Check out this interview of a 30 year old Taliban fighter.

Partial transcript:

I = Interviewer

T = Taliban

I. How old are you and what tribe are you from

T: I start in the name of God, the most merciful the most compassionate

I. whisper: Well said

T: So I am 30 years old

I: What tribe are you from?

T: Alikozai

I: What is your profession?

T: I was a shopkeeper

I: How did you become involved with the Taliban?

T: I stood with the Taliban against the non-muslims

I: Why do you fight against the Karzai government?

T: Because they are the servants of non-muslims, and they brought the non-muslims to Afghanistan

I: Has your family been attacked by bombs or foreign soldiers?

T: No

I: If Karzai’s government invites you to join them and promises you that he will give you money and an offical job and will not put you in prison, will you join the Karzai government?

T: No we are fighting against the non-muslims and we will not join the government.

I: Do you grow poppies?

T: Yes

I: Does anybody in your family grow poppies?

T: Yes

I: Has any government person tried to cut down your poppy fields?

T: Yes

I: What does Islam say about poppies?

T: Growing is ‘forbidden’ but unfortunately we have financial problems so we grow it

I: People around the world say that you are supported by Osama bin Laden and others, can you tell me who supports you? Is someone giving you money?

T: No. No one is giving us money.

I: Do you get money if you kill a foreign soldier?

T: No we are killing foreign soldiers for God alone

I: Do you get zakat from other people?

T: Yes. The people give us money

I: A lot or just a little?

T: They give ‘Ushr

[...]

The interviewer asks about Osama bin Laden, oddly assuming that Westerners or others think that he is supplying the Taliban with funds aid.

This is curious. It seems like a straw-man argument in the making, designed to make Canadians (the show is Canadian) look hopelessly uninformed. I don’t know anyone who thinks that Osama is pulling out his wallet and personally paying low-level fighters, nor does anyone think he is signing pay-checks in his name to individual mujahids across the globes.

I do know that he has provided moral support for anyone who opposes the “Zionist-Crusader” forces against Islam. Whether it be Bosnia, the Sudan, Iraq, and yes, Afghanistan.

More of this raw footage can be found at Talking to the Taliban. I will add, however, that while I find these interviews fascinating and informative, I don’t think that the Canadian newsman who narrates the segments of the actual program is very insightful. The words “Canadian newsman” are enough to arrive at this conclusion for me, but go to the site if you are interested and judge for yourself. There can also be found about 40 other interviews on the site.