پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 23rd, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
We have been trying to educate the people about changing the approach towards Muslims for the best part of the decade. If Clinton, Albgith, Lugar and Weber can affect a change in the near future, perhaps we can all build a better world for our children.
AJMA Yahoo Group for interfaith dialogue The American Joint Multifaith Association (AJMA)has been working for years to develop better community relations amongs the physical and spiritual children of Abraham
Rebuilding the Abrahamic symbiosis in America
Moin Ansari's interview with Harold Channer 1
Wasim Khan and Moin Ansari's interview Prt 2
The new policy based on a bi-partisan panel of 34 US leaders (which included one third Muslims) reverses the brute force approach and is based on the following salient points:
Diplomacy as the “primary tool”
Promote better governance in authoritarian Muslim countries that are American allies like Saudi Arabia and Egypt,
Help create jobs and economic development in Muslim countries, and
Foster exchange programs to educate people in the Muslim world about the United States, and vice versa.
Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State; Principal, The Albright Group LLC
"Few challenges matter more than reducing distrust and misunderstanding between the United States and people living in Muslim majority states. This timely report is a groundbreaking, stereotype-shattering and thought-provoking contribution to that essential cause."
We’re not involved in a clash of civilizations or conflicting religious beliefs. There are policies and actions that are at the root of it, and in some cases they are our policies and in some cases theirs.” Ms. Madeleine K. Albright
General Anthony C. Zinni, USMC (ret.)
"This is an exceptional and important report that is a must read for all those Americans involved in policy development, operational planning, and understanding of this critical part of our global society."
Richard Land, President, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Southern Baptist Convention; Member, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
"This initiative is a serious, comprehensive, bi-partisan effort that seeks to address a critical and dangerous problem: The world Muslim community misunderstands Americans and Americans misunderstand them. This initiative lays out a detailed and comprehensive plan to vastly decrease that misunderstanding through a multi-faceted approach that will build constructive bridges of mutual understanding between Americans and the Muslim world."
Ingrid Mattson, President, The Islamic Society of North America; Professor of Islamic Studies, Director of Islamic Chaplaincy, and Director, Duncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary
"It is a sign of great hope that the Leadership Group, despite having substantial differences over policies and politics, was able to come together to develop this report. This was made possible by a shared belief that the vital interests of the American people need not, and must not, conflict with core American values affirming the dignity of all people and their right to freedom and self-determination. This is a message that the mainstream majority in the Muslim world will surely welcome, and it will help them in their desire to improve relations between their people and the United States."
"People have told us they admire our democratic values, but there’s this gap between the values people admire and the perceived treatment of Muslims.” Ms. Mogahed
“ “The urgency is quite great” ..“The Bush administration is held in low regard in the Muslim world, and unfortunately that’s led to America being held in low regard.” Mr. Weber
The SFCG.org site lists the following goals for the group and why the bipartisan report was needed.
Overview
The United States urgently needs to develop a new approach to address tensions with Muslim countries and communities. Conflict, misunderstanding and distrust plague relations between the U.S. and Muslims around the world. The national intelligence community, many other experts and more than 70 percent of the U.S. public believe that the risk of future terrorist acts is high, and that our current strategy is not reducing widespread Muslim hostility toward the U.S. In response, the U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project is producing a new strategy that better meets the long-term national security interests of the U.S., by addressing the sources of tension between the U.S. and Muslims in key countries and regions. The project’s goals are to:
create a coherent, broad-based and bipartisan strategy and set of recommendations to improve relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world; and
communicate and advocate this strategy in ways that shift U.S. public opinion and contribute to changes in U.S. policies, and public and private action.
An eminent Leadership Group on U.S.-Muslim Engagement has been working since January 2007 to reach consensus on comprehensive recommendations. In September 2008, the project will issue a report and launch an intensive education campaign to influence the views and actions of national officeholders, candidates for office, the new administration elected in November 2008, private institutions and the public at large.
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN Published: September 23, 2008
After 18 months spent examining the deteriorating relations between the United States and the Muslim world during the Bush administration, a diverse group of American leaders will release a report in Washington on Wednesday calling for an overhaul of American strategy to reverse the spread of terrorism and extremism.
The report recommends more diplomatic engagement, even with Iran and other adversaries, and a major investment in economic development in Muslim countries to create jobs for alienated youth. It calls on the next president to use his Inaugural Address to signal a shift in approach, to immediately renounce the use of torture, and to appoint a special envoy within the first three months to jump-start negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The report, “Changing Course: A New Direction for U.S. Relations with the Muslim World,”; was produced by 34 leaders drawn from religious, business, military, foreign policy, academic, foundation and nonprofit circles. The group included Democrats like Madeleine K. Albright, who was secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, and two former Republican congressmen, Vin Weber and Steve Bartlett.
It also included Thomas Dine, a former executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and Ingrid Mattson, president of the Islamic Society of North America. One-third of the group were Muslim Americans. The members were selected by the sponsoring organizations, Search for Common Ground and the Consensus Building Institute, which both promote nonviolent conflict resolution.
“I came into it somewhat skeptical we could come to agreement,” Mr. Weber, who is now chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy, said in an interview. “I supported the invasion of Iraq, and that has clearly been a very negative thing for the perceptions of America in the Muslim world.”
As the group pored over polls of people in various Muslim countries, they concluded that the negative perceptions were generated more by American policies than by Muslim religious or cultural beliefs. If policies shift, perceptions are likely to change, too, the report says.
Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, said polls showed that people in Muslim countries feel “disrespected” by the United States, a sentiment that intensified with the invasion of Iraq and the photographs from Abu Ghraib prison showing detainees tortured and humiliated.
Ms. Mogahed said, “People have told us they admire our democratic values, but there’s this gap between the values people admire and the perceived treatment of Muslims.”
Ms. Albright said in an interview: “We’re not involved in a clash of civilizations or conflicting religious beliefs. There are policies and actions that are at the root of it, and in some cases they are our policies and in some cases theirs.”
The group’s four basic recommendations are to rely on diplomacy as the “primary tool,” promote better governance in authoritarian Muslim countries that are American allies like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, help create jobs and economic development in Muslim countries, and foster exchange programs to educate people in the Muslim world about the United States, and vice versa.
“The urgency is quite great,” Mr. Weber said. “The Bush administration is held in low regard in the Muslim world, and unfortunately that’s led to America being held in low regard.”
The McCain and Obama campaigns have been briefed on the report’s recommendations, and both were receptive, said Mr. Weber and other members of the group. There is a briefing on Wednesday for the House Foreign Affairs Committee and members of Congress, and a public release at the National Press Club in Washington.
Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the Republican leader of the Foreign Relations Committee, has sent the report to his colleagues with a letter saying it contains “constructive recommendations on how we can approach this pressing concern in a bipartisan framework.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/24/wa...ss&oref=slogin
Madeleine Albright Principal, The Albright Group; former U.S. Secretary of State
Richard Armitage President, Armitage International; former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
Ziad Asali President and Founder, American Task Force on Palestine
Steve Bartlett President and CEO, Financial Services Roundtable; former U.S. Representative; former Mayor of Dallas, Texas
Paul Brest President, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Red Cavaney President and Chief Executive Officer, American Petroleum Institute
Daniel Christman Lt. General (ret.), U.S. Army; Senior Vice President for International Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Stephen Covey Co-Founder and Vice Chairman, FranklinCovey; writer, speaker, and academic
Thomas Dine Principal, The Dine Group; former Executive Director, American Israel Public Affairs Committee
Marc Gopin James H. Laue Professor of World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution; Director, Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University
Stephen Heintz President, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Shamil Idriss Chairman of the Board, Soliya
Daisy Khan Executive Director, American Society for Muslim Advancement
Derek Kirkland Advisory Director, Investment Banking Division, Morgan Stanley
Richard Land President, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Southern Baptist Convention; Member, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Robert Jay Lifton Lecturer on Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; author of Superpower Syndrome
Denis J. Madden Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore; former Associate Secretary General, Catholic Near East Welfare Association
John Marks President and Founder, Search for Common Ground
Susan Collin Marks Senior Vice President, Search for Common Ground; author of Watching the Wind: Conflict Resolution during South Africa's Transition to Democracy
Ingrid Mattson President, The Islamic Society of North America; Professor of Islamic Studies and Director of Islamic Chaplaincy and Director, Duncan Black Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary
Sayyeda Mirza-Jafri Strategic Philanthropy Consultant
Dalia Mogahed Executive Director, Gallup Center for Muslim Studies; coauthor with John Esposito of Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think
Vali Nasr Professor of International Politics, The Fletcher School, Tufts University; Adjunct Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Feisal Abdul Rauf Imam, Masjid al-Farah in New York City; Founder and Chairman, Cordoba Initiative; author of What’s Right with Islam Is What’s Right with America
Rob Rehg President, Washington D.C. office, Edelman
Dennis Ross Consultant, Washington Institute for Near East Policy; former U.S. Special Middle East Envoy and Negotiator
S. Abdallah Schleifer Distinguished Professor of Journalism, American University in Cairo; former Washington Bureau Chief, Al-Arabiya news channel; former NBC News Cairo bureau chief
Jessica Stern Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Mustapha Tlili Director, Center for Dialogues: Islamic World-U.S.-The West, New York University
William Ury Cofounder, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School; coauthor of Getting to Yes
Vin Weber Managing Partner, Clark and Weinstock; Chairman, National Endowment for Democracy; former U.S. Representative
Daniel Yankelovich Founder and Chairman, Public Agenda; author
Ahmed Younis Senior Analyst, Gallup Center for Muslim Studies; former National Director, Muslim Public Affairs Committee
Dov S. Zakheim Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton; former U.S. Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)
*Organizational affiliations are listed for identification purposes only.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Whats in the hate mail from Jerusalme: DVDs
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 23rd, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
The Islamophobic DVDs were inserted this month into more than 70 newspapers and paid for by the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit founded in 2006. It has declined to identify board members or its funding.
The Endowment for Middle East Truth, is a partner with the Clarion Fund in "The Obsession Project" . Ari Morgenstern, is a spokesman for that group.
The Canadian producer of the film, Raphael Shore, is a full-time employee of Aish HaTorah International a Jerusalem-based group. The group is preparing to release another film, "Third Jihad,"
Muslim group seeks probe of 'radical Islam' DVD By ERIC GORSKI –
A U.S. Muslim advocacy group Tuesday asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate whether a nonprofit group that distributed a controversial DVD about Islam in newspapers nationwide is a "front" for an Israel-based group with a stealth goal of helping Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
The promoters of "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" denied trying to promote any presidential campaign. They said it's also incorrect to tie the DVD campaign to Jerusalem-based educational group Aish HaTorah International, although current and former employees are involved with the project.
The Council for American-Islamic Relations asked the FEC to investigate the DVD distribution, which targeted about 28 million households mostly in battleground election states.
The DVDs — which critics call anti-Muslim propaganda — were inserted this month into more than 70 newspapers and paid for by the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit founded in 2006. The group's focus is "the most urgent threat of radical Islam." It has declined to identify board members or its funding.
Never picked up for traditional distribution, "Obsession" features scenes of Muslim children being urged to become suicide bombers, 9/11 carnage and interviews with critics of Islam.
Another organization, the Endowment for Middle East Truth, is a partner with the Clarion Fund in "The Obsession Project," which will also include research publications and issue forums.
Ari Morgenstern, a spokesman for that group, said targeting swing states was designed to attract media attention, but is not meant to influence the election result. He said the film "makes a very clear and upfront distinction between the majority of peaceful followers of Islam and those people who subscribe to a radical Islamic ideology."
In its complaint, CAIR cites New York Secretary of State records showing that three people who incorporated Clarion Fund also are employees or have been employees of Aish HaTorah International, a Jerusalem-based Jewish educational organization that has offices around the world.
"American voters deserve to know whether they are the targets of a multimillion-dollar campaign funded and directed by a foreign group seeking to whip up anti-Muslim hysteria as a way to influence the outcome of our presidential election," Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR, said in a statement.
As evidence of a McCain bias, CAIR cites a story in the Patriot News of Harrisburg, Pa., which reported that a Clarion Fund Web site ran a pro-McCain article before it attracted notice and was taken down.
"If you heighten the hysteria over national security or terrorism or do anything to make people more fearful, it's clear they would trend toward McCain because that's been his mantra throughout the campaign," said Ibrahim Hooper, a CAIR spokesman.
Under federal election law and the tax code, nonprofit groups are restricted from getting involved in candidate races and foreign nationals may not contribute to American campaigns. The DVD's distributors say their efforts are issue-based and don't break election laws.
The Canadian producer of the film, Raphael Shore, is a full-time employee of Aish HaTorah International, an educational group that avoids politics, said Ronn Torossian, a New York-based spokesman for the group. Shore's work on the DVD project was not done under the banner of Aish HaTorah, Torossian said.
"These are independent activities of individuals," he said.
Gregory Ross, spokesman for the New York-based Clarion Fund, declined to discuss the complaint's specifics. He pointed out that it's normal for nonprofits to keep donors' identities private. He said the group has "thousands of donors that span the political spectrum."
"We are not telling people who to vote for," said Ross, a former employee of Aish HaTorah International. "We're just saying no matter who gets in office, the American people should know radical Islam is a real threat to America. We don't feel radical Islam is getting its fair share of press."
The group is preparing to release another film, "Third Jihad," but has no plans for mass distribution, Ross said.
On the Net:
Council on American-Islamic Relations: http://www.cair.net
The Clarion Fund: http://clarionfund.org/
The Islamophobic DVDs were inserted this month into more than 70 newspapers and paid for by the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit founded in 2006. It has declined to identify board members or its funding.
The Endowment for Middle East Truth, is a partner with the Clarion Fund in "The Obsession Project" . Ari Morgenstern, is a spokesman for that group.
The Canadian producer of the film, Raphael Shore, is a full-time employee of Aish HaTorah International a Jerusalem-based group. The group is preparing to release another film, "Third Jihad,"
Muslim group seeks probe of 'radical Islam' DVD By ERIC GORSKI –
A U.S. Muslim advocacy group Tuesday asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate whether a nonprofit group that distributed a controversial DVD about Islam in newspapers nationwide is a "front" for an Israel-based group with a stealth goal of helping Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
The promoters of "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" denied trying to promote any presidential campaign. They said it's also incorrect to tie the DVD campaign to Jerusalem-based educational group Aish HaTorah International, although current and former employees are involved with the project.
The Council for American-Islamic Relations asked the FEC to investigate the DVD distribution, which targeted about 28 million households mostly in battleground election states.
The DVDs — which critics call anti-Muslim propaganda — were inserted this month into more than 70 newspapers and paid for by the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit founded in 2006. The group's focus is "the most urgent threat of radical Islam." It has declined to identify board members or its funding.
Never picked up for traditional distribution, "Obsession" features scenes of Muslim children being urged to become suicide bombers, 9/11 carnage and interviews with critics of Islam.
Another organization, the Endowment for Middle East Truth, is a partner with the Clarion Fund in "The Obsession Project," which will also include research publications and issue forums.
Ari Morgenstern, a spokesman for that group, said targeting swing states was designed to attract media attention, but is not meant to influence the election result. He said the film "makes a very clear and upfront distinction between the majority of peaceful followers of Islam and those people who subscribe to a radical Islamic ideology."
In its complaint, CAIR cites New York Secretary of State records showing that three people who incorporated Clarion Fund also are employees or have been employees of Aish HaTorah International, a Jerusalem-based Jewish educational organization that has offices around the world.
"American voters deserve to know whether they are the targets of a multimillion-dollar campaign funded and directed by a foreign group seeking to whip up anti-Muslim hysteria as a way to influence the outcome of our presidential election," Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR, said in a statement.
As evidence of a McCain bias, CAIR cites a story in the Patriot News of Harrisburg, Pa., which reported that a Clarion Fund Web site ran a pro-McCain article before it attracted notice and was taken down.
"If you heighten the hysteria over national security or terrorism or do anything to make people more fearful, it's clear they would trend toward McCain because that's been his mantra throughout the campaign," said Ibrahim Hooper, a CAIR spokesman.
Under federal election law and the tax code, nonprofit groups are restricted from getting involved in candidate races and foreign nationals may not contribute to American campaigns. The DVD's distributors say their efforts are issue-based and don't break election laws.
The Canadian producer of the film, Raphael Shore, is a full-time employee of Aish HaTorah International, an educational group that avoids politics, said Ronn Torossian, a New York-based spokesman for the group. Shore's work on the DVD project was not done under the banner of Aish HaTorah, Torossian said.
