U.S. Says Tribal Leaders Balk at Aiding Search for Taliban. “Many Pashtun tribal leaders in eastern Afghanistan have balked at cooperating with American Special Operations Forces in the hunt for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, weapons caches and intelligence that could prevent future terrorist attacks, military officials said today. The leaders’ reluctance has left American forces with few Afghan allies in one of the most dangerous regions of the country, a former Taliban and Al Qaeda stronghold that may still harbor hostile fighters and contain underground command bunkers and hideouts for staging guerrilla attacks, officials said.

” NY Times