Panorama.S2014E38.Inside.the.Taliban
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:00In just a few months, most American, British and other NATO forces will have left Afghanistan
00:09after 13 years of bitter war.
00:15Kabul today is a nervous place with frequent murderous attacks occurring all around the
00:20capital.
00:23The attacks are launched from the surrounding countryside.
00:28Panorama has gained unique access inside a Taliban stronghold just over an hour's drive
00:34from Kabul.
00:37We are going to see a hidden and dangerous world where the Taliban's control over people
00:42is absolute, where Kalashnikovs take the place of toys.
00:56And it's from here that the Taliban are now targeting the capital itself.
01:01We are ready to continue our operations forward, next Kabul.
01:16My parents are Afghan, but I was born and have lived all my life in Europe.
01:22I've been reporting from Afghanistan for 10 years.
01:26In that time, I have witnessed the early hopes of a reborn democratic nation, but also
01:32the seemingly never-ending cycle of violence.
01:36I'm driving to the key province of Vardakh, the scene of some of the most violent battles
01:42between NATO and the Taliban in recent years.
01:47We are heading just 60 miles southwest of the capital, Kabul, to the Tangi Valley.
01:55That is a world away and already deep into Taliban territory.
02:00It's an extremely risky place, particularly for Western reporters.
02:06Four hundred and fifty-three British and more than 2,000 American soldiers have lost their
02:11lives in Afghanistan.
02:14In the last couple of years, NATO forces started pulling back.
02:20But now the Taliban and other allied groups have a strong presence in much of the Afghan
02:25countryside.
02:27Whether on the battlefield or in talks, the Taliban will be a key player in the future
02:32shape of Afghanistan.
02:37I've been kidnapped before by the Taliban, so I'm going to be treading very carefully.
02:43We've arranged to meet representatives of what they call the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
02:50We are on our way to a local commander, whom we need permission from to film in his area.
03:08The Taliban's self-appointed governor for the area is Syed Rahman, popularly known
03:13as Governor Badri.
03:24The Taliban has set up its own shadow structure of government in preparation, they hope, for
03:30taking control of the whole country once again.
03:36Governor Badri uses a radio to talk to a senior Taliban official in a secret location.
04:06They say they want the world to know who they are and what life is like under Taliban
04:22rule.
04:37Governor Badri wants to show me the area he claims to control, and what's left of a huge
04:42American base in the valley.
04:45The base was here, see those piles of soil, let's get closer.
04:54This was their base, they played football here.
05:01This is combat outpost Apache, filmed by the US military when it was being built.
05:12That was the front gates of the base.
05:17Even the barbed wire we gave away to cemeteries, madrasas and mosques.
05:22The Taliban filmed the base just after it had been abandoned three years ago.
05:43Now the Afghan army are left on their own.
05:49There is an Afghan national army base on the other side of the hill up there.
05:56But as you can see, the Taliban forces, they're moving freely in this area now.
06:02The Afghan national army rarely venture out, and when they do, it's in heavily armoured
06:07convoys.
06:12This remote and dangerous mountainous area is hugely important.
06:17It's known as the gateway to Kabul.
06:20It's a staging post for attacks on the capital, and lies right next to Highway 1, which links
06:26Kabul to the second city of Kandahar.
06:32Just after the Americans withdrew from their base here in 2011, they suffered the most
06:37deadly single attack of the Afghan war.
06:42A Chinook helicopter was shot down by the Taliban.
06:47They filmed the wreckage soon after the attack.
06:50That video has never been broadcast before.
06:55The helicopter was brought down on this side of the village.
07:02What hit it?
07:03A rocket.
07:04How many were killed?
07:07They said there were 33.
07:13But there was more than that.
07:16It was later revealed just how devastating the
07:37loss was.
07:38In fact, 38 people died on board the Chinook, including eight special operations personnel
07:45and 17 US Navy SEALs, from the same unit that had killed Osama bin Laden just three months
07:52earlier.
