Has Taliban Leader Mullah Omar Lost His Mind? -- Newsweek
The insurgent chief has gone radio silent. Is he dead, in prison—or has he had a mental breakdown?
Afghan insurgent leaders keep trying not to think about it. “At the moment, questions of Mullah Omar’s health and whereabouts are not so important,” a member of the Taliban’s ruling council, the Quetta Shura, tells Newsweek. “The focus should be on jihad and resistance.” But the fighters can’t help wondering and worrying—especially around this time of year. They’re fast approaching yet another anniversary of the day their supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, vanished into the mountains outside the city of Kandahar. He was perched on the back of a motorcycle driven by his brother-in-law and right-hand man, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, getting away as the U.S.-led invasion force and its Northern Alliance partners closed in. Senior and former Taliban officials say there has not been one confirmed sighting of their Amir-ul-Momineen—“commander of the faithful”—in the 11 years since.
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My Comment: His absence has been noted and reported on for a very long time .... but the Taliban is a network of commanders and leaders .... not one man. I have always believed that he is dead .... a figurehead that is used only when it is convenient for the Taliban Quetta Shura to promote a message or cause.
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