"These are independent activities of individuals," he said.
Gregory Ross, spokesman for the New York-based Clarion Fund, declined to discuss the complaint's specifics. He pointed out that it's normal for nonprofits to keep donors' identities private. He said the group has "thousands of donors that span the political spectrum."
"We are not telling people who to vote for," said Ross, a former employee of Aish HaTorah International. "We're just saying no matter who gets in office, the American people should know radical Islam is a real threat to America. We don't feel radical Islam is getting its fair share of press."
The group is preparing to release another film, "Third Jihad," but has no plans for mass distribution, Ross said.
On the Net:
Council on American-Islamic Relations: http://www.cair.net
The Clarion Fund: http://clarionfund.org/
What were US Marines hiding in steel boxes?
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 23rd, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
Newspaper reports have speculated that the presence of American military personnel in the hotel at the time of the blast points to a US covert operation whose aim could be anything from the capture of Osama bin Laden to the seizing of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad (Daily Telegraph, UK-Sept 23rd, 2008)
Islamabad Pakistan Marriot: What was the US Marine role? (http://rupeenews.com/2008/09/21/islamabad-pakistan-marriot-what-was-the-us-marine-role/)
Russian Military Analysts are reporting in the Kremlin today that the massive blast that caused 53 deaths at the Islamabad Marriott hotel in Pakistan was an operation conducted by India's foreign intelligence agency The Research and Analysis Wing [RAW] in an attempt to ‘decapitate’ Pakistan’s entire leadership. India had become ‘alarmed’ by the United States and Pakistan’s ISI plan...
Americans’ presence at Marriott not a secret: US embassy
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani authorities are trying to solve the riddle of US Marines and their mysterious steel cases, which were shifted to the Marriott Hotel four days before the hotel was reduced to ashes by the worst ever terrorist attack in the history of the federal capital.
These authorities want to ascertain if it was a routine exercise or part of some special mission that does not have the approval of the Government of Pakistan.
The US embassy insists the activity witnessed was a team of support personnel that often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain US officials. However, the government authorities probing the matter have already got most of the facts ascertained as mentioned in The News story on Sunday.
According to an official source, the authorities were told that mysterious activity of the US Marines took place around 12:00 midnight on 16 September. Already the government has got the information that several rooms on the fourth floor of the Marriott were in permanent use of the US authorities. Three of these rooms were said to be inter-connected and contained some intelligence equipment and other material allegedly used for espionage.
Sadruddin Hashwani, the owner of the Marriott, when approached denied that the Americans had any such presence in the hotel and said that like any such hotel in the world his guests included people of different nationalities. “Why focus on the Americans unnecessarily,” Hashwani wondered. He refuted that the US embassy had permanently hired several rooms in his hotel.
The US embassy spokesperson Lou Fintor, however, when asked if the US embassy had hired several rooms in the Marriott Hotel for years, said in his written reply that the US embassy has been a frequent customer of the Marriott Hotel for many years. On any given day, he said, there were employees of the American embassy and official American visitors staying at the hotel. “There is nothing unusual, secretive or ‘mysterious’ about this,” he said.
When asked if three of these permanently hired rooms were interconnected, Fintor said, “For our frequent visiting delegations, the embassy often rented adjoining rooms — as we often do in other hotels in Pakistan and in the world.”
Responding to unconfirmed reports that the US-rented rooms in the Marriott Hotel were being used by the CIA for espionage purposes, he said, “Unfortunately, far too many things have been ‘said’ that have absolutely no basis in fact. There is no truth whatsoever in allegations that covert activity was taking place on the part of the United States government.”
The spokesman said that these allegations are inaccurate, irresponsible, baseless and completely without any foundation whatsoever.
About the Marines and the steel cases which were reported to have been shifted to the hotel between the night of 16 and 17 September and whether these Marines and the suitcases were in the hotel on the day of the blast or evacuated before, he said, “A team of support personnel often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain US government officials. They often carry communication and office equipment required to support large delegations, such as high-level administration officials and members of the US Congress.”
He added that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would travel with communications equipment. “It is quite possible that some saw this communications equipment moved into the hotel. This equipment would leave with the CJCS. If the equipment was transported in full public view then obviously there was no attempt made to conceal its movement.”
Witnessed by many, including a PPP MNA and his friends, a US embassy’s truckload of steel boxes was unloaded and shifted inside the Marriott Hotel on September 16 midnight only after Mike Mullen, the US Admiral, had met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others in Islamabad and had already left. Both the main gates (the entrance and the exit) of the hotel were closed while no one except the US Marines was either allowed to go near the truck or get the steel boxes unloaded or shift them inside the hotel. These steel boxes were not being passed through the scanners installed at the entrance of the hotel’s lobby, and were reportedly shifted to the fourth and fifth floors of the Marriott.
The US embassy spokesman also confirmed that the Marriott rooms, which were in use of the US officials, had the communication and office equipment, which were transported for use by Admiral Mullen.
[contact-form]
A hotel employee, on condition of not being named, confided that the hotel management had been receiving threats from unknown persons for the last six months to get the US officials vacated from the hotel. However, Mr Hashwani when confronted said that there has been no threat received by the hotel management.
Newspaper reports have speculated that the presence of American military personnel in the hotel at the time of the blast points to a US covert operation whose aim could be anything from the capture of Osama bin Laden to the seizing of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad (Daily Telegraph, UK-Sept 23rd, 2008)
Islamabad Pakistan Marriot: What was the US Marine role? (http://rupeenews.com/2008/09/21/islamabad-pakistan-marriot-what-was-the-us-marine-role/)
Russian Military Analysts are reporting in the Kremlin today that the massive blast that caused 53 deaths at the Islamabad Marriott hotel in Pakistan was an operation conducted by India's foreign intelligence agency The Research and Analysis Wing [RAW] in an attempt to ‘decapitate’ Pakistan’s entire leadership. India had become ‘alarmed’ by the United States and Pakistan’s ISI plan...
Americans’ presence at Marriott not a secret: US embassy
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani authorities are trying to solve the riddle of US Marines and their mysterious steel cases, which were shifted to the Marriott Hotel four days before the hotel was reduced to ashes by the worst ever terrorist attack in the history of the federal capital.
These authorities want to ascertain if it was a routine exercise or part of some special mission that does not have the approval of the Government of Pakistan.
The US embassy insists the activity witnessed was a team of support personnel that often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain US officials. However, the government authorities probing the matter have already got most of the facts ascertained as mentioned in The News story on Sunday.
According to an official source, the authorities were told that mysterious activity of the US Marines took place around 12:00 midnight on 16 September. Already the government has got the information that several rooms on the fourth floor of the Marriott were in permanent use of the US authorities. Three of these rooms were said to be inter-connected and contained some intelligence equipment and other material allegedly used for espionage.
Sadruddin Hashwani, the owner of the Marriott, when approached denied that the Americans had any such presence in the hotel and said that like any such hotel in the world his guests included people of different nationalities. “Why focus on the Americans unnecessarily,” Hashwani wondered. He refuted that the US embassy had permanently hired several rooms in his hotel.
The US embassy spokesperson Lou Fintor, however, when asked if the US embassy had hired several rooms in the Marriott Hotel for years, said in his written reply that the US embassy has been a frequent customer of the Marriott Hotel for many years. On any given day, he said, there were employees of the American embassy and official American visitors staying at the hotel. “There is nothing unusual, secretive or ‘mysterious’ about this,” he said.
When asked if three of these permanently hired rooms were interconnected, Fintor said, “For our frequent visiting delegations, the embassy often rented adjoining rooms — as we often do in other hotels in Pakistan and in the world.”
Responding to unconfirmed reports that the US-rented rooms in the Marriott Hotel were being used by the CIA for espionage purposes, he said, “Unfortunately, far too many things have been ‘said’ that have absolutely no basis in fact. There is no truth whatsoever in allegations that covert activity was taking place on the part of the United States government.”
The spokesman said that these allegations are inaccurate, irresponsible, baseless and completely without any foundation whatsoever.
About the Marines and the steel cases which were reported to have been shifted to the hotel between the night of 16 and 17 September and whether these Marines and the suitcases were in the hotel on the day of the blast or evacuated before, he said, “A team of support personnel often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain US government officials. They often carry communication and office equipment required to support large delegations, such as high-level administration officials and members of the US Congress.”
He added that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would travel with communications equipment. “It is quite possible that some saw this communications equipment moved into the hotel. This equipment would leave with the CJCS. If the equipment was transported in full public view then obviously there was no attempt made to conceal its movement.”
Witnessed by many, including a PPP MNA and his friends, a US embassy’s truckload of steel boxes was unloaded and shifted inside the Marriott Hotel on September 16 midnight only after Mike Mullen, the US Admiral, had met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others in Islamabad and had already left. Both the main gates (the entrance and the exit) of the hotel were closed while no one except the US Marines was either allowed to go near the truck or get the steel boxes unloaded or shift them inside the hotel. These steel boxes were not being passed through the scanners installed at the entrance of the hotel’s lobby, and were reportedly shifted to the fourth and fifth floors of the Marriott.
The US embassy spokesman also confirmed that the Marriott rooms, which were in use of the US officials, had the communication and office equipment, which were transported for use by Admiral Mullen.
[contact-form]
A hotel employee, on condition of not being named, confided that the hotel management had been receiving threats from unknown persons for the last six months to get the US officials vacated from the hotel. However, Mr Hashwani when confronted said that there has been no threat received by the hotel management.
Origins or Terror in Pakistan: Across the border
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 23rd, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
Former President Pervez Musharraf once described it as a delicate art of "tightrope walking"; the problem for Zardari is that the rope is fraying and the winds are growing fierce. According to a June poll conducted by the International Republican Institute, 71% of Pakistanis oppose Pakistan's cooperation with the U.S. against Islamist militants. For critics of the policy, it has always been "an American war" forced on an unwilling country, and they blame it for bringing the Afghan conflict over the border and encouraging a wave of terrorism in Pakistan's major cities. Time Magazine September 23rd, 2008
Terror has raised its ugly head in Pakistan again. There are two kinds of thinking on this matter, "The blame Pakistan first crowd", and "Blame everything on America crowd". It is pedantic to execute an exegetical examination of of the terror data in order to try to list, define, and describe the roots of the origins of terror in Pakistan--then and now. Pakistan has faced terror in two time periods, during the 80s and in the post 911 era.
The Marriott devastation has traumatised Islamabad as never before, despite having seen violence and terrorism with regularity over the last few years – especially since last year. Perhaps it was the widespread damage far beyond the Marriott, which in itself was as tragic as it was horrific, or perhaps it was the live television coverage that took the horror to everyone’s home. Anger, rage, condemnation, fear and helplessness are certainly some of the emotions that have been brought to the fore.Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008. The writer is a defence analyst. Email: callstr@hotmail.com
a) Terror against Pakistan in the 80s: The worst incidents of terror were during the 80s during the US sponsored war against the USSR that was carried on in Afghanistan. General (Retd) Hamid Gul lists many incidents of terror that were directly tied to RAW, KGB and Khad. The attacks on Pakistan were never carried out is a simple manner. There was much thought put into the location of the bombs so as to cause maximum harm in terms of blood and gore but also in terms of psychological and long term damage. The attacks carried on Pakistan were placed in Sunni and Shia places of worship. This had the dual affect of exacting blood, but also was an attempt to create religious strife among Pakistanis. Another RAW tactic was to create ethnic strife among the citizens of Pakistan. By using terror against one ethnic group, the Indians want to create racial divisions in Pakistan. This has worked for for them in many areas of the world. This is a favorite of the Indian terror tactics which they have perfected in Sri Lanka, Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan and Bangladesh and Pakistan.
"I think it is essential for Pakistan to be a willing partner in any strategy we have to deal with the threat coming out of the western part of Pakistan and the eastern part of Afghanistan," September 23rd, 2008: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee.
b) Post 911 terror: After the Afghan war was over, there was a lull in the terror attacks. Listening to the purile cowering of Mr. Karzai, one wonders about his maturity level.His own record on managing his fiefdom is execrable The current spate of attacks against Pakistan became more severe when the tide of the Afghan war began turning against the occupation forces who went there to liberate the country. There is now an exponential increase in terror in Pakistan after the completion of and operation of the 4 Indian Consulates and 13 "Information Centers" in Afghanistan.
If we can officially create space between the US and ourselves, and there can be no covert assent to US access in Pakistan as was the case with the previous government – something that was consistently criticised in these columns – at least the nation will rally around the state and allow it to make an effective beginning to a long term strategy to deal with extremism and violence. Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
Shireen Mazari is right when she says that terrorism in Pakistan has many different origins. It is pedagogical to note that most of the terror against Pakistan started after 911. She has criticized the PPPPs pusillanimous response to threats from across the border. We have expanded Dr. Mazari's list to six broad categories of the origins of terror in Pakistan.
1) Al-Qaeda: This ephemeral group is the "catch all" for all activities that are carried on against the US and its proxies. This group has its origins outside Pakistan and is funded outside Pakistan. According to the CIA reports it attacks US targets. Many do not believe that the group exists as a cohesive unit and some conspiracy theorists believe that the groups persona has been manufactured and embellished to malign and discredit institutions and countries.
..a strategy has to first recognise that terrorism in Pakistan has a number of differing origins: there is the most violent one that is rooted in distorted religious extremism and is linked to Al Qaeda and seeks indiscriminate destruction for impact. This is not about winning hearts and minds so much as creating fear in hearts and minds. Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 200
2) Balauch "Sub-Nationalists": This group of Pakistani malcontents had their hay day during the Cold War when it was funded, aided and abetted by the masters in the Soviet Union and India. It has its origins outside Pakistan and is funded outside Pakistan. Recently the BLA has been resurrected with different masters. The Government of Balauchistan has been established in Tel Aviv and many Balauch remnants are supported by New Delhi.
But there is also the political sub-national violence and terrorism, such as in Balochistan, which is also abetted by external forces but has indigenous political roots, and discriminates in its targeting. This attempts to win hearts and minds and so targets are selective – security forces and strategic installations – and is susceptible to a political solution. Clearly an overarching strategy would need to make these distinctions.Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
3) Kabul miscreants and Northern Alliance and Pro-Indian Karzaiites: These groups have their origins outside Pakistan and is funded from sources outside Pakistan. This groups is meant to avenge the impotence and inefficiency of the government organs of Kabul. The US may tolerat these elements but Pakistan considers them sworn enemies.
4) Criminal elements and Drug Lords: There are criminal elements on both sides of the border that are taking advantage of the situation and often use the name of other groups. The hostage taking of the Pakistani ambassador to Kabul is a case in point. The Ambassador was taken hostage by thugs, and criminals and later sold to a different groups. He may have finally ended up with the Taliban.
5) The 38 groups fighting the US Occupation forces in Afghanistan: "Taliban, Hizb e Islami, Hizb ul Mujihideen and others. These groups are busy fighting the occupation forces in Afghanistan and have not attacked Pakistan.
The [September 23rd, 2008: Robert Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee.]defense secretary acknowledged that the Pakistanis did not see all insurgent groups as enemies. Pakistan, he said, has had a long-term relationship with the group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Hezb e-Islami party, and another by Jalaludin Haqqani, a former Taliban commander.
"I think in many respects they don't see the Taliban as their enemy," September 23rd, 2008: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee.
6) Tehrik e Taliban and Fidayeen: This terror group is purely a terror group with almost no agenda expect to destabilize Pakistan. Without a doubt this terror group has its origins outside Pakistan and is funded outside Pakistan. This group is a well funded and diabolically oiled machine that has mounted extremely satanically planned attacks on the Pakistan army as well as Pakistani hospitals and civilian targets of little value to any armed group. The ruthlessness of the group can be judged by the fact that it has taken hundreds of innocent lives.
Over a year ago, in these columns I had written about strange American personnel going in the direction of Warsak and now we have a disturbing story of US marines with questionable baggage, which was not screened and one has to wonder why, on the fourth floor of the Marriott – where the fire first started. Were their some weapons or incendiary devices which the Marines had brought in? The time has come for the government to come clean on this and stop such covert US activities for the future. As for US "advisers" or "trainers" coming in, our people and leaders should recall that that is how the US began its military invasion in South Vietnam – advisers followed by troops! Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
7) Domestic Malcontents: There is no doubt that there are some elements in Pakistan who want to make trouble for the Pakistani government which they see as a proxy of the US.However these miscreants neither have the wherewithal nor can they survive without the oxygen that is provided to them from outside sources.
