Taliban: bin Laden welcomed

MINGORA, Pakistan (AP) – Pakistan was trying to end bloodshed when it let the idyllic Swat Valley fall under Islamic law last week. Instead, it has emboldened the Taliban and prompted an invitation – however improbable – for Osama bin Laden.

The local spokesman for the Taliban, which control the valley, told The Associated Press that he would welcome militants bent on battling U.S. troops and their Arab allies if they wanted to settle there.

“Osama can come here. Sure, like a brother they can stay anywhere they want,” Muslim Khan said in a two-hour interview Friday, his first with a foreign journalist since Islamic law was imposed. “Yes, we will help them and protect them.”

Khan spoke in halting English that he learned during four years painting houses in the U.S. before returning to Swat in 2002. He averted his eyes as he spoke to a female journalist, in line with his strict understanding of Islam.