Article

2007-08-17 India-Pakistan

Pakistan gave Taliban military aid: US documents

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Posted by Fred 2007-08-17 00:00|| || Front Page|| [1 views ] Top
File under: Taliban

#1 Lying bastards, don't forget to duck and cover Perv.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2007-08-17 02:41|| 2007-08-17 02:41|| Front Page Top

#2 Prev. Care to explain the Paki involvement in the airlift out of Kunduz?

Some of us want to understand.

Posted by 3dc 2007-08-17 19:49|| 2007-08-17 19:49|| Front Page Top

#3 a mild MSNBC version at the time

Western reporters actually in Kunduz in the days after it fell this week found much to dispel that doubt. Reports first appeared in the Indian press, quoting intelligence sources who cited unusual radar contacts and an airlift of Pakistani troops out of the city. Their presence among the âenemyâ may shock some readers, but not those who have paid attention to Afghanistan. Pakistan had hundreds of military advisers in Afghanistan before Sept. 11 helping the Taliban fight the Northern Alliance. Hundreds more former soldiers actively joined Taliban regiments, and many Pakistani volunteers were among the non-Afghan legions of al-Qaida.

Last Saturday, The New York Times picked up the scent, quoting Northern Alliance soldiers in a Page 1 story describing a two-day airlift by Pakistani aircraft, complete with witnesses describing groups of armed men awaiting evacuation at the airfield, then still in Taliban hands.

Another report, this in the Times of London, quotes an alliance soldier angrily denouncing the flights, which he reasonably assumed were conducted with Americaâs blessing.

âWe had decided to kill all of them, and we are not happy with America for letting the planes come,â said the soldier, Mahmud Shah.
IN DENIAL

The credibility gap between these reports from the field and the âno commentsâ from the U.S. administration are large enough to drive a Marine Expeditionary Unit through. Calls by MSNBC.com and NBC News to U.S. military and intelligence officials shed no light on the evacuation reports, though they clearly were a hot topic of conversation. âOh, you mean âOperation Evil Airliftâ?â one military source joked. âLook, I canât confirm anything about those reports. As far as I know, they just arenât happening.â Three other military and defense sources simply denied any knowledge.

Something is up. It certainly appears to any reasonable observer that aircraft of some kind or another were taking off and landing in Kunduzâs final hours in Taliban hands. Among the many questions that grow out of this reality:

Was the passenger manifest on these aircraft limited to Pakistani military and intelligence men, or did it include some of the more prominent zealots Pakistan contributed to the ranks of the Taliban and al-Qaida?

What kind of deal was struck between the United States and Pakistan to allow this?

What safeguards did the United States demand to ensure the evacuated Pakistanis did not include men who will come back to haunt us?

What was done with the civilian volunteers once they arrived home in Pakistan? Where they arrested? Debriefed? Taken to safe houses? Or a state banquet?

Posted by 3dc 2007-08-17 19:56|| 2007-08-17 19:56|| Front Page Top

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