In the context of FATA, any strategy would have to include, alongside a delinkage with the US, a genuine and immediate political and economic outreach to the people of FATA and other violence affected areas of Pakhtunkhwa, under the umbrella of military protection. People who do not support extremist militancy must be given protection and positive incentives to remain steadfast while the fence sitters must be shown benefits of coming over to the state’s side and costs for not doing so. Protect the locals so that they can shun the extremists without fear of retribution. Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
Pakistan may identify terrorists against Pakistan in countries outside Pakistan and request the US help. This is on a case by case basis.
8) US attacks on Pakistan: Ostensibly the attacks on Pakistan are made on the pretexts of hot pursuit.
"I will say to you, though, we will do what is necessary to protect our troops, but it is every important to engage the Pakistani government.
"And I think the threat that they are seeing, threats to themselves, creates the opportunity where we can work together and there is no necessity for us to take any actions to protect our troops along those lines," Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee
Most of the drone bombings have been against the innocent civilians. Even if the drone bombings were considered successful, the impact of the bombings has been negative. In killing a few terrorists the bombs have created more anti-Americanism than ever before. The US is losing the war in Afghanistan. So the policy of bombing targets in Pakistan has not worked. It has not only backfired, it has created a blowback for Pakistan as well as prop-Americans in Pakistan.
And, while we are seeking to fight our own terrorists, let us not forget that we also confront an equally menacing threat from the US which has already infiltrated our country at multiple levels. That is why winning over our own people and exposing the many-headed enemy has to be the starting point. Otherwise Pakistan is in danger of being reduced to just so much collateral damage! Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
MILITANTS WITHIN PAKISTANI TERRITORY: Pakistan will deal with all militants within Pakistani territory. No help is required from the US.
APPENDIX A:
Pakistan: just so much collateral damage? By Shireen M Mazari 9/24/2008
The Marriott devastation has traumatised Islamabad as never before, despite having seen violence and terrorism with regularity over the last few years – especially since last year. Perhaps it was the widespread damage far beyond the Marriott, which in itself was as tragic as it was horrific, or perhaps it was the live television coverage that took the horror to everyone’s home. Anger, rage, condemnation, fear and helplessness are certainly some of the emotions that have been brought to the fore.
Anger and rage over the act itself and the timing – the month of Ramazan and just when Muslims were ending their fast; anger and rage also at those who have the gall to call themselves Muslims and then kill their fellow Muslims, indeed their fellow human beings, through such barbaric acts of violence; anger and rage at the total failure of the security apparatus of the state, despite the hotel being in the Red Zone of high security; anger and rage at the continuing disconnect within the government, with even the prime minister and interior adviser at cross purposes in their pronouncements – even now the disconnect continues with the interior minister declaring that the official Iftar party was initially to be held at the Marriot while the hotel staff has categorically stated that there was no such arrangement. And, there is anger over the inadequacy of emergency response equipment and procedures, despite the capital having gone through an earthquake and earlier acts of terror. Some of us had always critiqued the CDA’s elitist focus under Lashari and once again Islamabad has paid a heavy price for this.
There is condemnation for the state leaving its citizenry at the mercy of the terrorists – both from within and from outside. The total focus of the state on the ruling elite was evident in the immediate aftermath of the Marriott attack when representatives of the official party came on television and pronounced that the security arrangements had saved the lives of the ruling elite safely ensconced in the Prime Minister House – what insensitivity at the devastation of the rest of Pakistan and its citizenry. Moreover if we are to believe the national security adviser that the official iftar party venue was changed at the last minute, did this justify a security lapse in terms of protecting the Marriott since the government seemed to have known of an impending attack? Certainly no condemnation can be too strong for the state looking merely to its own and leaving the rest of the population as cannon fodder for the terrorists.
The fear and helplessness have been growing within ordinary Pakistanis since our state went into the US war in Afghanistan. Fear that this war, if fought on US terms would extol a heavy price from Pakistan and helplessness in the face of our state’s non-responsiveness to the voice of its own people. As the US war has drawn Pakistan into a deathly vortex of a new home-grown terror of suicide bombings and Iraq-imported Improvised Exploding Devices (IEDs), more space is being created for extremists and terrorists from within us – as the state has yet to project credibility over its own war against terrorism.
If we in Islamabad feel all these intense emotions in the aftermath of the Marriott attack, can we not for one second step back and reflect on how the people of the FATA region have been feeling when confronted with death and destruction at the hands of foreign military power with their own state a seemingly helpless bystander? Is it any wonder that impressionable young youth have offered their lives in the face of the death and destruction of their families and homes – especially when they see their state do nothing? Can we not see that it takes little for the evil preachers of hate and nihilism to convert such people to taking their own lives along with many innocent others? Is there to be no rage, anger, condemnation, fear and helplessness amongst these local people when they see innocent families wiped out by US drones, missiles and now ground troops, as their own state does nothing? And, is it any wonder, that in the settled areas like Swat violence and militancy have flourished because the hapless locals are convinced the state offers no security against the hate teachings of the extremists?
The misguided and fearful people of these extremist-infested areas are the human shields for the terrorists and this phenomenon has now spread as the internally displaced people (IDPs) have moved far beyond their homes. Leaving aside our emotions, a reality check will show how our state has to create the space between itself and the US if it is to mobilise support for its own war against terrorists and extremists within the country. Yes, we do have a war on our hands but it is different from the US war which has its own agenda, and it has to be fought differently – within an overarching political strategy and economic and military tactical prongs. Effectiveness of such a war will depend on establishing credibility for it and that cannot come unless we create space from the US.
Over a year ago, in these columns I had written about strange American personnel going in the direction of Warsak and now we have a disturbing story of US marines with questionable baggage, which was not screened and one has to wonder why, on the fourth floor of the Marriott – where the fire first started. Were their some weapons or incendiary devices which the Marines had brought in? The time has come for the government to come clean on this and stop such covert US activities for the future. As for US "advisers" or "trainers" coming in, our people and leaders should recall that that is how the US began its military invasion in South Vietnam – advisers followed by troops!
If we can officially create space between the US and ourselves, and there can be no covert assent to US access in Pakistan as was the case with the previous government – something that was consistently criticised in these columns – at least the nation will rally around the state and allow it to make an effective beginning to a long term strategy to deal with extremism and violence. Such a strategy has to first recognise that terrorism in Pakistan has a number of differing origins: there is the most violent one that is rooted in distorted religious extremism and is linked to Al Qaeda and seeks indiscriminate destruction for impact. This is not about winning hearts and minds so much as creating fear in hearts and minds. But there is also the political sub-national violence and terrorism, such as in Balochistan, which is also abetted by external forces but has indigenous political roots, and discriminates in its targeting. This attempts to win hearts and minds and so targets are selective – security forces and strategic installations – and is susceptible to a political solution. Clearly an overarching strategy would need to make these distinctions.
In the context of FATA, any strategy would have to include, alongside a delinkage with the US, a genuine and immediate political and economic outreach to the people of FATA and other violence affected areas of Pakhtunkhwa, under the umbrella of military protection. People who do not support extremist militancy must be given protection and positive incentives to remain steadfast while the fence sitters must be shown benefits of coming over to the state’s side and costs for not doing so. Protect the locals so that they can shun the extremists without fear of retribution.
Beyond FATA, there is a need to seriously implement the much-touted but not enforced policy of madressah reform. In this context, all foreign funding for any form of educational or charitable project needs to be transparent and public. Similarly, local donations to schools and charities should be made public.
And, while we are seeking to fight our own terrorists, let us not forget that we also confront an equally menacing threat from the US which has already infiltrated our country at multiple levels. That is why winning over our own people and exposing the many-headed enemy has to be the starting point. Otherwise Pakistan is in danger of being reduced to just so much collateral damage!
The writer is a defence analyst. Email: callstr@hotmail.com
Former President Pervez Musharraf once described it as a delicate art of "tightrope walking"; the problem for Zardari is that the rope is fraying and the winds are growing fierce. According to a June poll conducted by the International Republican Institute, 71% of Pakistanis oppose Pakistan's cooperation with the U.S. against Islamist militants. For critics of the policy, it has always been "an American war" forced on an unwilling country, and they blame it for bringing the Afghan conflict over the border and encouraging a wave of terrorism in Pakistan's major cities. Time Magazine September 23rd, 2008
Terror has raised its ugly head in Pakistan again. There are two kinds of thinking on this matter, "The blame Pakistan first crowd", and "Blame everything on America crowd". It is pedantic to execute an exegetical examination of of the terror data in order to try to list, define, and describe the roots of the origins of terror in Pakistan--then and now. Pakistan has faced terror in two time periods, during the 80s and in the post 911 era.
The Marriott devastation has traumatised Islamabad as never before, despite having seen violence and terrorism with regularity over the last few years – especially since last year. Perhaps it was the widespread damage far beyond the Marriott, which in itself was as tragic as it was horrific, or perhaps it was the live television coverage that took the horror to everyone’s home. Anger, rage, condemnation, fear and helplessness are certainly some of the emotions that have been brought to the fore.Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008. The writer is a defence analyst. Email: callstr@hotmail.com
a) Terror against Pakistan in the 80s: The worst incidents of terror were during the 80s during the US sponsored war against the USSR that was carried on in Afghanistan. General (Retd) Hamid Gul lists many incidents of terror that were directly tied to RAW, KGB and Khad. The attacks on Pakistan were never carried out is a simple manner. There was much thought put into the location of the bombs so as to cause maximum harm in terms of blood and gore but also in terms of psychological and long term damage. The attacks carried on Pakistan were placed in Sunni and Shia places of worship. This had the dual affect of exacting blood, but also was an attempt to create religious strife among Pakistanis. Another RAW tactic was to create ethnic strife among the citizens of Pakistan. By using terror against one ethnic group, the Indians want to create racial divisions in Pakistan. This has worked for for them in many areas of the world. This is a favorite of the Indian terror tactics which they have perfected in Sri Lanka, Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan and Bangladesh and Pakistan.
"I think it is essential for Pakistan to be a willing partner in any strategy we have to deal with the threat coming out of the western part of Pakistan and the eastern part of Afghanistan," September 23rd, 2008: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee.
b) Post 911 terror: After the Afghan war was over, there was a lull in the terror attacks. Listening to the purile cowering of Mr. Karzai, one wonders about his maturity level.His own record on managing his fiefdom is execrable The current spate of attacks against Pakistan became more severe when the tide of the Afghan war began turning against the occupation forces who went there to liberate the country. There is now an exponential increase in terror in Pakistan after the completion of and operation of the 4 Indian Consulates and 13 "Information Centers" in Afghanistan.
If we can officially create space between the US and ourselves, and there can be no covert assent to US access in Pakistan as was the case with the previous government – something that was consistently criticised in these columns – at least the nation will rally around the state and allow it to make an effective beginning to a long term strategy to deal with extremism and violence. Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
Shireen Mazari is right when she says that terrorism in Pakistan has many different origins. It is pedagogical to note that most of the terror against Pakistan started after 911. She has criticized the PPPPs pusillanimous response to threats from across the border. We have expanded Dr. Mazari's list to six broad categories of the origins of terror in Pakistan.
1) Al-Qaeda: This ephemeral group is the "catch all" for all activities that are carried on against the US and its proxies. This group has its origins outside Pakistan and is funded outside Pakistan. According to the CIA reports it attacks US targets. Many do not believe that the group exists as a cohesive unit and some conspiracy theorists believe that the groups persona has been manufactured and embellished to malign and discredit institutions and countries.
..a strategy has to first recognise that terrorism in Pakistan has a number of differing origins: there is the most violent one that is rooted in distorted religious extremism and is linked to Al Qaeda and seeks indiscriminate destruction for impact. This is not about winning hearts and minds so much as creating fear in hearts and minds. Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 200
2) Balauch "Sub-Nationalists": This group of Pakistani malcontents had their hay day during the Cold War when it was funded, aided and abetted by the masters in the Soviet Union and India. It has its origins outside Pakistan and is funded outside Pakistan. Recently the BLA has been resurrected with different masters. The Government of Balauchistan has been established in Tel Aviv and many Balauch remnants are supported by New Delhi.
But there is also the political sub-national violence and terrorism, such as in Balochistan, which is also abetted by external forces but has indigenous political roots, and discriminates in its targeting. This attempts to win hearts and minds and so targets are selective – security forces and strategic installations – and is susceptible to a political solution. Clearly an overarching strategy would need to make these distinctions.Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
3) Kabul miscreants and Northern Alliance and Pro-Indian Karzaiites: These groups have their origins outside Pakistan and is funded from sources outside Pakistan. This groups is meant to avenge the impotence and inefficiency of the government organs of Kabul. The US may tolerat these elements but Pakistan considers them sworn enemies.
4) Criminal elements and Drug Lords: There are criminal elements on both sides of the border that are taking advantage of the situation and often use the name of other groups. The hostage taking of the Pakistani ambassador to Kabul is a case in point. The Ambassador was taken hostage by thugs, and criminals and later sold to a different groups. He may have finally ended up with the Taliban.
5) The 38 groups fighting the US Occupation forces in Afghanistan: "Taliban, Hizb e Islami, Hizb ul Mujihideen and others. These groups are busy fighting the occupation forces in Afghanistan and have not attacked Pakistan.
The [September 23rd, 2008: Robert Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee.]defense secretary acknowledged that the Pakistanis did not see all insurgent groups as enemies. Pakistan, he said, has had a long-term relationship with the group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Hezb e-Islami party, and another by Jalaludin Haqqani, a former Taliban commander.
"I think in many respects they don't see the Taliban as their enemy," September 23rd, 2008: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee.
6) Tehrik e Taliban and Fidayeen: This terror group is purely a terror group with almost no agenda expect to destabilize Pakistan. Without a doubt this terror group has its origins outside Pakistan and is funded outside Pakistan. This group is a well funded and diabolically oiled machine that has mounted extremely satanically planned attacks on the Pakistan army as well as Pakistani hospitals and civilian targets of little value to any armed group. The ruthlessness of the group can be judged by the fact that it has taken hundreds of innocent lives.
Over a year ago, in these columns I had written about strange American personnel going in the direction of Warsak and now we have a disturbing story of US marines with questionable baggage, which was not screened and one has to wonder why, on the fourth floor of the Marriott – where the fire first started. Were their some weapons or incendiary devices which the Marines had brought in? The time has come for the government to come clean on this and stop such covert US activities for the future. As for US "advisers" or "trainers" coming in, our people and leaders should recall that that is how the US began its military invasion in South Vietnam – advisers followed by troops! Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
7) Domestic Malcontents: There is no doubt that there are some elements in Pakistan who want to make trouble for the Pakistani government which they see as a proxy of the US.However these miscreants neither have the wherewithal nor can they survive without the oxygen that is provided to them from outside sources.
In the context of FATA, any strategy would have to include, alongside a delinkage with the US, a genuine and immediate political and economic outreach to the people of FATA and other violence affected areas of Pakhtunkhwa, under the umbrella of military protection. People who do not support extremist militancy must be given protection and positive incentives to remain steadfast while the fence sitters must be shown benefits of coming over to the state’s side and costs for not doing so. Protect the locals so that they can shun the extremists without fear of retribution. Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
Pakistan may identify terrorists against Pakistan in countries outside Pakistan and request the US help. This is on a case by case basis.
8) US attacks on Pakistan: Ostensibly the attacks on Pakistan are made on the pretexts of hot pursuit.
"I will say to you, though, we will do what is necessary to protect our troops, but it is every important to engage the Pakistani government.
"And I think the threat that they are seeing, threats to themselves, creates the opportunity where we can work together and there is no necessity for us to take any actions to protect our troops along those lines," Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee
Most of the drone bombings have been against the innocent civilians. Even if the drone bombings were considered successful, the impact of the bombings has been negative. In killing a few terrorists the bombs have created more anti-Americanism than ever before. The US is losing the war in Afghanistan. So the policy of bombing targets in Pakistan has not worked. It has not only backfired, it has created a blowback for Pakistan as well as prop-Americans in Pakistan.
And, while we are seeking to fight our own terrorists, let us not forget that we also confront an equally menacing threat from the US which has already infiltrated our country at multiple levels. That is why winning over our own people and exposing the many-headed enemy has to be the starting point. Otherwise Pakistan is in danger of being reduced to just so much collateral damage! Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
MILITANTS WITHIN PAKISTANI TERRITORY: Pakistan will deal with all militants within Pakistani territory. No help is required from the US.
