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| Afghanistan |
| And Live Islamically Ever After |
| 2011-10-03 |
| When the ISI needed a terror attack, kidnapping or assassination carried out, Haqqani was often used. Haqqani was reliable and effective and that was important for the generals running ISI. But this year, Haqqani has been under unprecedented attack by NATO forces. That means over 1,600 suspected Haqqani men (including 300 local leaders) have been arrested during over 500 raids this year. These operations killed or captured dozens of known Haqqani officials, often key people who were difficult to replace. Haqqani is being forced to risk its lucrative operations (and personnel) in eastern Afghanistan in order to carry out Pakistan ordered terror attacks in Kabul and elsewhere. In the last few days, the Afghan government has arrested Hameedullah Akhondzada, described as the mastermind of the recent suicide bomb attack that killed Burhanuddin Rabbani (the former president of Afghanistan (1992-6) and head of the effort to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban). The government claims to have proof that the attack was ordered by the Taliban leadership (headquartered in Quetta, Pakistan) and with the cooperation of the Pakistan ISI. As part of the new approach to Pakistan, the U.S. has revealed that many deaths of American troops along the Afghan border were actually caused by Pakistani troops, not Taliban fighters. These details had been kept quiet for years, to maintain good relations with Pakistan. But now the Pakistani army and ISI are seen as out-of-control, so the gloves are off. A senior Haqqani Network leader, Haji Mali Khan, was captured during an American raid in eastern Afghanistan. Khan is the uncle of the leader of the Haqqani Network, and was in charge of Haqqani operations on the Afghan side of the border. |
| Posted by:Eohippus Phater7165 |
| #4 The impression I have is that an awful lot of Pakistan army officers -- I don't know about the enlisted, but I suspect the same -- do a rotation or several in the ISI as they work their way up the ladder. It is no more a separate organization than the Pentagon is separate from the DoD. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-10-03 19:48 |
| #3 Actually, the ISI bears more of a resemblance to the Waffen-SS or the GRU, than simply being part of the Army in Pakistan. It is the political commissar section designed to keep any regular Army general from going against the developed consensus inside the Paki military-industrial complex. What Eisenhower warned about here, Pakistan has in spades in reality: the military owns much of the most productive industries in the country, and can be counted on to NOT enforce the anti-feudal laws anywhere that the industrialists want it ignored. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2011-10-03 18:42 |
| #2 So, when is the US going to conduct a SOCOM takedown of these corrupt ISI generals? The ISI is not separate from the Paki military. It is an integral part of it. The problem, and hence the solution, is much larger than Washington has til now acknowledged. |
| Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165 2011-10-03 16:45 |
| #1 So, when is the US going to conduct a SOCOM takedown of these corrupt ISI generals? NSA could probably determine which of them are the worst offenders, CIA could chart their activities, and then some other organization could arrange for them to have a nice fatal heart attack. Eventually the light would dawn that this is a lot harder line of work than they'd signed on for. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-10-03 16:38 |