07:53The back of the helicopter hit the rocks, and none of the Americans could have survived.
08:03It caught fire and burned until the morning.
08:07It was all burnt out, and in the morning there was an act of God.
08:13A flood came.
08:16Their burnt bodies and burnt vests were washed away by the water.
08:22The next day, people found the debris all over the place.
08:42Three years on, American helicopters rarely trouble the Taliban fighters in this area.
08:50You see the helicopter?
08:52Now what shall we do?
08:53We're not going to do anything.
08:57They don't fire at us until we fire at them.
09:04Ten years ago, the then Afghan President Hamid Karzai declared the Taliban had been beaten.
09:11Now the Taliban's shadow governor of this region taunts the Afghan government and the
09:15West.
09:22The infidels and crusaders all left.
09:24Everywhere, as far as you can see, is controlled by the Islamic Emirate.
09:30You can go freely in this area and you won't see enemies or checkpoints.
09:37Today the province of Wardak is being spared.
09:40And in neighboring Logar, the fighting is intense.
09:52American jets are bombing suspected Taliban positions while the Afghan army attacks on
09:57the ground.
09:58You can hear the sound of jets.
10:00The American forces, they have an ongoing operation in the neighboring Barak-e-Barak.
10:05That's why the airplanes are circling over this area right now.
10:13Soon after, we were shown what the fighting was doing to civilians on the ground.
10:21A teenage girl is rushed into the only hospital in the area.
10:29It's funded by a Swedish charity.
10:59We could not verify exactly what had happened.
11:17As for the girl, she suffered shrapnel wounds but survived.
11:22Civilians are frequently caught in the middle.
11:25But here it's the American and Afghan forces that always gets the blame.
11:30It's a constant recruitment tool for the Taliban.
11:34What happened last night?
11:36They brought three casualties, two male, one female.
11:41The poor boy was already dead when he arrived.
11:44He was missing a leg.
11:46The other boy was 10 years old.
11:48He was also badly injured.
11:51There was a girl of 13 too.
11:54She also was badly wounded.
12:03Despite losing over 200 fighters in the Tangi Valley alone in recent years, Governor Badri
12:09says they're determined to extend the Islamic Emirate throughout Afghanistan.
12:17We don't want to impose the Islamic Emirate on anyone.
12:22The people are Muslim and want an Islamic government.
12:25Westerners don't want an Islamic government here.
12:28The ones we scare and kill are the enemies of this land.
12:31They claim we destroy the roads.
12:33But have you seen anyone here destroying the roads?
12:36No, you haven't.
12:38This is our road.
12:39We benefit from good roads.
12:41Why should we destroy it?
12:44But when the enemy comes, there is no other way.
12:47We have to plant a mine here.
12:49It's a necessity.
12:57Taliban control runs through every aspect of life.
13:01It's especially evident in schools.
13:04We were shown inside the Imam Abu Hanifa school, which has around 50 teachers for its 1,400
13:11students.
13:12Since they took control of the valley three years ago, the Taliban have been keen to push
13:17their strict vision of education.
13:41Although there are classes in math and science, the Taliban is ever watchful and insist religious
13:47teaching is at the heart of the curriculum.
13:50Talking to selected students, it seems the Taliban is achieving its aims.
14:17But remarkably, this school is funded by the Afghan government in Kabul.
14:37And much of the money for education comes from the West, including Britain.
14:42But there are no girls to be seen at school here or anywhere else in the area.
14:48The official line from Taliban headquarters in Pakistan is that they've relaxed their
14:53ban on girls' education, which provoked outrage when they last ruled Afghanistan.
14:59But this region doesn't seem to have received the message yet.
15:13Is there a plan to build a girls' school here?
15:21No, there isn't.
15:23No, there isn't.
15:25Is it allowed for girls to go to school here?
15:32No, it's not allowed.
15:43When the Taliban were last in power, they banned TV, dancing and even music.
15:55But today, that ban doesn't seem to include the ice cream seller.
