The Tmes
Jerome Starkey in Kabul

Two months ago Haji Akhtar Muhammad Shinwari stood on the edge of his village in eastern Afghanistan and willed the American troops to leave. “People here hate them,” he said.

Now, it seems that his fellow tribesmen have had a change of heart. This week Shinwari elders announced that they had vowed to support President Karzai’s Government in exchange for American help — a sign that they hate the Taleban even more — but also that they are eager to cash in on the coalition’s war chest.

“Coalition forces will give them $200,000 (£124,000) in the next couple of days,” Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, the provincial governor’s spokesman, said. “No charities or companies will be involved. It’s directly between the Shinwari people and the coalition.

“In the long term they will give them up to $2 million for reconstruction. In return they must support the Afghan Government.” (Read more…)