The man behind Taliban's Spring Offensive 2011

1. Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir is the man leading the offensive.
2. He is a former Guantánamo inmate.
3. He’s making it clear that no one will be allowed to sit around in Pakistan. Everyone has to get involved or they’re out.
4. On America's list of high-value targets, he ranks second only to Mullah Mohammed Omar.
5. He’s famous among the Taliban for his almost foolhardy courage, and he seems painfully aware that this could be a make-or-break year in the Taliban’s long battle to reclaim its former supremacy in Afghanistan.
6. Taliban sources close to him say he’s been holding eight to 10 meetings a day, from early morning until late at night.
7. His drive, charisma, and raw nerve have made him a very dangerous man. The son of a poor farmer in Helmand province, he joined the Taliban soon after the group was formed in 1994, and by 2001 he had risen to become one of Mullah Omar’s top military commanders.
8. He is responsible for most of the Allied deaths in the provinces of Kandahar and Helmand