November 21, 2005: The Taliban has attracted additional money, and suicide bombers, from Arabia. Two years ago, most of this support shifted to Iraq, where al Qaeda believed it had a better chance of winning some kind of victory. But too many Arab terrorist resources in Iraq produced nothing, and Iraqis have become very hostile to al Qaeda as a result of all the Iraqis killed by terrorist attacks. So now, efforts are shifting to Afghanistan. However, this is also a hostile environment for Arab terrorists. This goes back to the late 1990s, and used a brigade of al Qaeda gunmen to keep unruly tribes in line. Most of the al Qaeda enforcers were Arabs, who did not hide their disdain for the "primitive" Afghans. This has not been forgotten. Moreover, Arabs stand out more in Afghanistan, where most Afghans are European or Central Asian in appearance (the majority of Afghans belong to ethnic groups related to the ones that overran Europe thousands of years ago.) Afghans have been quick to turn in suspicious Arabs, or any suspected terrorist activities.

November 19, 2005: In order to return from exile in Pakistan, 28 Taliban surrendered to the government, to take advantage of the amnesty. More important are the many quiet deals made between the government and pro-Taliban tribal leaders. More and more are giving up support for Taliban violence. But in southern Afghanistan, Taliban took credit for a roadside bomb that killed a former warlord who had made peace with the government. The Taliban have long used terror against leaders that were not willing to provide support. Some drug gangs have hooked up with the Taliban, as both groups are targets of government attacks.

Taliban gunmen kidnapped an Indian engineer and three Afghans and threatened to kill them if the company the men worked for did not leave the country. The engineer was working on the construction of a 200 kilometer road near the Iranian border. The Taliban wants to halt reconstruction, as they know that economic progress makes the Taliban's Islamic conservative program less attractive.

November 18, 2005: Outside the capital, what appeared to be a roadside bomb, killed a Portuguese peacekeeper, and wounded three others. The explosion might have been from one of the thousands of vehicle mines left over from the 1980s war with Russia.

November 16, 2005: In Kandahar, a suicide car bomber attacked a military convoy, and killed three civilians.

November 15, 2005: An American soldier was killed in eastern Afghanistan by a roadside bomb. Along the Pakistan border, U.S. and Afghan troops killed three al Qaeda members, who were trying to enter the country with weapons. Two other al Qaeda suspects were arrested along the border.

November 14, 2005: For the first time in over a year, two suicide car bombs were used to attack NATO peacekeepers in the capital. One German soldiers, and eight Afghan civilians, were killed.