Taliban
Has the leader really been dead for years?
Reports swirled this week of Mullah Omar's death.
Uncertainty looms after reports of Taliban leader Mullah Omar's death.
Long-awaited negotiations are set to begin Friday.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
He is thought to be behind the slaughter of hundreds of Pakistani Shiite Muslims.
The one-eyed leader had not been seen in public since fleeing the invasion over the border into Pakistan.
Most of the dead were wedding guests aged from 14 to 60 years old.
Negotiated settlement could well be the most important part of the 2012 reelection campaign. Getting negotiations underway and reporting genuine results could deliver an election-decider to Obama, because it could mean an earlier withdrawal.
Westerners have tended to view the Taliban as a monolithic organization in thrall to Islamic dogma. In reality they are a fluid, revolutionary movement that encompasses a strikingly wide spectrum of religious opinion.