'I'm Sick And Tired Of Bloodshed'

What's your reaction to the American airstrikes?

I've been arguing with Americans, saying 'Look, we're working on a solution. We're close. We can do it without such losses.' Taliban support was going down. But now sympathy for the Taliban is growing because people feel 'What did I do wrong?'

Do you blame the presence of alleged Arab terrorists for Afghanistan's plight?

Why are the Arabs here? The U.S. brought the Arabs to Pakistan and Afghanistan [during the Soviet war]. Washington gave them money, gave them training, and created ten or 15 different fighting groups. The U.S. and Pakistan worked together. The minute the pro-Communist regime collapsed, the Americans walked away--and didn't even clean up their shit. They brought this problem to Afghanistan.

Have you told U.S. officials how you feel?

I'm trying to talk to the White House to say shooting is not the solution. I did tell someone [in the U.S.] that if you hadn't bombed for two more weeks maybe there would have been no need to bomb. We could've had a solution. But Washington went ahead to satisfy the American public. And Afghanistan has to lose hundreds of lives. Afghan blood is cheaper than anything.