APPENDIX A:
Pakistan: just so much collateral damage? By Shireen M Mazari 9/24/2008
The Marriott devastation has traumatised Islamabad as never before, despite having seen violence and terrorism with regularity over the last few years – especially since last year. Perhaps it was the widespread damage far beyond the Marriott, which in itself was as tragic as it was horrific, or perhaps it was the live television coverage that took the horror to everyone’s home. Anger, rage, condemnation, fear and helplessness are certainly some of the emotions that have been brought to the fore.
Anger and rage over the act itself and the timing – the month of Ramazan and just when Muslims were ending their fast; anger and rage also at those who have the gall to call themselves Muslims and then kill their fellow Muslims, indeed their fellow human beings, through such barbaric acts of violence; anger and rage at the total failure of the security apparatus of the state, despite the hotel being in the Red Zone of high security; anger and rage at the continuing disconnect within the government, with even the prime minister and interior adviser at cross purposes in their pronouncements – even now the disconnect continues with the interior minister declaring that the official Iftar party was initially to be held at the Marriot while the hotel staff has categorically stated that there was no such arrangement. And, there is anger over the inadequacy of emergency response equipment and procedures, despite the capital having gone through an earthquake and earlier acts of terror. Some of us had always critiqued the CDA’s elitist focus under Lashari and once again Islamabad has paid a heavy price for this.
There is condemnation for the state leaving its citizenry at the mercy of the terrorists – both from within and from outside. The total focus of the state on the ruling elite was evident in the immediate aftermath of the Marriott attack when representatives of the official party came on television and pronounced that the security arrangements had saved the lives of the ruling elite safely ensconced in the Prime Minister House – what insensitivity at the devastation of the rest of Pakistan and its citizenry. Moreover if we are to believe the national security adviser that the official iftar party venue was changed at the last minute, did this justify a security lapse in terms of protecting the Marriott since the government seemed to have known of an impending attack? Certainly no condemnation can be too strong for the state looking merely to its own and leaving the rest of the population as cannon fodder for the terrorists.
The fear and helplessness have been growing within ordinary Pakistanis since our state went into the US war in Afghanistan. Fear that this war, if fought on US terms would extol a heavy price from Pakistan and helplessness in the face of our state’s non-responsiveness to the voice of its own people. As the US war has drawn Pakistan into a deathly vortex of a new home-grown terror of suicide bombings and Iraq-imported Improvised Exploding Devices (IEDs), more space is being created for extremists and terrorists from within us – as the state has yet to project credibility over its own war against terrorism.
If we in Islamabad feel all these intense emotions in the aftermath of the Marriott attack, can we not for one second step back and reflect on how the people of the FATA region have been feeling when confronted with death and destruction at the hands of foreign military power with their own state a seemingly helpless bystander? Is it any wonder that impressionable young youth have offered their lives in the face of the death and destruction of their families and homes – especially when they see their state do nothing? Can we not see that it takes little for the evil preachers of hate and nihilism to convert such people to taking their own lives along with many innocent others? Is there to be no rage, anger, condemnation, fear and helplessness amongst these local people when they see innocent families wiped out by US drones, missiles and now ground troops, as their own state does nothing? And, is it any wonder, that in the settled areas like Swat violence and militancy have flourished because the hapless locals are convinced the state offers no security against the hate teachings of the extremists?
The misguided and fearful people of these extremist-infested areas are the human shields for the terrorists and this phenomenon has now spread as the internally displaced people (IDPs) have moved far beyond their homes. Leaving aside our emotions, a reality check will show how our state has to create the space between itself and the US if it is to mobilise support for its own war against terrorists and extremists within the country. Yes, we do have a war on our hands but it is different from the US war which has its own agenda, and it has to be fought differently – within an overarching political strategy and economic and military tactical prongs. Effectiveness of such a war will depend on establishing credibility for it and that cannot come unless we create space from the US.
Over a year ago, in these columns I had written about strange American personnel going in the direction of Warsak and now we have a disturbing story of US marines with questionable baggage, which was not screened and one has to wonder why, on the fourth floor of the Marriott – where the fire first started. Were their some weapons or incendiary devices which the Marines had brought in? The time has come for the government to come clean on this and stop such covert US activities for the future. As for US "advisers" or "trainers" coming in, our people and leaders should recall that that is how the US began its military invasion in South Vietnam – advisers followed by troops!
If we can officially create space between the US and ourselves, and there can be no covert assent to US access in Pakistan as was the case with the previous government – something that was consistently criticised in these columns – at least the nation will rally around the state and allow it to make an effective beginning to a long term strategy to deal with extremism and violence. Such a strategy has to first recognise that terrorism in Pakistan has a number of differing origins: there is the most violent one that is rooted in distorted religious extremism and is linked to Al Qaeda and seeks indiscriminate destruction for impact. This is not about winning hearts and minds so much as creating fear in hearts and minds. But there is also the political sub-national violence and terrorism, such as in Balochistan, which is also abetted by external forces but has indigenous political roots, and discriminates in its targeting. This attempts to win hearts and minds and so targets are selective – security forces and strategic installations – and is susceptible to a political solution. Clearly an overarching strategy would need to make these distinctions.
In the context of FATA, any strategy would have to include, alongside a delinkage with the US, a genuine and immediate political and economic outreach to the people of FATA and other violence affected areas of Pakhtunkhwa, under the umbrella of military protection. People who do not support extremist militancy must be given protection and positive incentives to remain steadfast while the fence sitters must be shown benefits of coming over to the state’s side and costs for not doing so. Protect the locals so that they can shun the extremists without fear of retribution.
Beyond FATA, there is a need to seriously implement the much-touted but not enforced policy of madressah reform. In this context, all foreign funding for any form of educational or charitable project needs to be transparent and public. Similarly, local donations to schools and charities should be made public.
And, while we are seeking to fight our own terrorists, let us not forget that we also confront an equally menacing threat from the US which has already infiltrated our country at multiple levels. That is why winning over our own people and exposing the many-headed enemy has to be the starting point. Otherwise Pakistan is in danger of being reduced to just so much collateral damage!
The writer is a defence analyst. Email: callstr@hotmail.com
How to build a relationship with the Pakistanis
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 23rd, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
Former President Pervez Musharraf once described it as a delicate art of "tightrope walking"; the problem for Zardari is that the rope is fraying and the winds are growing fierce. According to a June poll conducted by the International Republican Institute, 71% of Pakistanis oppose Pakistan's cooperation with the U.S. against Islamist militants. For critics of the policy, it has always been "an American war" forced on an unwilling country, and they blame it for bringing the Afghan conflict over the border and encouraging a wave of terrorism in Pakistan's major cities. Time Magazine September 23rd, 2008
Terror has raised its ugly head in Pakistan again. There are two kinds of thinking on this matter, "The blame Pakistan first crowd", and "Blame everything on America crowd". It is pedantic to execute an exegetical examination of of the terror data in order to try to list, define, and describe the roots of the origins of terror in Pakistan--then and now. Pakistan has faced terror in two time periods, during the 80s and in the post 911 era.
The Marriott devastation has traumatised Islamabad as never before, despite having seen violence and terrorism with regularity over the last few years – especially since last year. Perhaps it was the widespread damage far beyond the Marriott, which in itself was as tragic as it was horrific, or perhaps it was the live television coverage that took the horror to everyone’s home. Anger, rage, condemnation, fear and helplessness are certainly some of the emotions that have been brought to the fore.Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008. The writer is a defence analyst. Email: callstr@hotmail.com
a) Terror against Pakistan in the 80s: The worst incidents of terror were during the 80s during the US sponsored war against the USSR that was carried on in Afghanistan. General (Retd) Hamid Gul lists many incidents of terror that were directly tied to RAW, KGB and Khad. The attacks on Pakistan were never carried out is a simple manner. There was much thought put into the location of the bombs so as to cause maximum harm in terms of blood and gore but also in terms of psychological and long term damage. The attacks carried on Pakistan were placed in Sunni and Shia places of worship. This had the dual affect of exacting blood, but also was an attempt to create religious strife among Pakistanis. Another RAW tactic was to create ethnic strife among the citizens of Pakistan. By using terror against one ethnic group, the Indians want to create racial divisions in Pakistan. This has worked for for them in many areas of the world. This is a favorite of the Indian terror tactics which they have perfected in Sri Lanka, Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan and Bangladesh and Pakistan.
"I think it is essential for Pakistan to be a willing partner in any strategy we have to deal with the threat coming out of the western part of Pakistan and the eastern part of Afghanistan," September 23rd, 2008: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee.
b) Post 911 terror: After the Afghan war was over, there was a lull in the terror attacks. Listening to the purile cowering of Mr. Karzai, one wonders about his maturity level.His own record on managing his fiefdom is execrable The current spate of attacks against Pakistan became more severe when the tide of the Afghan war began turning against the occupation forces who went there to liberate the country. There is now an exponential increase in terror in Pakistan after the completion of and operation of the 4 Indian Consulates and 13 "Information Centers" in Afghanistan.
If we can officially create space between the US and ourselves, and there can be no covert assent to US access in Pakistan as was the case with the previous government – something that was consistently criticised in these columns – at least the nation will rally around the state and allow it to make an effective beginning to a long term strategy to deal with extremism and violence. Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
Shireen Mazari is right when she says that terrorism in Pakistan has many different origins. It is pedagogical to note that most of the terror against Pakistan started after 911. She has criticized the PPPPs pusillanimous response to threats from across the border. We have expanded Dr. Mazari's list to six broad categories of the origins of terror in Pakistan.
1) Al-Qaeda: This ephemeral group is the "catch all" for all activities that are carried on against the US and its proxies. This group has its origins outside Pakistan and is funded outside Pakistan. According to the CIA reports it attacks US targets. Many do not believe that the group exists as a cohesive unit and some conspiracy theorists believe that the groups persona has been manufactured and embellished to malign and discredit institutions and countries.
..a strategy has to first recognise that terrorism in Pakistan has a number of differing origins: there is the most violent one that is rooted in distorted religious extremism and is linked to Al Qaeda and seeks indiscriminate destruction for impact. This is not about winning hearts and minds so much as creating fear in hearts and minds. Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 200
2) Balauch "Sub-Nationalists": This group of Pakistani malcontents had their hay day during the Cold War when it was funded, aided and abetted by the masters in the Soviet Union and India. It has its origins outside Pakistan and is funded outside Pakistan. Recently the BLA has been resurrected with different masters. The Government of Balauchistan has been established in Tel Aviv and many Balauch remnants are supported by New Delhi.
But there is also the political sub-national violence and terrorism, such as in Balochistan, which is also abetted by external forces but has indigenous political roots, and discriminates in its targeting. This attempts to win hearts and minds and so targets are selective – security forces and strategic installations – and is susceptible to a political solution. Clearly an overarching strategy would need to make these distinctions.Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
3) Kabul miscreants and Northern Alliance and Pro-Indian Karzaiites: These groups have their origins outside Pakistan and is funded from sources outside Pakistan. This groups is meant to avenge the impotence and inefficiency of the government organs of Kabul. The US may tolerat these elements but Pakistan considers them sworn enemies.
4) Criminal elements and Drug Lords: There are criminal elements on both sides of the border that are taking advantage of the situation and often use the name of other groups. The hostage taking of the Pakistani ambassador to Kabul is a case in point. The Ambassador was taken hostage by thugs, and criminals and later sold to a different groups. He may have finally ended up with the Taliban.
5) The 38 groups fighting the US Occupation forces in Afghanistan: "Taliban, Hizb e Islami, Hizb ul Mujihideen and others. These groups are busy fighting the occupation forces in Afghanistan and have not attacked Pakistan.
The [September 23rd, 2008: Robert Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee.]defense secretary acknowledged that the Pakistanis did not see all insurgent groups as enemies. Pakistan, he said, has had a long-term relationship with the group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Hezb e-Islami party, and another by Jalaludin Haqqani, a former Taliban commander.
"I think in many respects they don't see the Taliban as their enemy," September 23rd, 2008: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee.
6) Tehrik e Taliban and Fidayeen: This terror group is purely a terror group with almost no agenda expect to destabilize Pakistan. Without a doubt this terror group has its origins outside Pakistan and is funded outside Pakistan. This group is a well funded and diabolically oiled machine that has mounted extremely satanically planned attacks on the Pakistan army as well as Pakistani hospitals and civilian targets of little value to any armed group. The ruthlessness of the group can be judged by the fact that it has taken hundreds of innocent lives.
Over a year ago, in these columns I had written about strange American personnel going in the direction of Warsak and now we have a disturbing story of US marines with questionable baggage, which was not screened and one has to wonder why, on the fourth floor of the Marriott – where the fire first started. Were their some weapons or incendiary devices which the Marines had brought in? The time has come for the government to come clean on this and stop such covert US activities for the future. As for US "advisers" or "trainers" coming in, our people and leaders should recall that that is how the US began its military invasion in South Vietnam – advisers followed by troops! Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
7) Domestic Malcontents: There is no doubt that there are some elements in Pakistan who want to make trouble for the Pakistani government which they see as a proxy of the US.However these miscreants neither have the wherewithal nor can they survive without the oxygen that is provided to them from outside sources.
In the context of FATA, any strategy would have to include, alongside a delinkage with the US, a genuine and immediate political and economic outreach to the people of FATA and other violence affected areas of Pakhtunkhwa, under the umbrella of military protection. People who do not support extremist militancy must be given protection and positive incentives to remain steadfast while the fence sitters must be shown benefits of coming over to the state’s side and costs for not doing so. Protect the locals so that they can shun the extremists without fear of retribution. Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
Pakistan may identify terrorists against Pakistan in countries outside Pakistan and request the US help. This is on a case by case basis.
8) US attacks on Pakistan: Ostensibly the attacks on Pakistan are made on the pretexts of hot pursuit.
"I will say to you, though, we will do what is necessary to protect our troops, but it is every important to engage the Pakistani government.
"And I think the threat that they are seeing, threats to themselves, creates the opportunity where we can work together and there is no necessity for us to take any actions to protect our troops along those lines," Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee
Most of the drone bombings have been against the innocent civilians. Even if the drone bombings were considered successful, the impact of the bombings has been negative. In killing a few terrorists the bombs have created more anti-Americanism than ever before. The US is losing the war in Afghanistan. So the policy of bombing targets in Pakistan has not worked. It has not only backfired, it has created a blowback for Pakistan as well as prop-Americans in Pakistan.
And, while we are seeking to fight our own terrorists, let us not forget that we also confront an equally menacing threat from the US which has already infiltrated our country at multiple levels. That is why winning over our own people and exposing the many-headed enemy has to be the starting point. Otherwise Pakistan is in danger of being reduced to just so much collateral damage! Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
MILITANTS WITHIN PAKISTANI TERRITORY: Pakistan will deal with all militants within Pakistani territory. No help is required from the US.
APPENDIX A:
Pakistan: just so much collateral damage? By Shireen M Mazari 9/24/2008
The Marriott devastation has traumatised Islamabad as never before, despite having seen violence and terrorism with regularity over the last few years – especially since last year. Perhaps it was the widespread damage far beyond the Marriott, which in itself was as tragic as it was horrific, or perhaps it was the live television coverage that took the horror to everyone’s home. Anger, rage, condemnation, fear and helplessness are certainly some of the emotions that have been brought to the fore.
Anger and rage over the act itself and the timing – the month of Ramazan and just when Muslims were ending their fast; anger and rage also at those who have the gall to call themselves Muslims and then kill their fellow Muslims, indeed their fellow human beings, through such barbaric acts of violence; anger and rage at the total failure of the security apparatus of the state, despite the hotel being in the Red Zone of high security; anger and rage at the continuing disconnect within the government, with even the prime minister and interior adviser at cross purposes in their pronouncements – even now the disconnect continues with the interior minister declaring that the official Iftar party was initially to be held at the Marriot while the hotel staff has categorically stated that there was no such arrangement. And, there is anger over the inadequacy of emergency response equipment and procedures, despite the capital having gone through an earthquake and earlier acts of terror. Some of us had always critiqued the CDA’s elitist focus under Lashari and once again Islamabad has paid a heavy price for this.
There is condemnation for the state leaving its citizenry at the mercy of the terrorists – both from within and from outside. The total focus of the state on the ruling elite was evident in the immediate aftermath of the Marriott attack when representatives of the official party came on television and pronounced that the security arrangements had saved the lives of the ruling elite safely ensconced in the Prime Minister House – what insensitivity at the devastation of the rest of Pakistan and its citizenry. Moreover if we are to believe the national security adviser that the official iftar party venue was changed at the last minute, did this justify a security lapse in terms of protecting the Marriott since the government seemed to have known of an impending attack? Certainly no condemnation can be too strong for the state looking merely to its own and leaving the rest of the population as cannon fodder for the terrorists.