16:02During our time with the Taliban, we were allowed to talk to a range of people.
16:08Some were selected for us, and most of the time we were under their watchful eye.
16:16We were given rare access to see how justice is dispensed.
16:21Here the Sharia, or Islamic religious court, sits in an orchard.
16:25And the judge and jury is Governor Badri.
16:29What's going on?
16:31Government under the trees.
16:34We don't have any ministry or district offices.
16:38But with the help of Allah, our decisions will be much faster than Kabul's Supreme Court.
16:44Once we make a decision, that's it.
16:47They don't need to appeal to a higher court.
16:51Everyone comes of their own free will, and we solve their problems.
16:56Understood?
16:57I don't want you saying something different in Denmark or London,
17:01that the Taliban are killing people or ruling by force.
17:05When the Taliban was last in power in Afghanistan,
17:09their Sharia courts were renowned for harsh and brutal punishments, like this public execution.
17:16The amputation of limbs and the stoning of adulterers still happen.
17:21But what I was shown were a series of minor disputes.
17:25The vast majority of the work of Sharia courts.
17:29This one was a land dispute.
17:56Government courts are often criticized by Afghans for being corrupt.
18:01It's said that many judges can be bought.
18:04Little surprise then that Sharia courts are said to be more popular here.
18:10This is Sharia and we fight for it.
18:12Don't give us democracy.
18:14Democracy is not Islamic.
18:16We don't kill or eat people.
18:18We just want safety.
18:19We want Islamic government.
18:21So we sacrifice ourselves, create martyrs and give our blood.
18:29This is a very different world.
18:31One in which even the children are caught in the violence.
18:51Why don't you take a picture of me?
18:53If you don't take a picture, you'll be arrested.
18:57I'm hungry.
19:00I'm hungry.
19:02I'm hungry.
19:04I'm hungry.
19:06I'm hungry.
19:14Life as a prominent Taliban official is hardly luxurious.
19:22Governor Badri told me he used to regularly meet Mullah Omar,
19:27the elusive Taliban leader who has a $10 million bounty on his head.
19:35Every Friday we would go to his house.
19:38His life was such that sometimes there was no food in his home.
19:42He didn't want any public funds misused.
19:45He's really handsome.
19:47Whoever sees him falls in love.
19:49I know journalists who come to interview him
19:52and they actually become one of his followers.
19:55He's so handsome.
19:59Governor Badri went to school in a madrasa
20:02and fought with the Taliban as a young teenager
20:05and often met al-Qaeda fighters.
20:10They used to camp near our mosque.
20:12They'd say, if you collect food, we'll give you Mujahideen badges.
20:20Governor Badri is one of the most wanted men in the area.
20:24Americans have launched several special forces raids
20:27to try to kill or capture him
20:30and he's been repeatedly targeted by drones.
20:36The last time they fired at me was very close.
20:40It was half a metre away.
20:43Once we were sitting under a tree like this
20:46when the drone fired at us.
20:48One of my comrades, Haideri, was martyred.
20:52Another was wounded and I was wounded too.
20:56How were you wounded?
20:59I was wounded here.
21:01The wounds are still here.
21:03I was made deaf in this ear.
21:09Whenever I've turned on my mobile, the drones come.
21:13So I try not to use my mobile.
21:18This year, I haven't used it.
21:25Despite being at war,
21:27ironically the government in Kabul is bankrolling
21:30a whole number of projects in Taliban-controlled Tangi.
21:34We saw a road being built by contractors,
21:37all under the eagle eye of Taliban guards.
21:43I was anxious to find out
21:45how the people of Tangi Valley felt about Taliban rule.
21:49Some said they were happy to have a respite
21:52from the constant state of war
21:54that existed when the Americans were here.
21:57The security was very bad at the time.
22:00Now it's better than before.
22:02Now that the Taliban are here,
22:04we can't do anything else.
22:06It's up to us.
22:08The children are forced to go to school.
22:11It's up to God.
22:14The Taliban were very happy.
22:16They were free at night.
