Article

2006-08-25 India-Pakistan

The True Face of Jehadis: Inside Pakistan's Network of Terror

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Posted by john 2006-08-25 16:48|| || Front Page|| [9 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Al-Qaeda's Abu Zubaydah, captured in 2002, claimed that the late head of the Pakistani air force, Mushaf Ali Mir, had prior knowledge of the September 11 terrorist plot. Mir had allegedly struck a deal with al-Qaeda in 1996 to supply arms and offer protection, a pledge that was renewed in 1998 in the presence of Saudi intelligence boss Prince Turki. Mir's plane crashed in 2003 without explanation and it is speculated that the US forces carrying out anti-Taliban operations had shot it down near Kohat because of his links with al-Qaeda.

Investigations into the September 11 plot revealed that ISI's then-head, hardliner pro-Taliban Lieutenant-General Mahmood Ahmad, ordered Sheikh Omar Saeed to wire US$100,000 to Mohammad Atta, the chief hijacker. In October 2001, Musharraf forced Ahmad into retirement after the FBI displayed credible evidence of his involvement in the terror attacks and knowledge that he was playing a "double game". So frustrated was the FBI with the calculated blockading of counter-terrorist operations by the ISI that it formed its own secret Spider Group of former Pakistani army and intelligence operatives to monitor fundamentalist activities through the length and breadth of Pakistan.

Posted by john 2006-08-25 17:00|| 2006-08-25 17:00|| Front Page Top

#2 Amir Mir, the former editor of Weekly Independent and a reputed investigative journalist of Pakistan, started his career in 1988 with Tthe Frontier Post, Lahore. In his journalistic career spanning over 17 years, he has worked with scores of the quality newspaper organisations in Pakistan as well as abroad: The News, The Nation, The Friday Times, Newsline, Gulf News, Arab News, Straits Times, Inter Press Service, Indian Weekly Outlook and India Abroad. Having a Masters degree in Political Science from the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Amir Mir is presently working with the Monthly Herald of the Dawn Group of Newspapers as Senior Assistant Editor.

Posted by john 2006-08-25 17:04|| 2006-08-25 17:04|| Front Page Top

#3 Very interesting review (I had forgotten about the Spider group, and I'm very confused about the pakistani terror outfits beyond their names).

I hope intelligence-savvy types here will take note and add this to their reading list.

Posted by anonymous5089 2006-08-25 17:20|| 2006-08-25 17:20|| Front Page Top

#4 I'm very confused about the pakistani terror outfits beyond their names

Rule of thumb -- they're all violent, all Islamic, and all connected to the ISI.

Posted by Robert Crawford">Robert Crawford 2006-08-25 18:13|| http://www.kloognome.com/]">[http://www.kloognome.com/] 2006-08-25 18:13|| Front Page Top

#5 All run with ISI money. Without transfers from the Pak treasury they would not exist.

From the Pakistani magazine "The Herald" - Cover story - "The Waiting Game"

Inquiries made by the Herald reveal that although major jihadi organisations have various sources of funds, official funding traditionally made up the bulk of their financial inflows.

Knowledgeable sources confide that until recently, small organisations such as the Tehrik-e-Mujahideen, al-Fatah, al-Jihad, al-Barq, Tehrik-e-Jihad, Islamic Front and Harkat Jihad Islami were receiving between 4,00,000 to 7,00, 000 Pakistani rupees a month whereas larger organisations such as HM, LT, JM, ABM and others received more money, ranging between two to three million Pakistani rupees. This was in addition to funds that paid for the logistics, communication equipment, weapons, explosives, food and trekking kits for the thousands of militants, guides and porters who infiltrated into India every year.

According to insiders, the official funds were largely used by the recipient outfits to meet the expenses of offices, vehicles, camps and manpower. The cessation of these funds has jeopardised the entire infrastructure. The smaller organisations are the worst hit by this decision. Even major groups such as the HM, LT and JM cannot sustain themselves without government support beyond a year, says a Muzaffarabad-based observer.

As regards operations inside Indian Kashmir, militant commanders say they have arms and ammunition in the region that may last for two years. If our pipelines remain dry, the freedom movement in Kashmir will grind to a halt by 2008, adds one Muzaffarabad-based commander.