The fear and helplessness have been growing within ordinary Pakistanis since our state went into the US war in Afghanistan. Fear that this war, if fought on US terms would extol a heavy price from Pakistan and helplessness in the face of our state’s non-responsiveness to the voice of its own people. As the US war has drawn Pakistan into a deathly vortex of a new home-grown terror of suicide bombings and Iraq-imported Improvised Exploding Devices (IEDs), more space is being created for extremists and terrorists from within us – as the state has yet to project credibility over its own war against terrorism.
If we in Islamabad feel all these intense emotions in the aftermath of the Marriott attack, can we not for one second step back and reflect on how the people of the FATA region have been feeling when confronted with death and destruction at the hands of foreign military power with their own state a seemingly helpless bystander? Is it any wonder that impressionable young youth have offered their lives in the face of the death and destruction of their families and homes – especially when they see their state do nothing? Can we not see that it takes little for the evil preachers of hate and nihilism to convert such people to taking their own lives along with many innocent others? Is there to be no rage, anger, condemnation, fear and helplessness amongst these local people when they see innocent families wiped out by US drones, missiles and now ground troops, as their own state does nothing? And, is it any wonder, that in the settled areas like Swat violence and militancy have flourished because the hapless locals are convinced the state offers no security against the hate teachings of the extremists?
The misguided and fearful people of these extremist-infested areas are the human shields for the terrorists and this phenomenon has now spread as the internally displaced people (IDPs) have moved far beyond their homes. Leaving aside our emotions, a reality check will show how our state has to create the space between itself and the US if it is to mobilise support for its own war against terrorists and extremists within the country. Yes, we do have a war on our hands but it is different from the US war which has its own agenda, and it has to be fought differently – within an overarching political strategy and economic and military tactical prongs. Effectiveness of such a war will depend on establishing credibility for it and that cannot come unless we create space from the US.
Over a year ago, in these columns I had written about strange American personnel going in the direction of Warsak and now we have a disturbing story of US marines with questionable baggage, which was not screened and one has to wonder why, on the fourth floor of the Marriott – where the fire first started. Were their some weapons or incendiary devices which the Marines had brought in? The time has come for the government to come clean on this and stop such covert US activities for the future. As for US "advisers" or "trainers" coming in, our people and leaders should recall that that is how the US began its military invasion in South Vietnam – advisers followed by troops!
If we can officially create space between the US and ourselves, and there can be no covert assent to US access in Pakistan as was the case with the previous government – something that was consistently criticised in these columns – at least the nation will rally around the state and allow it to make an effective beginning to a long term strategy to deal with extremism and violence. Such a strategy has to first recognise that terrorism in Pakistan has a number of differing origins: there is the most violent one that is rooted in distorted religious extremism and is linked to Al Qaeda and seeks indiscriminate destruction for impact. This is not about winning hearts and minds so much as creating fear in hearts and minds. But there is also the political sub-national violence and terrorism, such as in Balochistan, which is also abetted by external forces but has indigenous political roots, and discriminates in its targeting. This attempts to win hearts and minds and so targets are selective – security forces and strategic installations – and is susceptible to a political solution. Clearly an overarching strategy would need to make these distinctions.
In the context of FATA, any strategy would have to include, alongside a delinkage with the US, a genuine and immediate political and economic outreach to the people of FATA and other violence affected areas of Pakhtunkhwa, under the umbrella of military protection. People who do not support extremist militancy must be given protection and positive incentives to remain steadfast while the fence sitters must be shown benefits of coming over to the state’s side and costs for not doing so. Protect the locals so that they can shun the extremists without fear of retribution.
Beyond FATA, there is a need to seriously implement the much-touted but not enforced policy of madressah reform. In this context, all foreign funding for any form of educational or charitable project needs to be transparent and public. Similarly, local donations to schools and charities should be made public.
And, while we are seeking to fight our own terrorists, let us not forget that we also confront an equally menacing threat from the US which has already infiltrated our country at multiple levels. That is why winning over our own people and exposing the many-headed enemy has to be the starting point. Otherwise Pakistan is in danger of being reduced to just so much collateral damage!
The writer is a defence analyst. Email: callstr@hotmail.com
Former President Pervez Musharraf once described it as a delicate art of "tightrope walking"; the problem for Zardari is that the rope is fraying and the winds are growing fierce. According to a June poll conducted by the International Republican Institute, 71% of Pakistanis oppose Pakistan's cooperation with the U.S. against Islamist militants. For critics of the policy, it has always been "an American war" forced on an unwilling country, and they blame it for bringing the Afghan conflict over the border and encouraging a wave of terrorism in Pakistan's major cities. Time Magazine September 23rd, 2008
Terror has raised its ugly head in Pakistan again. There are two kinds of thinking on this matter, "The blame Pakistan first crowd", and "Blame everything on America crowd". It is pedantic to execute an exegetical examination of of the terror data in order to try to list, define, and describe the roots of the origins of terror in Pakistan--then and now. Pakistan has faced terror in two time periods, during the 80s and in the post 911 era.
The Marriott devastation has traumatised Islamabad as never before, despite having seen violence and terrorism with regularity over the last few years – especially since last year. Perhaps it was the widespread damage far beyond the Marriott, which in itself was as tragic as it was horrific, or perhaps it was the live television coverage that took the horror to everyone’s home. Anger, rage, condemnation, fear and helplessness are certainly some of the emotions that have been brought to the fore.Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008. The writer is a defence analyst. Email: callstr@hotmail.com
a) Terror against Pakistan in the 80s: The worst incidents of terror were during the 80s during the US sponsored war against the USSR that was carried on in Afghanistan. General (Retd) Hamid Gul lists many incidents of terror that were directly tied to RAW, KGB and Khad. The attacks on Pakistan were never carried out is a simple manner. There was much thought put into the location of the bombs so as to cause maximum harm in terms of blood and gore but also in terms of psychological and long term damage. The attacks carried on Pakistan were placed in Sunni and Shia places of worship. This had the dual affect of exacting blood, but also was an attempt to create religious strife among Pakistanis. Another RAW tactic was to create ethnic strife among the citizens of Pakistan. By using terror against one ethnic group, the Indians want to create racial divisions in Pakistan. This has worked for for them in many areas of the world. This is a favorite of the Indian terror tactics which they have perfected in Sri Lanka, Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan and Bangladesh and Pakistan.
"I think it is essential for Pakistan to be a willing partner in any strategy we have to deal with the threat coming out of the western part of Pakistan and the eastern part of Afghanistan," September 23rd, 2008: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee.
b) Post 911 terror: After the Afghan war was over, there was a lull in the terror attacks. Listening to the purile cowering of Mr. Karzai, one wonders about his maturity level.His own record on managing his fiefdom is execrable The current spate of attacks against Pakistan became more severe when the tide of the Afghan war began turning against the occupation forces who went there to liberate the country. There is now an exponential increase in terror in Pakistan after the completion of and operation of the 4 Indian Consulates and 13 "Information Centers" in Afghanistan.
If we can officially create space between the US and ourselves, and there can be no covert assent to US access in Pakistan as was the case with the previous government – something that was consistently criticised in these columns – at least the nation will rally around the state and allow it to make an effective beginning to a long term strategy to deal with extremism and violence. Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
Shireen Mazari is right when she says that terrorism in Pakistan has many different origins. It is pedagogical to note that most of the terror against Pakistan started after 911. She has criticized the PPPPs pusillanimous response to threats from across the border. We have expanded Dr. Mazari's list to six broad categories of the origins of terror in Pakistan.
1) Al-Qaeda: This ephemeral group is the "catch all" for all activities that are carried on against the US and its proxies. This group has its origins outside Pakistan and is funded outside Pakistan. According to the CIA reports it attacks US targets. Many do not believe that the group exists as a cohesive unit and some conspiracy theorists believe that the groups persona has been manufactured and embellished to malign and discredit institutions and countries.
..a strategy has to first recognise that terrorism in Pakistan has a number of differing origins: there is the most violent one that is rooted in distorted religious extremism and is linked to Al Qaeda and seeks indiscriminate destruction for impact. This is not about winning hearts and minds so much as creating fear in hearts and minds. Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 200
2) Balauch "Sub-Nationalists": This group of Pakistani malcontents had their hay day during the Cold War when it was funded, aided and abetted by the masters in the Soviet Union and India. It has its origins outside Pakistan and is funded outside Pakistan. Recently the BLA has been resurrected with different masters. The Government of Balauchistan has been established in Tel Aviv and many Balauch remnants are supported by New Delhi.
But there is also the political sub-national violence and terrorism, such as in Balochistan, which is also abetted by external forces but has indigenous political roots, and discriminates in its targeting. This attempts to win hearts and minds and so targets are selective – security forces and strategic installations – and is susceptible to a political solution. Clearly an overarching strategy would need to make these distinctions.Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
3) Kabul miscreants and Northern Alliance and Pro-Indian Karzaiites: These groups have their origins outside Pakistan and is funded from sources outside Pakistan. This groups is meant to avenge the impotence and inefficiency of the government organs of Kabul. The US may tolerat these elements but Pakistan considers them sworn enemies.
4) Criminal elements and Drug Lords: There are criminal elements on both sides of the border that are taking advantage of the situation and often use the name of other groups. The hostage taking of the Pakistani ambassador to Kabul is a case in point. The Ambassador was taken hostage by thugs, and criminals and later sold to a different groups. He may have finally ended up with the Taliban.
5) The 38 groups fighting the US Occupation forces in Afghanistan: "Taliban, Hizb e Islami, Hizb ul Mujihideen and others. These groups are busy fighting the occupation forces in Afghanistan and have not attacked Pakistan.
The [September 23rd, 2008: Robert Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee.]defense secretary acknowledged that the Pakistanis did not see all insurgent groups as enemies. Pakistan, he said, has had a long-term relationship with the group led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Hezb e-Islami party, and another by Jalaludin Haqqani, a former Taliban commander.
"I think in many respects they don't see the Taliban as their enemy," September 23rd, 2008: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee.
6) Tehrik e Taliban and Fidayeen: This terror group is purely a terror group with almost no agenda expect to destabilize Pakistan. Without a doubt this terror group has its origins outside Pakistan and is funded outside Pakistan. This group is a well funded and diabolically oiled machine that has mounted extremely satanically planned attacks on the Pakistan army as well as Pakistani hospitals and civilian targets of little value to any armed group. The ruthlessness of the group can be judged by the fact that it has taken hundreds of innocent lives.
Over a year ago, in these columns I had written about strange American personnel going in the direction of Warsak and now we have a disturbing story of US marines with questionable baggage, which was not screened and one has to wonder why, on the fourth floor of the Marriott – where the fire first started. Were their some weapons or incendiary devices which the Marines had brought in? The time has come for the government to come clean on this and stop such covert US activities for the future. As for US "advisers" or "trainers" coming in, our people and leaders should recall that that is how the US began its military invasion in South Vietnam – advisers followed by troops! Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
7) Domestic Malcontents: There is no doubt that there are some elements in Pakistan who want to make trouble for the Pakistani government which they see as a proxy of the US.However these miscreants neither have the wherewithal nor can they survive without the oxygen that is provided to them from outside sources.
In the context of FATA, any strategy would have to include, alongside a delinkage with the US, a genuine and immediate political and economic outreach to the people of FATA and other violence affected areas of Pakhtunkhwa, under the umbrella of military protection. People who do not support extremist militancy must be given protection and positive incentives to remain steadfast while the fence sitters must be shown benefits of coming over to the state’s side and costs for not doing so. Protect the locals so that they can shun the extremists without fear of retribution. Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
Pakistan may identify terrorists against Pakistan in countries outside Pakistan and request the US help. This is on a case by case basis.
8) US attacks on Pakistan: Ostensibly the attacks on Pakistan are made on the pretexts of hot pursuit.
"I will say to you, though, we will do what is necessary to protect our troops, but it is every important to engage the Pakistani government.
"And I think the threat that they are seeing, threats to themselves, creates the opportunity where we can work together and there is no necessity for us to take any actions to protect our troops along those lines," Gates at hearing of Senate Armed Services Committee
Most of the drone bombings have been against the innocent civilians. Even if the drone bombings were considered successful, the impact of the bombings has been negative. In killing a few terrorists the bombs have created more anti-Americanism than ever before. The US is losing the war in Afghanistan. So the policy of bombing targets in Pakistan has not worked. It has not only backfired, it has created a blowback for Pakistan as well as prop-Americans in Pakistan.
And, while we are seeking to fight our own terrorists, let us not forget that we also confront an equally menacing threat from the US which has already infiltrated our country at multiple levels. That is why winning over our own people and exposing the many-headed enemy has to be the starting point. Otherwise Pakistan is in danger of being reduced to just so much collateral damage! Shireen Mazari. The News Sept 24th, 2008
MILITANTS WITHIN PAKISTANI TERRITORY: Pakistan will deal with all militants within Pakistani territory. No help is required from the US.
APPENDIX A:
Pakistan: just so much collateral damage? By Shireen M Mazari 9/24/2008
The Marriott devastation has traumatised Islamabad as never before, despite having seen violence and terrorism with regularity over the last few years – especially since last year. Perhaps it was the widespread damage far beyond the Marriott, which in itself was as tragic as it was horrific, or perhaps it was the live television coverage that took the horror to everyone’s home. Anger, rage, condemnation, fear and helplessness are certainly some of the emotions that have been brought to the fore.
Anger and rage over the act itself and the timing – the month of Ramazan and just when Muslims were ending their fast; anger and rage also at those who have the gall to call themselves Muslims and then kill their fellow Muslims, indeed their fellow human beings, through such barbaric acts of violence; anger and rage at the total failure of the security apparatus of the state, despite the hotel being in the Red Zone of high security; anger and rage at the continuing disconnect within the government, with even the prime minister and interior adviser at cross purposes in their pronouncements – even now the disconnect continues with the interior minister declaring that the official Iftar party was initially to be held at the Marriot while the hotel staff has categorically stated that there was no such arrangement. And, there is anger over the inadequacy of emergency response equipment and procedures, despite the capital having gone through an earthquake and earlier acts of terror. Some of us had always critiqued the CDA’s elitist focus under Lashari and once again Islamabad has paid a heavy price for this.
There is condemnation for the state leaving its citizenry at the mercy of the terrorists – both from within and from outside. The total focus of the state on the ruling elite was evident in the immediate aftermath of the Marriott attack when representatives of the official party came on television and pronounced that the security arrangements had saved the lives of the ruling elite safely ensconced in the Prime Minister House – what insensitivity at the devastation of the rest of Pakistan and its citizenry. Moreover if we are to believe the national security adviser that the official iftar party venue was changed at the last minute, did this justify a security lapse in terms of protecting the Marriott since the government seemed to have known of an impending attack? Certainly no condemnation can be too strong for the state looking merely to its own and leaving the rest of the population as cannon fodder for the terrorists.
The fear and helplessness have been growing within ordinary Pakistanis since our state went into the US war in Afghanistan. Fear that this war, if fought on US terms would extol a heavy price from Pakistan and helplessness in the face of our state’s non-responsiveness to the voice of its own people. As the US war has drawn Pakistan into a deathly vortex of a new home-grown terror of suicide bombings and Iraq-imported Improvised Exploding Devices (IEDs), more space is being created for extremists and terrorists from within us – as the state has yet to project credibility over its own war against terrorism.
If we in Islamabad feel all these intense emotions in the aftermath of the Marriott attack, can we not for one second step back and reflect on how the people of the FATA region have been feeling when confronted with death and destruction at the hands of foreign military power with their own state a seemingly helpless bystander? Is it any wonder that impressionable young youth have offered their lives in the face of the death and destruction of their families and homes – especially when they see their state do nothing? Can we not see that it takes little for the evil preachers of hate and nihilism to convert such people to taking their own lives along with many innocent others? Is there to be no rage, anger, condemnation, fear and helplessness amongst these local people when they see innocent families wiped out by US drones, missiles and now ground troops, as their own state does nothing? And, is it any wonder, that in the settled areas like Swat violence and militancy have flourished because the hapless locals are convinced the state offers no security against the hate teachings of the extremists?
The misguided and fearful people of these extremist-infested areas are the human shields for the terrorists and this phenomenon has now spread as the internally displaced people (IDPs) have moved far beyond their homes. Leaving aside our emotions, a reality check will show how our state has to create the space between itself and the US if it is to mobilise support for its own war against terrorists and extremists within the country. Yes, we do have a war on our hands but it is different from the US war which has its own agenda, and it has to be fought differently – within an overarching political strategy and economic and military tactical prongs. Effectiveness of such a war will depend on establishing credibility for it and that cannot come unless we create space from the US.
