Outstanding eyewitness report about the Taliban worldview by NYT reporter David Rohde, who spent seven months as a captive of the Taliban in Pakistan. His personal account is presented from a neutral viewpoint, as he tries to depict his captors without passing judgment, but with a genuine desire to understand what they think and why they engage in acts of terrorism. There is only one source in this report, but it's as good as they come.

This readable and interesting story reveals knowledgeably different aspects of the Taliban thinking and behaviour, some very unusual for Western readers, some allowing a certain degree of coming closer.

David Rohde's story of his captivity provides an extraordinary perspective both on the Taliban and on the alert [he noted he had been brought from Afghanistan to Pakistan when the car they got into drove down the left side of the road] and intense experience of reporting far from the comfortable routine.

This is a very interesting news article. Not only does it inform its audience of the currently unspoken situation in Afghanistan, it does so from the perspective of the enemy. The Taliban. It is also very well written and articulate.