- I venture to guess that it involves a lot of prayer.
Though they have been severely crippled in the last week, the Taliban are still a force to be reckoned with; this war is not yet over. But it's becoming clear that the Taliban are being ill served by their leaders. (discuss)
"The command is still in the hands of Mullah Omar. The Taliban are completely obeying him," says a Taliban spokesman. Of course, by its nature a statement like this (about control) is almost automatically false. A commander whose control is not in doubt doesn't need to say that; it's only commanders who have lost control who feel the need to say that they have not..
