On May 4, just two days after the US killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the Taliban released an interview with Jalaluddin Haqqani, the leader of the dangerous Haqqani Network. The interview was originally published at Al Somood, the Taliban's magazine, and reprinted at Voice of Jihad, the Taliban's web propaganda outlet which is published in Pashto, Farsi, Urdu, Arabic, and English. Titled "The Defeat Of America In Afghanistan Will Be Swifter Than The Defeat Of The Collapsed Soviet Union," the interview provides an interesting look at Jalaluddin's views on his relationship with the Taliban (in the interview, he says he is on the Quetta Shura) and negotiations with NATO (he says negotiations are useless). Jalaluddin also uses the interview to deny reports that his health is poor.

But there is one problem: the interview is three and a half years old. This becomes clear well before you get to the end (at several points, Haqqani mentions that the occupation is seven years old, and he also lists the number of foreign troops at 70,000, the pre-surge number). And at the conclusion, Voice of Jihad confirms that it is indeed an old interview, noting that the article was "Translated From The Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan: Al-Somood Magazine, Issue #30, Dhu Al-Hijrah 1229 AH, December 2008."

Four days ago, I contacted Voice of Jihad, through their email contact form, to ask why a three-year-old interview with Jalaluddin Haqqani was published at their website. Was it a mistake, or was there something more to this? I've received no response, which is also odd given how media savvy the Taliban spokesmen tend to be.