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| Terror Networks |
| Binny likely hiding in Pakistan |
| 2006-05-07 |
| Parts of Pakistan are a “safe haven” for militants and the country is the likely hiding place of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a top US counter-terrorism official said during a visit to Afghanistan, in remarks that drew a sharp response from Islamabad. Henry Crumpton, the US ambassador in charge of counter-terrorism, on Saturday lauded Pakistan for arresting “hundreds and hundreds” of Al Qaeda figures but said the country needed to do more. “Has Pakistan done enough? I think the answer is no. I have conveyed that to them, other US officials have conveyed that to them,” Crumpton told reporters at the US Embassy in Kabul after talks with Afghan officials. The chief spokesman for Pakistan’s army, Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, dismissed Crumpton’s assertion that Pakistan was not doing enough. “It is totally absurd,” he said. “No one has conveyed this thing to Pakistan, and if someone claims so, it is absurd.” Crumpton praised Pakistan’s capture Mustafa Setmarian Nasar, a top Al Qaeda strategist with a US$5 million bounty on his head, in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta in November. Pakistan has also launched repeated counter-terrorism operations in its lawless tribal regions close to the Afghan border over the past two years, in which hundreds of militants and soldiers have died. “Our expectation is that they will continue to make progress, and we know that it’s difficult,” he said. Pakistan “can’t remain a safe haven for enemy forces, and right now parts of Pakistan are indeed that.” Crumpton said US officials continue to believe that bin Laden is somewhere along the Afghan-Pakistani border, adding that there was a “higher probability” bin Laden was on the Pakistani side than the Afghan one. “If we knew exactly where bin Laden was, we’d go get him,” Crumpton said. “But we’re very confident he’s along the Pakistan-Afghan border somewhere,” he said. A senior security official in Islamabad said that Crumpton, during meetings with Pakistani intelligence and government officials this week, praised Pakistan for its efforts to hunt down militants. “I am surprised that he praised us here, and is saying something else in Kabul,” the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #5 had a controlled flight into terrain. That's one way to describe it. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-05-07 12:23 |
| #4 The Shia muslims of Gilgit in Pak Kashmir have an interesting allegation that predates 9/11. It seems during the rule of the dictator Zia Ul Haq, he ordered a pogrom of the Shia population. A loyal SSG (commando) officer was chosen. He organized a "lashkar" of Arab volunteers who were in ISI run camps in Pakistan for the Afghan "jihad". The Lashkar was apparently led by an arab commander... Osama Bin Laden. The officer was allegedly Pervez Musharraf. Zia paid for this pogrom with his life. A young shia PAF airman ensured his plane had a controlled flight into terrain. |
| Posted by: john 2006-05-07 10:04 |
| #3 adding that there was a “higher probability” bin Laden was on the Pakistani side than the Afghan one. There is an even higher probability that he is in Rawalpindi. |
| Posted by: john 2006-05-07 09:58 |
| #2 “It is totally absurd,” he said. “No one has conveyed this thing to Pakistan, and if someone claims so, it is absurd.” This is just such a typical Middle Eastern type comment. There is such a disconnect between our cultures. Them: Lying is honor. Us: Lying v/s honor. In the end, they are only lying to themselves and we just roll our eyes, nod our head and get the job done without them onboard. Which means, in the end, we owe them nothing - which in the case of Middle Eastern countries is not such a bad thing. |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-05-07 09:47 |
| #1 "Binny likely hiding in Pakistan." Really? Who would have possibly thought that? |
| Posted by: SPoD 2006-05-07 00:49 |