Posted by john 2006-08-25 19:03|| 2006-08-25 19:03|| Front Page Top

#6 The 10,000-odd deeni madrassas of Pakistan continue to churn out radical terrorists by the dozens every day.

Nothing that 10,000 JDAMs can't fix.

Mir had allegedly struck a deal with al-Qaeda in 1996 to supply arms and offer protection, a pledge that was renewed in 1998 in the presence of [then] Saudi intelligence boss Prince Turki.

I hope you all remember Prince Turki, the (now) newly-appointed Saudi ambassador to the United States. Here's some background from a March 2003 edition of the Guardian that I post here from time to time:

Turki is not what he seems. Behind him lies a murky tale of espionage, terrorism and torture. For, while Turki has many powerful friends among Britain's elite, he is no ordinary diplomat. Turki has now been served with legal papers by lawyers acting for relatives of the victims of 11 September.

They accuse him of funding and supporting Osama bin Laden. The Observer can also reveal that Turki has now admitted for the first time that Saudi interrogators have tortured six British citizens arrested in Saudi Arabia and accused of carrying out a bombing campaign.

The revelations throw a stark light on Turki's appointment late last year as Saudi Arabia's new ambassador to Britain. They also cast doubt on the suitability of Charles's relationship with senior Saudis. A year ago Charles had dinner with bin Laden's brother, Bakr bin Laden, and regularly hosted meetings for Turki's predecessor, Dr Ghazi Algosaibi, who was recalled after writing poems praising suicide bombers.

[snip]

Now, after papers were served on Turki several weeks ago, the Saudi ambassador will be at the heart of it. Legal papers in the case obtained by The Observer make it clear that the allegations are serious and lengthy. Many centre around Turki's role as head of the Saudi intelligence agency. He held the post for 25 years before being replaced in 2001 just before the attacks on New York.

Turki admits to meeting bin Laden four or five times in the 1980s, when the Saudi-born terrorist was being supported by the West in Afghanistan. Turki also admits meeting Taliban leader Mullah Omar in 1998. He says he was seeking to extradite bin Laden at the request of the United States.

However, the legal papers tell a different story. Based on sworn testimony from a Taliban intelligence chief called Mullah Kakshar, they allege that Turki had two meetings in 1998 with al-Qaeda. They say that Turki helped seal a deal whereby al-Qaeda would not attack Saudi targets. In return, Saudi Arabia would make no demands for extradition or the closure of bin Laden's network of training camps. Turki also promised financial assistance to Mullah Omar. A few weeks after the meetings, 400 new pick-up vehicles arrived in Kandahar, the papers say.

Kakshar's statement also says that Turki arranged for donations to be made directly to al-Qaeda and bin Laden by a group of wealthy Saudi businessmen. 'Mullah Kakshar's sworn statement implicates Prince Turki as the facilitator of these money transfers in support of the Taliban, al-Qaeda and international terrorism,' the papers said.

Turki's link to one of al-Qaeda's top money- launderers, Mohammed Zouaydi, who lived in Saudi Arabia from 1996 to 2001, is also exposed. Zouaydi acted as the accountant for the Faisal branch of the Saudi royal family that includes Turki. Zouaydi, who is now in jail in Spain, is also accused of being al-Qaeda's top European financier. He distributed more than $1 million to al- Qaeda units, including the Hamburg cell of Mohammed Atta which plotted the World Trade Centre attack.

Finally the lawsuit alleges that Turki was 'instrumental' in setting up a meeting between bin Laden and senior Iraqi intelligence agent Faruq al-Hijazi in December 1998. At that meeting it is alleged that bin Laden agreed to avenge recent American bombings of Iraqi targets and in return Iraq offered him a safe haven and gave him blank Yemeni passports.

Prince Turki is not America's friend. That he is allowed on American soil is a national disgrace. Like a bad penny, his name continues to turn up wherever international terrorism rears its ugly head. Pakistan's role is far more obvious and worthy of even greater retribution

Posted by Zenster 2006-08-25 19:44|| 2006-08-25 19:44|| Front Page Top

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