LIGNET: Anti-American Warlord Holds Key to Post-US Afghanistan

Virulently anti-Western Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, long known for brutality and violence, has reversed his years-long opposition to the Afghan political process and now publicly supports participation in coming elections by the insurgent force known as Hezb-i-Islami.

Hekmatyar is a vociferous anti-American and one of the chief causes of the post-Soviet civil war in Afghanistan, so it would be easy to frame Hekmatyar's re-entry into Afghan politics as a disaster in the making. However, if Hekmatyar has decided to honestly participate, the addition of Hezb-i-Islami to Afghan politics could build momentum for the reconciliation and reintegration of the country's multiple groups of armed militants.

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