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02/21/2006:

"Some See Hand of Former Governor Behind Muslim Clash in Afghanistan"

...The riot that consumed this normally peaceful city near the Iranian border on Feb. 9, leaving four people dead and at least 120 injured, appeared at first to be a sectarian religious conflict. But residents said there was much more to it than that.

"This is not the work of Sunnis or Shias," said Ghulam Hussain, 35, a car dealer, as he surveyed the damaged Shiite mosque. "This is the work of people who have lost power and want to get it back."

Many fingers pointed to Ismail Khan, the former provincial governor and militia commander who once ruled Herat as his private fiefdom. Local officials and international observers said the violence was probably orchestrated by Khan in a possible move to return to power -- less than 18 months after he agreed to leave office in a well-publicized deal brokered by U.S. diplomats.

Equally worrisome, observers said, is the apparent unwillingness of the U.S.-backed president, Hamid Karzai, to challenge Khan. When Khan was forced from Herat and given a second-tier cabinet post in late 2004, the move was touted as proof of the democratic government's ability to stand up to regional strongmen. Since then, Karzai has sidelined a number of local militia leaders.

But now, Karzai seems to be ceding control back to one of Afghanistan's most formidable warlords, asking him to head a commission investigating the Feb. 9 incident. After rushing here from Kabul, Khan -- a Sunni with a majestic white beard -- spent a week in an ornate hilltop mansion, receiving delegations of notables and informants.
washingtonpost.com