Surrendering Taliban militants stand with their weapons as they are presented to the media on November 4, 2010 in Herat, Afghanistan. Credit: Majid Saeedi/Getty ImagesThe Truth About Taliban 'Reintegration' -- The Telegraph
The much-vaunted "reintegration" of the Taliban, which Britain has funded with £7 million, is not quite what it seems, writes Ben Farmer in Kabul.
Wrapped in shawls against the cold, some with scarves to hide their faces, the men stand in front of a table bearing an arsenal of assault rifles and rockets.
As the insurgents renounce their armed struggle and declare they have made peace with Hamid Karzai's government, local journalists film the ceremony for the evening television.
Such scenes are now a common feature of Afghan news bulletins and portray one of the main pillars of Nato's strategy to overpower the Taliban and force them to the negotiating table prior to the planned exit by US and British forces.
However, The Sunday Telegraph has discovered disturbing evidence that all is not as it seems.
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My Comment: Why should we be surprised by this news? Afghanistan ranks as one of the most corrupt societies in the world .... giving money freely away is only going to attract everyone (but the Taliban).