Taliban guest house

American counter-terrorism officials express concern over both Taliban guest houses and Taliban safe houses.

The usual meaning of the term guest house is a place where visitors, who don't have local friends or relatives they can stay with, stay in areas where the hospitality industry is insufficiently developed to have hotels or motels. The usual meaning of the term guest house is not dissimilar to a bed and breakfast.

The term safe house, on the other hand, is used by intelligence officials, or by those involved in organized crime, and those who investigate them. It refers to an ordinary residence, that looks like it is the regular residence of an ordinary citizen, but is instead available to house intelligence sources, or organized crime participants, who need to "disappear".

In the American "War on Terrorism" American counter-terrorism officials seem to have conflated the two terms.

• There are houses in Pakistan, that they suspect have been used to hide Osama bin Laden, Mullah Omar, and other senior member of al Qaeda and the Taliban, where, according to press reports, American counter-terrorism officials have referred to the houses as "Taliban guest houses".
• There were guest houses, in Afghanistan, during the Taliban's regime, that the intelligence analysts in Guantanamo routinely referred to as "Taliban safe houses", as if the visitors would have to hide their identity from Afghanistan's police.

Notable Taliban guest houses

References

1. ^ Carlotta Gall (February 13, 2002). "October Strike on Taliban Hit Civilians, Survivors Say". New York Times. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0213-05.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-16. 
2. ^ Balaji Reddy (June 19, 2005). "America gets first indication that Pakistan is knowingly hiding Taliban and Al-Queda leadership – is Bin Laden and Mullah Omar in Mussharaf’s guest house?". India Daily. http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/3232.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-16.