Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

It's official....

pointless and uncalled for

10:44 / 14.12.01

......... This world is wierd/insane beyond comprehensible description.

yesterday, memebers of the Eastern Alliance took journalists to an allegedly safe forward point. Al-Qaida forces opened fire and after retreating to a safe distance a journalist from CNN interviewed an "Al-Qaida Terrorist" via radio.

That's messed up.

Lionheart

14:38 / 16.12.01

Don't you mean Northern Alliance?

darknes

17:00 / 17.12.01

nope, he's right, the alliance is definitely eastern now...and no, there's been no explanation as to what happened to the Northern Alliance, or how long the Eastern Alliance has existed/been our ally...good stuff!

Tempus

17:06 / 17.12.01

I think it went something like this:

"What do you MEAN I've been holding the compass the wrong way all this time?"

Or, if you prefer political explanations, I believe that the Northern Alliance is now the Government of Afghanistan, and the Eastern Alliance is made up of warlords who haven't joined yet. I think. I listen to NPR in five minute spurts, so I could be wrong.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

06:32 / 18.12.01

I always figured the word "alliance" was probably something of an exaggeration... here's hoping (vainly) that the phrase "here we go again" doesn't suddenly become hugely relevant...

Little Mother

11:16 / 18.12.01

quote: the alliance is definitely eastern now...and no, there's been no explanation as to what happened to the Northern Alliance, or how long the Eastern Alliance has existed/been our ally...good stuff!

Except that if you listen to any of the Afgans talking it's the United Front, and has been since this thing started

shirtless, beepers and suntans

23:53 / 18.12.01

i think the words "northern" and "eastern" are just descriptive geographical modifiers for the loose networks of Afghan tribes fighting the Taliban. it's not an official name like NATO or the WWF; it's just a convenient label used by the media. also, i think both phrases are interchangeable with the "united front."

the alliances, not the WWF, i mean.

We're The Great Old Ones Now

23:53 / 18.12.01

I've heard both used recently. I think what may have happened is that as the fighting continued, a number of groups in the East either defected or took up arms against the Taliban, but did not alignh themselves with the Northern Alliance - perhaps on ethnic grounds, perhaps on purely political ones. I would imagine there are quite a lot of interests in Afghanistan right now.

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

23:53 / 18.12.01

I believe that "Northern Alliance" was a title thought up by Pakistani Intelligence, which ended up sticking despite the best efforts of the "Northern Alliance" to rebrand themselves.

Add Your Reply