Worldbeaters: taking aim at the rich and powerful; Abdul Rashid Dostum.(Column)

'Even by the rather loose standards of Afghan politics, Rashid Dostum has displayed a combination of tactical brutality and pragmatic treachery that is truly remarkable.'

THE Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid tells the story of going to interview General Dostum in his Qalai Janghi fortress just north of the Uzbek stronghold of Mazar-i-Sharif. Rashid noticed smears of blood and flesh in one corner of the courtyard and wondered to the guards if a goat had recently been slaughtered. Guards informed him that an hour earlier Dostum had ordered a soldier accused of stealing to…