Kabir Mohabbat
Kabir Mohabbat was an Afghan-American businessman from Houston, Texas. He was born in Kabul on October 10, 1956, to a prominent and politically active Afghan family. After graduating from high school in Afghanistan, his family sent him to the United States to sharpen his English skills and to obtain a university degree. In 1979, within days of receiving a B.A. in Political Science from Southeast Missouri State University, the Soviet Army invaded Afghanistan. He immediately volunteered to fight and returned to Afghanistan. During the war he had extensive involvement with various Afghan Mujahidin groups and supporting governments in their struggle with the Soviets. Because of this experience, after the bombing of the USS Cole he was asked by the U.S. to help with the Taliban and Osama bin Laden.
Mohabbat acted as a temporary extraordinary envoy of the United States to the Taliban in the negotiations for the delivery of Osama bin Laden.[1] It was his responsibility to facilitate talks and act as intermediary between the two governments. He succeeded in the negotiations. Toward the end of February 2001, the Taliban curbed any and all activities of bin Laden, stripped him of his communications equipment, and limited his contacts to those of his "immediate refugee life" in Afghanistan.[2] When the Taliban placed bin Laden and some of his men under house arrest near Kandahar, the U.S. was granted permission to arrest, capture or kill the Saudi on Afghan soil. The Afghan Government's representative even suggested that the U.S. hit bin Laden and his men with Cruise Missiles since the U.S. had fired them at Afghanistan once before.
Although invited, the U.S. failed to act. Instead Mohabbat was flown to Afghanistan time after time to apologize for the U.S. Government's inability to act. Toward the end of these frustrating missions, he asked U.S. authorities if the problem was the cost of fuel for the Cruise Missiles and he volunteered to pay for it. The last time Mohabbat was sent into Taliban territory at the behest of the U.S. Government was August 2001.
On 9/11 Mohabbat was in Pakistan. He was asked by the U.S. to help negotiate the surrender of Osama bin Laden and the Afghan Government, but the U.S. demanded that bin Laden be turned over immediately - within 24 hours. The Afghans argued that it was an impossible task since bin Laden had an army on their soil. They asked for a week to capture bin Laden and his men, but U.S. negotiators refused.
Several days later when a representative of the Afghan Government called Mohabbat and surrendered to the U.S., Mohabbat immediately called U.S. authorities and explained that the Taliban had capitulated to all U.S. demands. The response from U.S. authorities: "I will convey your message, but I am afraid that the train has already left the station." To Mohabbat's sorrow, within days Afghanistan was bombed and the war began.
Sometime thereafter Mohabbat was asked to become President of Afghanistan, but he refused. He replied that, in all conscience, he could not work solely for Afghanistan or the United States. He loved both countries and said, "I would be caught in the middle between two stubborn mules."
A history of Mohabbat's negotiations with the Taliban is documented in his biography, Delivering Osama.[3] Extensive original documents that support Mohabbat's life story are in his book.
Kabir Mohabbat died of a coronary event in Houston in 2007.