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Article: Taliban, bin Laden link under scrutiny; Crisis strains relationship.(News)
- Article from:
- The Boston Herald
- Article date:
- October 2, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Boston Herald. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Amid the maneuverings over the fate of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, experts say, a key emerging question is: Does arch-terrorist Osama bin Laden answer to the Taliban - or vice versa?
On the surface, bin Laden operates at the pleasure of the Taliban and its leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar. The 40,000-strong Taliban, who took power in Afghanistan in 1996 and rule by force of arms, describe bin Laden as a combination free agent and honored guest.
But many experts say bin Laden, who recently married one of his sons to a daughter of Mullah Omar, has become the Taliban's de facto military chief, integrating trained fanatics into the Taliban army to help it ...