22:20But others were nervous about voicing any criticism.
22:25People were afraid of both sides.
22:28One side was afraid of this side,
22:31and the other was afraid of that side.
22:34They were afraid of both sides.
22:44The Taliban wanted to put on a display
22:47of their military strength for our camera.
22:51We are on our way to a field
22:53where some of Tangis are waiting for us.
23:04There have been repeated allegations
23:06that the Taliban are funded by the Pakistan Secret Service
23:10and that much of its weaponry is sold to them
23:13by Afghan army officers.
23:15But the Taliban I talked to
23:17claimed they'd captured their weapons in battle.
23:27Assembling as a group is a huge danger to Taliban fighters.
23:31The fear of drone attacks is ever-present.
23:44Commander Intiqam is one of the Taliban military leaders
23:48in the Tangi Valley.
23:56He boasts of using American technology in their fight.
24:14But there is another surprise
24:16when he suddenly breaks into English
24:18to deliver a message to the West.
24:27You hear the sound of the drones constantly.
24:29Aren't you afraid?
24:38What about people spying on you?
24:44There is nobody to spy for the US forces.
24:47All this area is under the control of the Mujahideen.
24:51There is no government.
24:58It was time to leave.
25:02Travelling back to Kabul, I was struck
25:04by how much of the countryside the Taliban actually control
25:08and just how close they are to the capital.
25:14But today, Kabul is a fortress city,
25:17guarded by a far better trained and more determined force
25:20than the one the Taliban defeated in 1995.
25:24Nationally, the police force has more than 150,000 officers
25:29and the army is heading towards 200,000.
25:33And the problem for the Taliban is
25:35that many of these are stationed in and around the capital.
25:40Soon, the huge Western military presence will be gone.
25:44In its place is the Afghan National Army.
25:47It's mainly drawn from northern ethnic groups.
25:51It's stronger than it has ever been
25:53and will fight to the death
25:55against the almost entirely Pashtun Taliban.
25:59We were shown a counterinsurgency training exercise
26:02at their Kabul base.
26:04Yet questions remain about the Afghan army.
26:07There are high levels of absenteeism,
26:09drug addiction and corruption.
26:11Casualties are growing as Western forces withdraw,
26:14yet senior officers insist the Taliban can never win.
26:21We have enough forces in Wardak province
26:24and enough forces in Kabul or any part of Afghanistan.
26:29Wherever there is an attack, we're able to defend the area.
26:34Taliban's military strategy is a complete failure.
26:39Kabul's last line of defence is the police rapid reaction force.
26:44These heavily armed officers are specially trained
26:47to stamp out insurgent attacks.
26:51The police, like the army, claim the Taliban
26:54do not really control any territory,
26:57even in places like the one we visited in Tangi Valley.
27:03Every province of Afghanistan has their own forces,
27:08which leaves the enemy no opportunities.
27:13The Afghan government and the Taliban can't both be right.
27:18Taliban-inspired attacks inside Kabul
27:21are becoming more sophisticated and deadly.
27:27But while the Taliban may effectively control
27:29some key areas like the Tangi Valley,
27:33they are a long way from mounting
27:35a full-scale offensive against Kabul.
27:38And without the big cities,
27:40the Taliban will never control Afghanistan.
27:44The Taliban's weakness is that they use mines,
27:47explosions and suicide attacks.
27:50And they haven't got the power to launch
27:52a full offensive against our troops.
27:54They want the people to rise up against the government.
28:03The future for Kabul seems secure.
28:06For the moment, at least.
28:09The Americans and British plan to leave behind
28:11special forces and military trainers.
28:14And aid is due to continue.
28:18But if the West drops its support
28:20and chooses to forget Afghanistan,
28:23then all that could change.
28:34Coming up on BBC News at 10,
28:36why the police won't be prosecuting all known paedophiles.
28:40The family of Oscar Pistorius speak out
28:42ahead of his sentencing tomorrow.
28:44And remembering the actress, Linda Bellingham.