Quote:
Originally Posted by WaltzingMatilda
Analysts remain divided over the extent to which the Taliban has been able to recruit across tribal lines and are uncertain as to the degree of cohesion within the movement.
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The Talibunnies have been
very successful in recruiting across the tribal-lines among the 2 million odd Afghan refugees who had fled to Pakistan in the 1980s. While tribal affiliations persisted in the camps, it was not as easy to enforce as it was in the villages. In some villages almost everything, from the
malik's (headman) strategically-situated house to the education his children receive, is rigged to perpetuate tribal identity and conformity. Such devices obviously were not so well-entrenched Pakistani camps, so it was much easier to recruit across tribal lines.
It is unclear how much of that can be extrapolated to patterns of 'bunny recruitment among the 12 million odd Pathans who
didn't flee to the refugee camps across the borders, but endured on. It is also unclear what implies for the case of the exiled Abdali/Durranis, who probably weren't shunted to the worst of the refugee camps by the virtue of their better education and/or connections.