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| India-Pakistan |
| "More than 100 terror camps" in operation in northwestern Pakistan |
| 2008-07-13 |
| By Bill Roggio Al Qaeda continues to grow its network and expand its capabilities in northwestern Pakistan, US military and intelligence officials told The Long War Journal. The peace agreements have given the Taliban and al Qaeda time and space to re-establish their networks, which pose a threat not only to Pakistan, but the West as well. Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and allied terrorists groups, collectively called al Qaeda and allied movements, or AQAM, by some in US military and intelligence circles, has set up a series of camps throughout the tribal areas and in the settled districts of the Northwest Frontier Province. "More than 100" terror camps of varying sizes and types are currently in operation in the region, a senior US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal. As of the summer of 2007, 29 terror camps were known to be operating in North and South Waziristan alone. Some camps are devoted to training the Taliban's military arm, some train suicide bombers for attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, some focus on training the various Kashmiri terror groups, some train al Qaeda operatives for attacks in the West, and one serves as a training ground the Black Guard, the elite bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. A US Special Forces raid against the Black Guard camp in Danda Saidgai in North Waziristan, Pakistan in March 2006 resulted in the death of Imam Asad and several dozen members of the Black Guard. Asad was the camp commander, a senior Chechen al Qaeda commander, and associate of Shamil Basayev, the Chechen al Qaeda leader killed by Russian security forces in July 2006. The growth in the number of camps US intelligence officials said Pakistan is outpacing Iraq as the destination for recruits, The New York Times reported earlier this week. Iraq is now seen as a lost cause by jihadists while Pakistan is now seen as al Qaeda's main effort. Recruits from Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East are heading to Pakistan. Al Qaeda has also reformed Brigade 055, the infamous military arm of the terror group made up of Arab recruits. The unit is thought to be commanded by Shaikh Khalid Habib al Shami. Brigade 055 fought alongside the Taliban against the Northern Alliance and was decimated during the US invasion of Afghanistan. Several other Arab brigades have been formed, some consisting of former members of Saddam HusseinÂ’s Republican Guards, an intelligence official told The Long War Journal. A strike in South Waziristan The deteriorating situation in Pakistan's tribal agencies is highlighted by the increased incidences of cross-border attacks over the past several months. Today, 11 Pakistanis, including nine soldiers, were wounded in an attack launched from Afghanistan into the lawless, Taliban-controlled tribal agency of South Waziristan. Conflicting reports exist on the nature of the attack, and there is no confirmation on who carried it out. An unnamed Pakistani official told Reuters that "about 60 rounds fell in Angoor Adda," a town near Wana in South Waziristan. BBC reported more than 10 "shells" landed near a military outpost just hundreds of yards from the Afghan border. Xinhua and The News reported that the attack was conducted by US aircraft. The US military has not confirmed conducting an attack, but it rarely confirms such incidents. The attack inside Pakistan appears to be a response to a Taliban attack on a base in Barmal in Paktika province in Afghanistan, according to several of the reports. In the past, the US military has conducted hot pursuit of Taliban forces as they flee across the border to Pakistan. Afghan and Coalition forces have fought a series battles with the Taliban along the ill-defined border as Taliban have been attempting to overrun military bases and district centers in the region. US and Afghan forces have killed more than 200 Taliban fighters in the lopsided battles. Many of the Taliban attacks have been launched from inside North and South Waziristan in Pakistan. The most controversial counterattack into Pakistan occurred as US forces engaged a Taliban force as it retreated from AfghanistanÂ’s Kunar province across the border into Pakistan's Mohmand tribal agency on June 10. The engagement sparked an international incident. The US confirmed it killed eight Taliban fighters, while the Pakistani government said 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops were killed. The Pakistani government expressed outrage over the strike. But the incident sparked suspicions that the Pakistani paramilitary Frontier Corps either aided the Taliban or were part of the attack force. The security situation in Pakistan's tribal agencies has