THE PERILOUS GAMBLE: ZAWAHIRI'S KILLING AND TALIBAN'S BLAME
The Taliban were alarmed by Zawahiri's murder, and a month after the attack, they tried to pin Pakistani officials with responsibility. The Taliban are now unbalanced as a result of the murder of Aiymen Al Zawahiri in the center of Kabul. Or at least their defense minister, who struggles to accept the unpleasant truth and its dire repercussions for the fledgling Taliban government. The Taliban have pledged in the Doha Agreement not to harbor terrorists on Afghan soil, so Zawahiri's presence in a safe house in Kabul is a damning indictment of them. Mullah Yaqoob continues to dispute that Zawahiri was the guy targeted by a US Reaper in the Kabul complex for this precise reason. However, the first US drone strike since the disorganized withdrawal of foreign soldiers from Afghanistan more than a year ago has clearly alarmed the Taliban. Everyone is spe