AFGHANISTAN -- The Taliban's 30 simple rules:
December 20, 2006 - JASON STRAZIUSO - Every army needs its rules, and the Taliban is apparently no different.The ultraconservative militia began distributing a new set of 30 rules to its fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan over the fall, proffering a grim view of a Talib's duty.
The regulations range from the organizational (No. 9: No jihad equipment may be used for personal means) to the health-conscious (No. 18: No smoking).
Some rules hint at a group of fighters that might actually respect human rights: Rules 15-17 nominally forbid tormenting innocent people, searching homes or taking money or personal belongings.
But other rules openly advertise the militia's cruel ways and help explain why 20 teachers have been murdered this year in Afghanistan: Rule No. 25 says teachers must be warned, then beaten, and then killed if they continue to teach.
Right behind it, Rule No. 26 says aid organizations and the projects they undertake -- new roads, schools or clinics -- are not to be tolerated. It also spells out that schools must be burned, explaining why close to 200 schools have been attacked in Afghanistan this year.
Rule No. 19 says fighters may not take young boys without facial hair into their private quarters -- a public acknowledgment, NATO officials say, that the sexual abuse of young boys is a problem within the Taliban's ranks.