Over a year ago, in these columns I had written about strange American personnel going in the direction of Warsak and now we have a disturbing story of US marines with questionable baggage, which was not screened and one has to wonder why, on the fourth floor of the Marriott – where the fire first started. Were their some weapons or incendiary devices which the Marines had brought in? The time has come for the government to come clean on this and stop such covert US activities for the future. As for US "advisers" or "trainers" coming in, our people and leaders should recall that that is how the US began its military invasion in South Vietnam – advisers followed by troops!
If we can officially create space between the US and ourselves, and there can be no covert assent to US access in Pakistan as was the case with the previous government – something that was consistently criticised in these columns – at least the nation will rally around the state and allow it to make an effective beginning to a long term strategy to deal with extremism and violence. Such a strategy has to first recognise that terrorism in Pakistan has a number of differing origins: there is the most violent one that is rooted in distorted religious extremism and is linked to Al Qaeda and seeks indiscriminate destruction for impact. This is not about winning hearts and minds so much as creating fear in hearts and minds. But there is also the political sub-national violence and terrorism, such as in Balochistan, which is also abetted by external forces but has indigenous political roots, and discriminates in its targeting. This attempts to win hearts and minds and so targets are selective – security forces and strategic installations – and is susceptible to a political solution. Clearly an overarching strategy would need to make these distinctions.
In the context of FATA, any strategy would have to include, alongside a delinkage with the US, a genuine and immediate political and economic outreach to the people of FATA and other violence affected areas of Pakhtunkhwa, under the umbrella of military protection. People who do not support extremist militancy must be given protection and positive incentives to remain steadfast while the fence sitters must be shown benefits of coming over to the state’s side and costs for not doing so. Protect the locals so that they can shun the extremists without fear of retribution.
Beyond FATA, there is a need to seriously implement the much-touted but not enforced policy of madressah reform. In this context, all foreign funding for any form of educational or charitable project needs to be transparent and public. Similarly, local donations to schools and charities should be made public.
And, while we are seeking to fight our own terrorists, let us not forget that we also confront an equally menacing threat from the US which has already infiltrated our country at multiple levels. That is why winning over our own people and exposing the many-headed enemy has to be the starting point. Otherwise Pakistan is in danger of being reduced to just so much collateral damage!
The writer is a defence analyst. Email: callstr@hotmail.com
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Trade across Indo-Pakistan Cease Fire Line approved
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 21, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
In one of the most seminal events in the history of the Subcontinent, the Indian authorities under pressure from the Kashmiris has decided to open trade with Pakistan. This effort by the New Delhi should not be seen as a Confidence Building Measure (CBM) taken by the Indian government towards Pakistan for peace. Open trade across the Cease Fire Line in Kashmir is the demand of all Kashmiris in Indian Occupied Kashmir.
In fact the current agitation which has seen the largest number of demonstrators in the history of Kashmir is geared towards one major goal--the opening of the Cease Fire Line. The Kashmiris of Indian Occupied Kashmir can sell their goods in Rawalpindi which a couple of hundred kilometers away, instead of hauling it all the way to Dlehi which is a thousand miles away. In Pakistan the Kashmiris can can a better price for their goods, in Delhi the fruits and vegetable rank at the lowest end of the price ladder.
Pakistan and India agree on modalities for LoC trade
* Committee declines to give timetable for opening Srinagar-Muzaffarabad, Poonch-Rawalakot trade routes By Iftikhar Gilani
NEW DELHI: Trade across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir moved a step closer as Indian and Pakistani officials completed talks on a framework on Monday.
A brief statement issued after a daylong meeting of the Joint Working Group on Cross-LoC Confidence Building Measures in the Indian capital did not say when trade routes would be opened. But a top Indian official said last week that India would allow trade between the two parts of Kashmir to begin in October.
Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari would make a final decision on the framework and the schedule in a meeting in New York later this week, official said.
Indian Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary TCA Raghavan led the Indian delegation, and Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs Additional Secretary for South Asia Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry led the Pakistan delegation. Commerce, customs and home ministry officials attended the meeting.
“We have finalised the modalities at the meeting. We decided to submit details of the modalities to our respective political leadership for the final decision and announcement,” said Chaudhry after the meeting.
The two sides also finalised the list of items to be traded on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalkot routes.
“We now have a common list carved out from the lists that we had exchanged. It is an improved list and contains many more products,” he said, but refused to elaborate.
Asked when the trade will begin, he said the ‘political masters will decide’ on that.
Chaudhry denied Pakistan was resisting trading fresh fruit. “I strongly deny this impression. Fruits form a bulk of tradable items from Kashmir. There is no meaning of trade without fruits,” he added.
Chaudhry said cross-LoC trade was different from the normal trade taking place between India and Pakistan through Wagah-Attari border in Punjab.
“This is not regular import and export trade. There is a zero-tariff regime and this trade is aimed at restoring contacts between divided parts of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a measure to raise comfort levels of Kashmiri people and restore their relations,” he said.
Sources privy to the development said the trade is likely to begin next month. During the meeting, the two sides fine-tuned logistical issues including the items to be traded, customs matters and security aspects, they said.
In July, foreign secretaries of the two countries had exchanged lists of commodities for trade and each side had agreed to indicate the items they were willing to receive.
A delegation of chambers of commerce from Muzaffarabad is expected to visit Srinagar and Jammu next month to discuss aspects of the trade, the sources said.
The meeting of traders from the two sides is essential, as they have to engage in trade, they said.
Chaudhry also said no other confidence-building measures were discussed at the meeting.
Currently, India and Pakistan allow only a passenger bus service twice a month across the LoC.
In one of the most seminal events in the history of the Subcontinent, the Indian authorities under pressure from the Kashmiris has decided to open trade with Pakistan. This effort by the New Delhi should not be seen as a Confidence Building Measure (CBM) taken by the Indian government towards Pakistan for peace. Open trade across the Cease Fire Line in Kashmir is the demand of all Kashmiris in Indian Occupied Kashmir.
In fact the current agitation which has seen the largest number of demonstrators in the history of Kashmir is geared towards one major goal--the opening of the Cease Fire Line. The Kashmiris of Indian Occupied Kashmir can sell their goods in Rawalpindi which a couple of hundred kilometers away, instead of hauling it all the way to Dlehi which is a thousand miles away. In Pakistan the Kashmiris can can a better price for their goods, in Delhi the fruits and vegetable rank at the lowest end of the price ladder.
Pakistan and India agree on modalities for LoC trade
* Committee declines to give timetable for opening Srinagar-Muzaffarabad, Poonch-Rawalakot trade routes By Iftikhar Gilani
NEW DELHI: Trade across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir moved a step closer as Indian and Pakistani officials completed talks on a framework on Monday.
A brief statement issued after a daylong meeting of the Joint Working Group on Cross-LoC Confidence Building Measures in the Indian capital did not say when trade routes would be opened. But a top Indian official said last week that India would allow trade between the two parts of Kashmir to begin in October.
Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari would make a final decision on the framework and the schedule in a meeting in New York later this week, official said.
Indian Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary TCA Raghavan led the Indian delegation, and Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs Additional Secretary for South Asia Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry led the Pakistan delegation. Commerce, customs and home ministry officials attended the meeting.
“We have finalised the modalities at the meeting. We decided to submit details of the modalities to our respective political leadership for the final decision and announcement,” said Chaudhry after the meeting.
The two sides also finalised the list of items to be traded on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalkot routes.
“We now have a common list carved out from the lists that we had exchanged. It is an improved list and contains many more products,” he said, but refused to elaborate.
Asked when the trade will begin, he said the ‘political masters will decide’ on that.
Chaudhry denied Pakistan was resisting trading fresh fruit. “I strongly deny this impression. Fruits form a bulk of tradable items from Kashmir. There is no meaning of trade without fruits,” he added.
Chaudhry said cross-LoC trade was different from the normal trade taking place between India and Pakistan through Wagah-Attari border in Punjab.
“This is not regular import and export trade. There is a zero-tariff regime and this trade is aimed at restoring contacts between divided parts of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a measure to raise comfort levels of Kashmiri people and restore their relations,” he said.
Sources privy to the development said the trade is likely to begin next month. During the meeting, the two sides fine-tuned logistical issues including the items to be traded, customs matters and security aspects, they said.
In July, foreign secretaries of the two countries had exchanged lists of commodities for trade and each side had agreed to indicate the items they were willing to receive.
A delegation of chambers of commerce from Muzaffarabad is expected to visit Srinagar and Jammu next month to discuss aspects of the trade, the sources said.
The meeting of traders from the two sides is essential, as they have to engage in trade, they said.
Chaudhry also said no other confidence-building measures were discussed at the meeting.
Currently, India and Pakistan allow only a passenger bus service twice a month across the LoC.
Fidayeen and Mehsud: Indian Frankensteins-will eventually turn on India
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 21, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
The Indian intelligence agencies are playing with fire in Afghanistan and Pakistan. If history is any example, the support of "ultras" (Indian word for ultra extremists) by India will surely backfire. Let us examine some historical lessons:
In the 50s and 60s, the USA wanted to reign in the dictator Batista of Cuba who was getting too big for his britches. The USA built contacts with a young Cuban student who was studying in the USA at the time. The Cuban student was one of his bitterest enemies of Batista. The CIA not only built contacts with him, they on the return to Cuba trained, funded and supported him against Batista. Fidel Castro, the student was very different than the Fidel the revolutionary. He not only turned agaisnt the USA, he brought in a revolution that plagued the entire South American Continent and is a pin for the USA even today. The Bolivar revolution is now carried on by Cuban protege's in Venezuela and other places.
In the 70s and 80s, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (the PLO) claimed to be the sole representatives of the Palestinian People. To deflate the PLO and its more violent cousins the PFLP, and its really violent cousin the PFLP-General Command, the Isreali army under devised a plan. General Sharon was the head of the Israeli Army. He planned to counterbalance the secular PLO with a religious organization. According to advanced Israeli analysis, by creating and supporting a shia organization they could not only reduce the power of the PLO but in doing so it will be able to control all of Lebanon. After all Ben Gurin wanted the Israeli border on the Litani river with Lebanon a vassal state of Isreal--its strategic depth to hold back Syria, Egypt and Iraq. The Israeli establishment supported the Hamas and Hizbullah movements, armed and trained and funded them. The policy worked for a sort period of time--Israel was actually successful in forcing Yasser Arafat out of Lebanon and exiled to Tunisia etc. He was brought back to the West bank incarcerated and eventually poisoned. However in trying to eliminate Arafat, Sharon lost Lebanon to the Hizbullah which has now become Israel's biggest enemy in the world. Much has been written about this in the Israeli press (Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, and Uri Avnery). Uri Avnery calls it the "goyem" (Jewish Frankenstein) when a clay statue of a monster is created, and it eventually comes and bites the hand that fed it and destroys the maker.
In the 80s, the USA accumulated millions of devoted and devout Muslim kids from around the world and used them as cannon fodder in Afghanistan. When the USSR was defeated, and Afghanistan liberated, these extremists turned on the USA and carried on attacks against them.
Today the India RAW is creating its own Frankensteins in Afghanistan. India is not only supporting the Karzai puppet regime in Kabul, it has also infiltrated many of the insurgent groups working in Afghanistan and Pakistan. New Delhi rains them, supplies them with arms and equipment. Bait Mehsud is one bad example of Indian mendacity. India is using the this Mehsud to attack soft targets in Pakistan.
The problem with the Indian strategy is that it has not worked in the past. India tried to build relations in another Afghan puppet--Babrak Karmal. Amid great rejoicing and platitudes he visited New Delhi to usher in a great Indo-Afghan era which would be used to control all of Central Asia and be a counterweight to China. A few weeks after his much heralded visit to New Delhi Mr. Karmal was riding a Soviet tank out of Kabul--never to be heard again. The New Delhi embassy remained closed for several years, and all Indian were sent packing out of Afghanistan. India's Afghan policy was as much a debacle as the Lord Curzon's On to the Oxus policy in yesteryear.
Today's India's policy of supporting the puppet regime in Afghanistan against the popular will in Afghanistan and India's policy or supporting terror groups in Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan will create a huge backlash against new Delhi.
The Indian intelligence agencies are playing with fire in Afghanistan and Pakistan. If history is any example, the support of "ultras" (Indian word for ultra extremists) by India will surely backfire. Let us examine some historical lessons:
In the 50s and 60s, the USA wanted to reign in the dictator Batista of Cuba who was getting too big for his britches. The USA built contacts with a young Cuban student who was studying in the USA at the time. The Cuban student was one of his bitterest enemies of Batista. The CIA not only built contacts with him, they on the return to Cuba trained, funded and supported him against Batista. Fidel Castro, the student was very different than the Fidel the revolutionary. He not only turned agaisnt the USA, he brought in a revolution that plagued the entire South American Continent and is a pin for the USA even today. The Bolivar revolution is now carried on by Cuban protege's in Venezuela and other places.
In the 70s and 80s, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (the PLO) claimed to be the sole representatives of the Palestinian People. To deflate the PLO and its more violent cousins the PFLP, and its really violent cousin the PFLP-General Command, the Isreali army under devised a plan. General Sharon was the head of the Israeli Army. He planned to counterbalance the secular PLO with a religious organization. According to advanced Israeli analysis, by creating and supporting a shia organization they could not only reduce the power of the PLO but in doing so it will be able to control all of Lebanon. After all Ben Gurin wanted the Israeli border on the Litani river with Lebanon a vassal state of Isreal--its strategic depth to hold back Syria, Egypt and Iraq. The Israeli establishment supported the Hamas and Hizbullah movements, armed and trained and funded them. The policy worked for a sort period of time--Israel was actually successful in forcing Yasser Arafat out of Lebanon and exiled to Tunisia etc. He was brought back to the West bank incarcerated and eventually poisoned. However in trying to eliminate Arafat, Sharon lost Lebanon to the Hizbullah which has now become Israel's biggest enemy in the world. Much has been written about this in the Israeli press (Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, and Uri Avnery). Uri Avnery calls it the "goyem" (Jewish Frankenstein) when a clay statue of a monster is created, and it eventually comes and bites the hand that fed it and destroys the maker.
In the 80s, the USA accumulated millions of devoted and devout Muslim kids from around the world and used them as cannon fodder in Afghanistan. When the USSR was defeated, and Afghanistan liberated, these extremists turned on the USA and carried on attacks against them.
Today the India RAW is creating its own Frankensteins in Afghanistan. India is not only supporting the Karzai puppet regime in Kabul, it has also infiltrated many of the insurgent groups working in Afghanistan and Pakistan. New Delhi rains them, supplies them with arms and equipment. Bait Mehsud is one bad example of Indian mendacity. India is using the this Mehsud to attack soft targets in Pakistan.
The problem with the Indian strategy is that it has not worked in the past. India tried to build relations in another Afghan puppet--Babrak Karmal. Amid great rejoicing and platitudes he visited New Delhi to usher in a great Indo-Afghan era which would be used to control all of Central Asia and be a counterweight to China. A few weeks after his much heralded visit to New Delhi Mr. Karmal was riding a Soviet tank out of Kabul--never to be heard again. The New Delhi embassy remained closed for several years, and all Indian were sent packing out of Afghanistan. India's Afghan policy was as much a debacle as the Lord Curzon's On to the Oxus policy in yesteryear.
Today's India's policy of supporting the puppet regime in Afghanistan against the popular will in Afghanistan and India's policy or supporting terror groups in Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan will create a huge backlash against new Delhi.
IAF feels PAF superior: Indian report
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 21, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
'New aircraft can make Pak airpower stronger' 23 Sep 2008, 0502 hrs IST, Anand McNair ,TNN
GANDHINAGAR: Emergence of new warfare technologies have not been able to diminish the crucial role of airpower to achieve national objectives of any country. When nuclear thresholds of countries keep changing, it is superior airpower that becomes a matter of choice for nations to protect their respective national interests. Hence when Pakistan recently bought US and Chinese multi-role aircraft, Indian Air Force's (IAF) south western air command, the frontline of defence against Pakistan, was quick to assess its long-term implications for India.
