Had I watched such a story unfold on Spooks or 24, I would have shaken my head in disbelief and wondered how the scriptwriters thought they could get away with such a silly and unrealistic tale.
But it happened. In real life. In Afghanistan.
From the Daily Mail:
It sounds like the plot from a spy novel or James Bond film.
But Nato chiefs in Afghanistan have been severely embarrassed by a shopkeeper who fooled them into thinking he was a Taliban commander during secret peace negotiations.
Astonishingly, the ruse went on for two months, during which time the “contact” was paid a substantial sum of money.
He was also flown on a British military plane to three meetings designed to end the insurrection.
Despite suspicions about his identity, nobody disputed his claim to be Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, one of the Taliban’s most senior leaders.
It was only months later – and after the handover of piles of cash to keep him coming back – that an old friend of Mr Mansour said they had the wrong man.
American officials have already given up hope that he was Mr Mansour, or even a member of the Taliban at all.
They now believe he was nothing more than a shopkeeper from the Pakistani city of Quetta.
The paper adds:
The fraudster even impressed negotiators with his moderate stance and, unlike other Taliban leaders, did not demand a withdrawal of foreign forces.
Travelling from Pakistan, he twice met Afghan President Hamid Karzai. It was during a third meeting, in the southern city of Kandahar, that a man who had known Mr Mansour years ago told Afghan officials that the Taliban leader at the table did not resemble him. Officials say it is not clear why he posed as Mr Mansour.
They believe it could have been for personal gain or he was possibly planted by the Pakistani intelligence service.
Others have said he could have been a Taliban agent, but all agreed that to pull off such a con meant he was “a very clever man”.
A US official in Kabul added: “One would suspect that in our multibillion-dollar intel community there would be the means to differentiate between an authentic Quetta Shura emissary and a shopkeeper.
“On the other hand, it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. It may have been Mullah Omar – posing as a shopkeeper. I’m sure that our intelligence whizzes wouldn’t have known.”
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