Howeverwelcome the scenes of people playing music and shaving off their beards, theso-called Northern Alliance are no bringers of freedom. They are the same peoplewelcomed by similar scenes of jubilation in 1992, who then killed an estimated50,000 in four years of internecine feuding. The new heroes so far have torturedand executed at least 100 prisoners of war, and countless others, as well aslooted food supplies and re-established their monopoly on the heroin trade. Thisweek, Amnesty International made an unusually blunt statement that was buried inthe news. It ought to be emblazoned across every front page and televisionscreen. "By failing to appreciate the gravity of the human rights concernsin relation to Northern Alliance leaders," said Amnesty, "UK ministersat best perpetuate a culture of impunity for past crimes; at worst they riskbeing complicit in human rights abuse." The truth is that the latest cropof criminals to "liberate" Kabul have been given a second chance bythe most powerful country on earth pounding into dust one of the poorest, wherepeople's life expectancy is just over 40.