Air Marshal Kanwar Dalinderjit Singh, air officer commanding-in-chief, SWAC, told TOI that Pakistan has outlined a big plan to replenish its aircraft fleet and upgrade existing fighters. Till June 2008, US had delivered Pakistan eight second-hand F-16 s even as plans were afoot to upgrade its ageing fleet of the same variant. Besides, neighbouring country has bought eight JF-17 multi-role aircraft from China and proposes to buy 150 more in the coming years. It has also ordered for 36 J-10 fourth generation multi-role aircraft from China, he said.
According to Air Marshal Singh, a veteran fighter pilot who has flown Hawker Hunter and MiG-21 variants among other fighters and trainers, [Pakistani] aircraft are quick in response and can cause a lot of destruction, so the ongoing development by Pakistan to strengthen its airpower cannot be ignored.
He, however, added that the only comfort could be the fact that upgradation of F-16 s would not add new capabilities to the aircraft and the Chinese fighters have not proved their claims. The SWAC AOC-in-C refused to divulge any information on plans to counter airpower imbalance in immediate neighbourhood in the coming years. But he added that work was on to set up a new airbase and strengthen the existing ones under the south western air command.
IAF has been building a new airbase at Phalodi near Jodhpur. The base which will become operational by 2009-end. It will have transport and attack helicopters, MiG-29 Bison and air defence aircraft. Jamnagar airbase is being upgraded and those in Naliya and Bhuj strengthened, he said. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, three states that SWAC has to defend, have different characteristics in terms of economy and others, thus delineating a varied role for IAF. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad/New_aircraft_can_make_Pak_airpower_stronger_/articleshow/3515786.cms
'New aircraft can make Pak airpower stronger' 23 Sep 2008, 0502 hrs IST, Anand McNair ,TNN
GANDHINAGAR: Emergence of new warfare technologies have not been able to diminish the crucial role of airpower to achieve national objectives of any country. When nuclear thresholds of countries keep changing, it is superior airpower that becomes a matter of choice for nations to protect their respective national interests. Hence when Pakistan recently bought US and Chinese multi-role aircraft, Indian Air Force's (IAF) south western air command, the frontline of defence against Pakistan, was quick to assess its long-term implications for India.
Air Marshal Kanwar Dalinderjit Singh, air officer commanding-in-chief, SWAC, told TOI that Pakistan has outlined a big plan to replenish its aircraft fleet and upgrade existing fighters. Till June 2008, US had delivered Pakistan eight second-hand F-16 s even as plans were afoot to upgrade its ageing fleet of the same variant. Besides, neighbouring country has bought eight JF-17 multi-role aircraft from China and proposes to buy 150 more in the coming years. It has also ordered for 36 J-10 fourth generation multi-role aircraft from China, he said.
According to Air Marshal Singh, a veteran fighter pilot who has flown Hawker Hunter and MiG-21 variants among other fighters and trainers, [Pakistani] aircraft are quick in response and can cause a lot of destruction, so the ongoing development by Pakistan to strengthen its airpower cannot be ignored.
He, however, added that the only comfort could be the fact that upgradation of F-16 s would not add new capabilities to the aircraft and the Chinese fighters have not proved their claims. The SWAC AOC-in-C refused to divulge any information on plans to counter airpower imbalance in immediate neighbourhood in the coming years. But he added that work was on to set up a new airbase and strengthen the existing ones under the south western air command.
IAF has been building a new airbase at Phalodi near Jodhpur. The base which will become operational by 2009-end. It will have transport and attack helicopters, MiG-29 Bison and air defence aircraft. Jamnagar airbase is being upgraded and those in Naliya and Bhuj strengthened, he said. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, three states that SWAC has to defend, have different characteristics in terms of economy and others, thus delineating a varied role for IAF. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad/New_aircraft_can_make_Pak_airpower_stronger_/articleshow/3515786.cms
3rd Agosta class Made in Pakistan Submarine-Hamza
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 21, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
several countries in the world have a navy. Very few countries have submarines. Fewer produce them. Pakistan is one of the most elite group of nations that has developed the capability to produce ships, frigates, and submarines
Another Agosta submarine ready By Our Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 22: SM Hamza, the second indigenously built Agosta 90B submarine, will be commissioned in the Pakistan Navy on Sept 26, giving a qualitative boost to its capability to defend the country’s maritime boundaries.
This was stated by Commodore Hassan Naser Shah, general manager of the submarine construction project, and Commodore Shah Masood at a background briefing at the PN Dockyard on Monday.
The commissioning of SM Hamza was termed a historical moment because it has a special feature of air independent propulsion system which increases the diving autonomy of conventional submarines.
“It is a major breakthrough in our capabilities of defence production and today Pakistan is among one of the few countries capable of constructing submarines indigenously,” Commodore Naser Shah said.
The special feature of SM Hamza is MESMA air independent propulsion (AIP) system which increases the diving duration as compared to conventional submarines.
The AIP system has liquid oxygen and ethanol to produce electricity which is used to charge the submarine’s batteries.
SM Hamza, being commissioned after successful completion of all harbour and sea trials, will become the first submarine in the Arabian Sea with the AIP system.
This is the third submarine of Agosta 90B contract which was signed with DCNI of France in Sept 1994.
Under the contract, first Agosta 90B, PNS Khalid, was built in France and handed over to the Pakistan Navy in Dec 1999.
The second submarine PNS Saad was built at the submarine construction department at the PN Dockyard and it was commissioned in 2003.
Construction of indigenous submarine continued despite some hitches following the Sheraton Karachi bombing in which some French engineers working on the project were killed.
Hamza is the most advanced version of Agosta design. Its outer hull is light structure fabricated at the PN Dockyard in parts and mounted on the inner pressure hull.The pressure hull section was fabricated and outfitted by the PN Dockyard in collaboration with the Karachi Shipyard.
several countries in the world have a navy. Very few countries have submarines. Fewer produce them. Pakistan is one of the most elite group of nations that has developed the capability to produce ships, frigates, and submarines
Another Agosta submarine ready By Our Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 22: SM Hamza, the second indigenously built Agosta 90B submarine, will be commissioned in the Pakistan Navy on Sept 26, giving a qualitative boost to its capability to defend the country’s maritime boundaries.
This was stated by Commodore Hassan Naser Shah, general manager of the submarine construction project, and Commodore Shah Masood at a background briefing at the PN Dockyard on Monday.
The commissioning of SM Hamza was termed a historical moment because it has a special feature of air independent propulsion system which increases the diving autonomy of conventional submarines.
“It is a major breakthrough in our capabilities of defence production and today Pakistan is among one of the few countries capable of constructing submarines indigenously,” Commodore Naser Shah said.
The special feature of SM Hamza is MESMA air independent propulsion (AIP) system which increases the diving duration as compared to conventional submarines.
The AIP system has liquid oxygen and ethanol to produce electricity which is used to charge the submarine’s batteries.
SM Hamza, being commissioned after successful completion of all harbour and sea trials, will become the first submarine in the Arabian Sea with the AIP system.
This is the third submarine of Agosta 90B contract which was signed with DCNI of France in Sept 1994.
Under the contract, first Agosta 90B, PNS Khalid, was built in France and handed over to the Pakistan Navy in Dec 1999.
The second submarine PNS Saad was built at the submarine construction department at the PN Dockyard and it was commissioned in 2003.
Construction of indigenous submarine continued despite some hitches following the Sheraton Karachi bombing in which some French engineers working on the project were killed.
Hamza is the most advanced version of Agosta design. Its outer hull is light structure fabricated at the PN Dockyard in parts and mounted on the inner pressure hull.The pressure hull section was fabricated and outfitted by the PN Dockyard in collaboration with the Karachi Shipyard.
Marines Mystery at Marriott? What, How, Why?
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 23rd, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
Islamabad Pakistan Marriot: What was the US Marine role?
(http://rupeenews.com/2008/09/21/islamabad-pakistan-marriot-what-was-the-us-marine-role/)
Russian Military Analysts are reporting in the Kremlin today that the massive blast that caused 53 deaths at the Islamabad Marriott hotel in Pakistan was an operation conducted by India's foreign intelligence agency The Research and Analysis Wing [RAW] in an attempt to ‘decapitate’ Pakistan’s entire leadership. India had become ‘alarmed’ by the United States and Pakistan’s ISI plan...
Americans’ presence at Marriott not a secret: US embassy
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani authorities are trying to solve the riddle of US Marines and their mysterious steel cases, which were shifted to the Marriott Hotel four days before the hotel was reduced to ashes by the worst ever terrorist attack in the history of the federal capital.
These authorities want to ascertain if it was a routine exercise or part of some special mission that does not have the approval of the Government of Pakistan.
The US embassy insists the activity witnessed was a team of support personnel that often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain US officials. However, the government authorities probing the matter have already got most of the facts ascertained as mentioned in The News story on Sunday.
According to an official source, the authorities were told that mysterious activity of the US Marines took place around 12:00 midnight on 16 September. Already the government has got the information that several rooms on the fourth floor of the Marriott were in permanent use of the US authorities. Three of these rooms were said to be inter-connected and contained some intelligence equipment and other material allegedly used for espionage.
Sadruddin Hashwani, the owner of the Marriott, when approached denied that the Americans had any such presence in the hotel and said that like any such hotel in the world his guests included people of different nationalities. “Why focus on the Americans unnecessarily,” Hashwani wondered. He refuted that the US embassy had permanently hired several rooms in his hotel.
The US embassy spokesperson Lou Fintor, however, when asked if the US embassy had hired several rooms in the Marriott Hotel for years, said in his written reply that the US embassy has been a frequent customer of the Marriott Hotel for many years. On any given day, he said, there were employees of the American embassy and official American visitors staying at the hotel. “There is nothing unusual, secretive or ‘mysterious’ about this,” he said.
When asked if three of these permanently hired rooms were interconnected, Fintor said, “For our frequent visiting delegations, the embassy often rented adjoining rooms — as we often do in other hotels in Pakistan and in the world.”
Responding to unconfirmed reports that the US-rented rooms in the Marriott Hotel were being used by the CIA for espionage purposes, he said, “Unfortunately, far too many things have been ‘said’ that have absolutely no basis in fact. There is no truth whatsoever in allegations that covert activity was taking place on the part of the United States government.”
The spokesman said that these allegations are inaccurate, irresponsible, baseless and completely without any foundation whatsoever.
About the Marines and the steel cases which were reported to have been shifted to the hotel between the night of 16 and 17 September and whether these Marines and the suitcases were in the hotel on the day of the blast or evacuated before, he said, “A team of support personnel often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain US government officials. They often carry communication and office equipment required to support large delegations, such as high-level administration officials and members of the US Congress.”
He added that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would travel with communications equipment. “It is quite possible that some saw this communications equipment moved into the hotel. This equipment would leave with the CJCS. If the equipment was transported in full public view then obviously there was no attempt made to conceal its movement.”
Witnessed by many, including a PPP MNA and his friends, a US embassy’s truckload of steel boxes was unloaded and shifted inside the Marriott Hotel on September 16 midnight only after Mike Mullen, the US Admiral, had met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others in Islamabad and had already left. Both the main gates (the entrance and the exit) of the hotel were closed while no one except the US Marines was either allowed to go near the truck or get the steel boxes unloaded or shift them inside the hotel. These steel boxes were not being passed through the scanners installed at the entrance of the hotel’s lobby, and were reportedly shifted to the fourth and fifth floors of the Marriott.
The US embassy spokesman also confirmed that the Marriott rooms, which were in use of the US officials, had the communication and office equipment, which were transported for use by Admiral Mullen.
[contact-form]
A hotel employee, on condition of not being named, confided that the hotel management had been receiving threats from unknown persons for the last six months to get the US officials vacated from the hotel. However, Mr Hashwani when confronted said that there has been no threat received by the hotel management.
Islamabad Pakistan Marriot: What was the US Marine role?
(http://rupeenews.com/2008/09/21/islamabad-pakistan-marriot-what-was-the-us-marine-role/)
Russian Military Analysts are reporting in the Kremlin today that the massive blast that caused 53 deaths at the Islamabad Marriott hotel in Pakistan was an operation conducted by India's foreign intelligence agency The Research and Analysis Wing [RAW] in an attempt to ‘decapitate’ Pakistan’s entire leadership. India had become ‘alarmed’ by the United States and Pakistan’s ISI plan...
Americans’ presence at Marriott not a secret: US embassy
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani authorities are trying to solve the riddle of US Marines and their mysterious steel cases, which were shifted to the Marriott Hotel four days before the hotel was reduced to ashes by the worst ever terrorist attack in the history of the federal capital.
These authorities want to ascertain if it was a routine exercise or part of some special mission that does not have the approval of the Government of Pakistan.
The US embassy insists the activity witnessed was a team of support personnel that often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain US officials. However, the government authorities probing the matter have already got most of the facts ascertained as mentioned in The News story on Sunday.
According to an official source, the authorities were told that mysterious activity of the US Marines took place around 12:00 midnight on 16 September. Already the government has got the information that several rooms on the fourth floor of the Marriott were in permanent use of the US authorities. Three of these rooms were said to be inter-connected and contained some intelligence equipment and other material allegedly used for espionage.
Sadruddin Hashwani, the owner of the Marriott, when approached denied that the Americans had any such presence in the hotel and said that like any such hotel in the world his guests included people of different nationalities. “Why focus on the Americans unnecessarily,” Hashwani wondered. He refuted that the US embassy had permanently hired several rooms in his hotel.
The US embassy spokesperson Lou Fintor, however, when asked if the US embassy had hired several rooms in the Marriott Hotel for years, said in his written reply that the US embassy has been a frequent customer of the Marriott Hotel for many years. On any given day, he said, there were employees of the American embassy and official American visitors staying at the hotel. “There is nothing unusual, secretive or ‘mysterious’ about this,” he said.
When asked if three of these permanently hired rooms were interconnected, Fintor said, “For our frequent visiting delegations, the embassy often rented adjoining rooms — as we often do in other hotels in Pakistan and in the world.”
Responding to unconfirmed reports that the US-rented rooms in the Marriott Hotel were being used by the CIA for espionage purposes, he said, “Unfortunately, far too many things have been ‘said’ that have absolutely no basis in fact. There is no truth whatsoever in allegations that covert activity was taking place on the part of the United States government.”
The spokesman said that these allegations are inaccurate, irresponsible, baseless and completely without any foundation whatsoever.
About the Marines and the steel cases which were reported to have been shifted to the hotel between the night of 16 and 17 September and whether these Marines and the suitcases were in the hotel on the day of the blast or evacuated before, he said, “A team of support personnel often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain US government officials. They often carry communication and office equipment required to support large delegations, such as high-level administration officials and members of the US Congress.”
He added that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would travel with communications equipment. “It is quite possible that some saw this communications equipment moved into the hotel. This equipment would leave with the CJCS. If the equipment was transported in full public view then obviously there was no attempt made to conceal its movement.”
Witnessed by many, including a PPP MNA and his friends, a US embassy’s truckload of steel boxes was unloaded and shifted inside the Marriott Hotel on September 16 midnight only after Mike Mullen, the US Admiral, had met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others in Islamabad and had already left. Both the main gates (the entrance and the exit) of the hotel were closed while no one except the US Marines was either allowed to go near the truck or get the steel boxes unloaded or shift them inside the hotel. These steel boxes were not being passed through the scanners installed at the entrance of the hotel’s lobby, and were reportedly shifted to the fourth and fifth floors of the Marriott.
The US embassy spokesman also confirmed that the Marriott rooms, which were in use of the US officials, had the communication and office equipment, which were transported for use by Admiral Mullen.
[contact-form]
A hotel employee, on condition of not being named, confided that the hotel management had been receiving threats from unknown persons for the last six months to get the US officials vacated from the hotel. However, Mr Hashwani when confronted said that there has been no threat received by the hotel management.
Marriot's mystery Marines with strange steel boxes in Islamabad Pakistan
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 23rd, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
Islamabad Pakistan Marriot: What was the US Marine role?
(http://rupeenews.com/2008/09/21/islamabad-pakistan-marriot-what-was-the-us-marine-role/)
Russian Military Analysts are reporting in the Kremlin today that the massive blast that caused 53 deaths at the Islamabad Marriott hotel in Pakistan was an operation conducted by India's foreign intelligence agency The Research and Analysis Wing [RAW] in an attempt to ‘decapitate’ Pakistan’s entire leadership. India had become ‘alarmed’ by the United States and Pakistan’s ISI plan...
Americans’ presence at Marriott not a secret: US embassy
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani authorities are trying to solve the riddle of US Marines and their mysterious steel cases, which were shifted to the Marriott Hotel four days before the hotel was reduced to ashes by the worst ever terrorist attack in the history of the federal capital.