spiraled downward since the government negotiated peace agreements with the Taliban in North and South Waziristan in 2006 and throughout early 2007. The agreements gave the Taliban and al Qaeda time and space to consolidate their hold in the tribal areas and in some settled districts of the Northwest Frontier Province. The Taliban renewed their efforts to destabilize the Afghan government and boldly conducted a series of military attacks in northwestern Pakistan and a bloody suicide campaign in the major cities. The new Pakistani government has reinitiated peace negotiations with the Taliban in the northwest. Peace agreements have been signed with the Taliban in North Waziristan, Swat, Dir, Bajaur, Malakand, Mohmand, and Khyber. Negotiations are under way in South Waziristan, Kohat, and Mardan. The Taliban have violated the terms of these agreements in every region where accords have been signed. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #13 bomb them... anyone who runs is a taliban... anyone who doesn't run is a well disciplined taliban... |
| Posted by: Abu do you love 2008-07-13 21:56 |
| #12 Carly Fiorino may be the most hated person to ever work at Hewlett Packard. In a certain sense that's not saying much because most people who've worked there weren't particularly hateful, regardless of their competence. On the other hand, a LOT of people have worked there. And she's the McCain advisor who said Phil Graham's place was under the bus. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-07-13 21:33 |
| #11 McCain aint going to do jack about the cross border stuff. He's a gimp on waterboarding, and guess who one of his top advisors is? Armitrage. The same moron that screwed the ops side of the house by playing politics. McCain is a fool, and is now proving to be an idiot with his choice of advisors like Armitrace and Juan Hernandez, his amnesty pandering, and his stupidity regarding global warming. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-07-13 21:29 |
| #10 Laos and Cambodia lessons learned or de-javu all over again? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-07-13 20:34 |
| #9 I'm afraid most of our politicians are spineless and weak kneed. Hell, we can't get them to do much about our own border situation or for that matter the price of gasoline. I don't have much hope for anything to be done about Pakistan. McCain would be the one that might show some intestinal fortitude. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2008-07-13 19:22 |
| #8 9-11 followed indulgence of Al-Qaeda/Taliban genocide camps in Afghanistan. Surely something similar will follow NATO's follies. If Senator McCain wants another election issue; he needs to promote a hardline on cross border terror. Unwinnable wars are eventually lost; our current politicians seem illiterate at times. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2008-07-13 15:52 |
| #7 OP...Arc-light is the answer. Take no prisoners. Any "civilian" is at least sympathizer if not a collaborator. Send their hearts and their minds to allan. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2008-07-13 15:01 |
| #6 I keep saying a little napalm and an ARCLIGHT strike or two would put an end to this. We NEED someone with the cojones to do it in Washington. I was hoping Bush would be that person. Now I'm not sure there IS such a person - at least no one that can actually get elected. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-07-13 14:53 |
| #5 " A US Special Forces raid against the Black Guard camp in Danda Saidgai in North Waziristan, Pakistan in March 2006 resulted in the death of Imam Asad and several dozen members of the Black Guard." This is type type of operation that Armitage put a stop to. Whenever someone extols the wisdom of these "sophisticated diplomats" we should remind them of the before and after in North Warzistan. Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2008-07-13 14:25 |
| #4 A really big bomb could get them all and leave a 'do not enter' glow on the land. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2008-07-13 12:01 |
| #3 Is that all? Did they forget to count the Pak military camps? |
| Posted by: Spot 2008-07-13 09:35 |
| #2 Ahmed Rashid has documented how, with full backing from Perv, the ISI created an "NGO" to handle the Taliban. Staffed by retired ISI and other retired Pak military officers with jihadi links, they reported for duty at ISI HQ but were officially off the payroll. It was this "NGO" that revived and sustained the Taliban. The then ISI chief Kayani is now the head of the Pak Military. |
| Posted by: john frum 2008-07-13 09:32 |
| #1 The Taliban have violated the terms of these agreements in every region where accords have been signed. Diplomats - are hey incapable of learning, or just congenitally stupid? |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-07-13 09:26 |