An extraordinary little document is making the rounds among the Taliban of Afghanistan. The stapled pamphlet called simply “Layeha,” or “Rule Book,” is only nine pages long. But it speaks volumes about the Taliban: their strategy, their following, their potential virtues and their persistent vices, and the full text is well worth reading.

At a moment when the Kabul government of Hamid Karzai is under increasing threat and NATO troops are engaged in ever fiercer combat, the rule book suggests what an elusive and mercenary concept loyalty is on the Afghan battlefield. Just as American power and money helped pull warlords and fighters away from the Taliban in 2001 to bring down their regime, the surviving followers of Mullah Omar are now hoping they have the momentum to win back defectors to their side. But the leadership clearly worries that Taliban recruits will start freelancing: the rule book cautions against ransoming captives without approval, forbids selling equipment, discourages changing units without permission.

Terror and intimidation is part of the strategy, with foreign aid organizations, modern schools and teachers a special target. They are supposed to be warned, and if they don’t listen, eliminated. (In Kunar province, a village elder and four women—two of them teachers—were murdered on Friday night.)

The more I know the more insurmountable the problems in Iraq and Afghanistan seem to be. It is no wonder that there are such opposing and ambiguous positions and proposals coming from politicians and other leaders. there are no easy answers and no quick solutions.

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