These authorities want to ascertain if it was a routine exercise or part of some special mission that does not have the approval of the Government of Pakistan.
The US embassy insists the activity witnessed was a team of support personnel that often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain US officials. However, the government authorities probing the matter have already got most of the facts ascertained as mentioned in The News story on Sunday.
According to an official source, the authorities were told that mysterious activity of the US Marines took place around 12:00 midnight on 16 September. Already the government has got the information that several rooms on the fourth floor of the Marriott were in permanent use of the US authorities. Three of these rooms were said to be inter-connected and contained some intelligence equipment and other material allegedly used for espionage.
Sadruddin Hashwani, the owner of the Marriott, when approached denied that the Americans had any such presence in the hotel and said that like any such hotel in the world his guests included people of different nationalities. “Why focus on the Americans unnecessarily,” Hashwani wondered. He refuted that the US embassy had permanently hired several rooms in his hotel.
The US embassy spokesperson Lou Fintor, however, when asked if the US embassy had hired several rooms in the Marriott Hotel for years, said in his written reply that the US embassy has been a frequent customer of the Marriott Hotel for many years. On any given day, he said, there were employees of the American embassy and official American visitors staying at the hotel. “There is nothing unusual, secretive or ‘mysterious’ about this,” he said.
When asked if three of these permanently hired rooms were interconnected, Fintor said, “For our frequent visiting delegations, the embassy often rented adjoining rooms — as we often do in other hotels in Pakistan and in the world.”
Responding to unconfirmed reports that the US-rented rooms in the Marriott Hotel were being used by the CIA for espionage purposes, he said, “Unfortunately, far too many things have been ‘said’ that have absolutely no basis in fact. There is no truth whatsoever in allegations that covert activity was taking place on the part of the United States government.”
The spokesman said that these allegations are inaccurate, irresponsible, baseless and completely without any foundation whatsoever.
About the Marines and the steel cases which were reported to have been shifted to the hotel between the night of 16 and 17 September and whether these Marines and the suitcases were in the hotel on the day of the blast or evacuated before, he said, “A team of support personnel often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain US government officials. They often carry communication and office equipment required to support large delegations, such as high-level administration officials and members of the US Congress.”
He added that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would travel with communications equipment. “It is quite possible that some saw this communications equipment moved into the hotel. This equipment would leave with the CJCS. If the equipment was transported in full public view then obviously there was no attempt made to conceal its movement.”
Witnessed by many, including a PPP MNA and his friends, a US embassy’s truckload of steel boxes was unloaded and shifted inside the Marriott Hotel on September 16 midnight only after Mike Mullen, the US Admiral, had met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others in Islamabad and had already left. Both the main gates (the entrance and the exit) of the hotel were closed while no one except the US Marines was either allowed to go near the truck or get the steel boxes unloaded or shift them inside the hotel. These steel boxes were not being passed through the scanners installed at the entrance of the hotel’s lobby, and were reportedly shifted to the fourth and fifth floors of the Marriott.
The US embassy spokesman also confirmed that the Marriott rooms, which were in use of the US officials, had the communication and office equipment, which were transported for use by Admiral Mullen.
[contact-form]
A hotel employee, on condition of not being named, confided that the hotel management had been receiving threats from unknown persons for the last six months to get the US officials vacated from the hotel. However, Mr Hashwani when confronted said that there has been no threat received by the hotel management.
Islamabad Pakistan Marriot: What was the US Marine role?
(http://rupeenews.com/2008/09/21/islamabad-pakistan-marriot-what-was-the-us-marine-role/)
Russian Military Analysts are reporting in the Kremlin today that the massive blast that caused 53 deaths at the Islamabad Marriott hotel in Pakistan was an operation conducted by India's foreign intelligence agency The Research and Analysis Wing [RAW] in an attempt to ‘decapitate’ Pakistan’s entire leadership. India had become ‘alarmed’ by the United States and Pakistan’s ISI plan...
Americans’ presence at Marriott not a secret: US embassy
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani authorities are trying to solve the riddle of US Marines and their mysterious steel cases, which were shifted to the Marriott Hotel four days before the hotel was reduced to ashes by the worst ever terrorist attack in the history of the federal capital.
These authorities want to ascertain if it was a routine exercise or part of some special mission that does not have the approval of the Government of Pakistan.
The US embassy insists the activity witnessed was a team of support personnel that often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain US officials. However, the government authorities probing the matter have already got most of the facts ascertained as mentioned in The News story on Sunday.
According to an official source, the authorities were told that mysterious activity of the US Marines took place around 12:00 midnight on 16 September. Already the government has got the information that several rooms on the fourth floor of the Marriott were in permanent use of the US authorities. Three of these rooms were said to be inter-connected and contained some intelligence equipment and other material allegedly used for espionage.
Sadruddin Hashwani, the owner of the Marriott, when approached denied that the Americans had any such presence in the hotel and said that like any such hotel in the world his guests included people of different nationalities. “Why focus on the Americans unnecessarily,” Hashwani wondered. He refuted that the US embassy had permanently hired several rooms in his hotel.
The US embassy spokesperson Lou Fintor, however, when asked if the US embassy had hired several rooms in the Marriott Hotel for years, said in his written reply that the US embassy has been a frequent customer of the Marriott Hotel for many years. On any given day, he said, there were employees of the American embassy and official American visitors staying at the hotel. “There is nothing unusual, secretive or ‘mysterious’ about this,” he said.
When asked if three of these permanently hired rooms were interconnected, Fintor said, “For our frequent visiting delegations, the embassy often rented adjoining rooms — as we often do in other hotels in Pakistan and in the world.”
Responding to unconfirmed reports that the US-rented rooms in the Marriott Hotel were being used by the CIA for espionage purposes, he said, “Unfortunately, far too many things have been ‘said’ that have absolutely no basis in fact. There is no truth whatsoever in allegations that covert activity was taking place on the part of the United States government.”
The spokesman said that these allegations are inaccurate, irresponsible, baseless and completely without any foundation whatsoever.
About the Marines and the steel cases which were reported to have been shifted to the hotel between the night of 16 and 17 September and whether these Marines and the suitcases were in the hotel on the day of the blast or evacuated before, he said, “A team of support personnel often and routinely precede and/or accompany certain US government officials. They often carry communication and office equipment required to support large delegations, such as high-level administration officials and members of the US Congress.”
He added that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would travel with communications equipment. “It is quite possible that some saw this communications equipment moved into the hotel. This equipment would leave with the CJCS. If the equipment was transported in full public view then obviously there was no attempt made to conceal its movement.”
Witnessed by many, including a PPP MNA and his friends, a US embassy’s truckload of steel boxes was unloaded and shifted inside the Marriott Hotel on September 16 midnight only after Mike Mullen, the US Admiral, had met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others in Islamabad and had already left. Both the main gates (the entrance and the exit) of the hotel were closed while no one except the US Marines was either allowed to go near the truck or get the steel boxes unloaded or shift them inside the hotel. These steel boxes were not being passed through the scanners installed at the entrance of the hotel’s lobby, and were reportedly shifted to the fourth and fifth floors of the Marriott.
The US embassy spokesman also confirmed that the Marriott rooms, which were in use of the US officials, had the communication and office equipment, which were transported for use by Admiral Mullen.
[contact-form]
A hotel employee, on condition of not being named, confided that the hotel management had been receiving threats from unknown persons for the last six months to get the US officials vacated from the hotel. However, Mr Hashwani when confronted said that there has been no threat received by the hotel management.
terror group with moniker of Fidayeen an Indian proxy
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 23rd, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
Fidayeen-e-Islam’ claims Islamabad bombing
DUBAI: A shadowy group, calling itself ‘Fidayeen-e-Islam’ has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing of Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel in a telephone call to Al-Arabiya television, the channel said on Monday. The Dubai-based station’s correspondent in Islamabad said he received a text message on his mobile phone showing a telephone number, which he called and then heard a recording in which the group admitted launching Saturday’s attack. Meanwhile, a United States counterterrorism official said al Qaeda or an affiliate group remain prime suspects in the Marriott Hotel bombing, despite a responsibility claim by a little-known group. “The investigation is ongoing, and we can’t corroborate this group’s claim.” agencies
Fidayeen-e-Islam’ claims Islamabad bombing
DUBAI: A shadowy group, calling itself ‘Fidayeen-e-Islam’ has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing of Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel in a telephone call to Al-Arabiya television, the channel said on Monday. The Dubai-based station’s correspondent in Islamabad said he received a text message on his mobile phone showing a telephone number, which he called and then heard a recording in which the group admitted launching Saturday’s attack. Meanwhile, a United States counterterrorism official said al Qaeda or an affiliate group remain prime suspects in the Marriott Hotel bombing, despite a responsibility claim by a little-known group. “The investigation is ongoing, and we can’t corroborate this group’s claim.” agencies
US media: Open hunting season on Pakistan
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 23rd, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
Pakistan faces many wars. She faces wars from India and her proxies in Afghanistan. She also faces a war of words from the US press under the influence of the Indian lobby
As Pakistan gets hammered by Taliban and Al Qaeda bombs in Islamabad (the Marriott to be precise), and by Hellfire missiles in FATA, the feeding frenzy in the US press builds to a crescendo. This week Newsweek published an article titled, "Pakistan's Double-Cross" by long-time Pakistan-sufferer, Sumit Ganguly. When Pakistanis read Ganguly's vicious hatchet job on Pakistan (and on history), they should take a deep breath and pause before they react. Despite his boring residual partition rage, Ganguly is not the one that has made Pakistan foreign policy target No 1 for US presidential candidates. It wasn't Ganguly who loathes ordinary Pakistanis so deeply that he thought it okay to reject their overwhelming will, and insist he knew what was good for Pakistan better. It wasn't Ganguly who signed the NRO, or fired the judges. Pakistanis need to learn very quickly that Pakistan's battles will be won and lost by its people, not by Cold War analysts trying to be relevant in Washington DC.
While English-speaking Pakistanis will either seethe with rage at Ganguly, or at the Pakistani "establishment", ordinary Pakistanis will have no reaction at all. It's not just that they can't read English, it's that they can't read period. That's why they don't know what the Magna Carta is. That's why they can't check the roznamcha for a record of their presence at the police station. That's why the FIR system favours the rural and industrial elite. That's why they have to depend on the feudal and industrial elite. That's why they vote for the PPP and the PML-Q. And that is why the rage of these English-speaking Pakistanis is heart-warming but without efficacy. The rage will not free ordinary Pakistanis from the clutches of their political and economic realities. The News: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 by Mosharraf Zaidi
However there was a silver lining from an unusual source-The New York Times
Help Pakistan government fight terrorism, NYT urges US
* Editorial says increasing civilian casualties driving more people into Taliban’s hands
NEW YORK: An influential United Stated newspaper on Monday cautioned the Bush administration against attacks inside Pakistani territory and called for devising a policy to bolster Pakistan’s civilian government while enlisting its full support in the fight against extremists.
“If an American raid captured or killed a top Al Qaeda or Taliban operative, the backlash might be worth it. But if there were any chance of permanently rooting out extremists from the Tribal Areas, that will have to be done by Pakistan’s military, backed up with sustained programmes for economic and political development,” the New York Times (NYT) said in an editorial that expressed dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s efforts to counter terrorism.
The editorial also noted that US President George W Bush’s decision to send troops across the border was made in desperation.
Civilian casualties: “We fear that a rising number of civilian casualties, on both sides of the border, is driving more people into the hands of the repressive Taliban and other extremist groups. These attacks are also making Pakistan’s new President Asif Ali Zardari look weak and irrelevant,” said the editorial, titled ‘Running Out of Time’.
“He (Zardari) deserves a chance, and American support, to fulfil his promises to bolster democracy, clean up Pakistan’s intelligence services and work with the US to defeat terrorism.
“Zardari made a start, inviting President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan to his inauguration,” the NYT said, noting that in his speech to parliament on Saturday he had said his government would not allow terrorists to launch attacks on any neighbour from Pakistani soil, nor would it tolerate further American military incursions.
The NYT editorial said that US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen had made a ‘fence-mending trip’ to Pakistan last week, and that Pentagon officials say they are reviewing the overall strategy.
“Any revised plan must do a lot more to avoid civilian casualties and support, rather than undermine, Pakistan’s civilian leaders. Congress can do its part by approving a $7.5 billion aid package, intended to strengthen Pakistan’s democratic institutions and its counterinsurgency capabilities,” the editorial said. app
Pakistan faces many wars. She faces wars from India and her proxies in Afghanistan. She also faces a war of words from the US press under the influence of the Indian lobby
As Pakistan gets hammered by Taliban and Al Qaeda bombs in Islamabad (the Marriott to be precise), and by Hellfire missiles in FATA, the feeding frenzy in the US press builds to a crescendo. This week Newsweek published an article titled, "Pakistan's Double-Cross" by long-time Pakistan-sufferer, Sumit Ganguly. When Pakistanis read Ganguly's vicious hatchet job on Pakistan (and on history), they should take a deep breath and pause before they react. Despite his boring residual partition rage, Ganguly is not the one that has made Pakistan foreign policy target No 1 for US presidential candidates. It wasn't Ganguly who loathes ordinary Pakistanis so deeply that he thought it okay to reject their overwhelming will, and insist he knew what was good for Pakistan better. It wasn't Ganguly who signed the NRO, or fired the judges. Pakistanis need to learn very quickly that Pakistan's battles will be won and lost by its people, not by Cold War analysts trying to be relevant in Washington DC.
While English-speaking Pakistanis will either seethe with rage at Ganguly, or at the Pakistani "establishment", ordinary Pakistanis will have no reaction at all. It's not just that they can't read English, it's that they can't read period. That's why they don't know what the Magna Carta is. That's why they can't check the roznamcha for a record of their presence at the police station. That's why the FIR system favours the rural and industrial elite. That's why they have to depend on the feudal and industrial elite. That's why they vote for the PPP and the PML-Q. And that is why the rage of these English-speaking Pakistanis is heart-warming but without efficacy. The rage will not free ordinary Pakistanis from the clutches of their political and economic realities. The News: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 by Mosharraf Zaidi
However there was a silver lining from an unusual source-The New York Times
Help Pakistan government fight terrorism, NYT urges US
* Editorial says increasing civilian casualties driving more people into Taliban’s hands
NEW YORK: An influential United Stated newspaper on Monday cautioned the Bush administration against attacks inside Pakistani territory and called for devising a policy to bolster Pakistan’s civilian government while enlisting its full support in the fight against extremists.
“If an American raid captured or killed a top Al Qaeda or Taliban operative, the backlash might be worth it. But if there were any chance of permanently rooting out extremists from the Tribal Areas, that will have to be done by Pakistan’s military, backed up with sustained programmes for economic and political development,” the New York Times (NYT) said in an editorial that expressed dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s efforts to counter terrorism.
The editorial also noted that US President George W Bush’s decision to send troops across the border was made in desperation.
Civilian casualties: “We fear that a rising number of civilian casualties, on both sides of the border, is driving more people into the hands of the repressive Taliban and other extremist groups. These attacks are also making Pakistan’s new President Asif Ali Zardari look weak and irrelevant,” said the editorial, titled ‘Running Out of Time’.
“He (Zardari) deserves a chance, and American support, to fulfil his promises to bolster democracy, clean up Pakistan’s intelligence services and work with the US to defeat terrorism.
“Zardari made a start, inviting President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan to his inauguration,” the NYT said, noting that in his speech to parliament on Saturday he had said his government would not allow terrorists to launch attacks on any neighbour from Pakistani soil, nor would it tolerate further American military incursions.
The NYT editorial said that US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen had made a ‘fence-mending trip’ to Pakistan last week, and that Pentagon officials say they are reviewing the overall strategy.
“Any revised plan must do a lot more to avoid civilian casualties and support, rather than undermine, Pakistan’s civilian leaders. Congress can do its part by approving a $7.5 billion aid package, intended to strengthen Pakistan’s democratic institutions and its counterinsurgency capabilities,” the editorial said. app
India discriminates against Muslims-genocide
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 23rd, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
The Indian Muslims are between a rock and a hard place. They face constant threats of "Pakistan ya Qabristan", discrimination in jobs and in society, incarceration in Kashmir, deportation in Bihar and Genocidal rape and burning in Gujarat.
Muslims being targeted in name of fight against terrorism’
NEW DELHI: Muslim organisations in India said on Monday that their community in general and Muslim youth in particular were being targeted in the name of the fight against terrorism. Eight Muslim groups representing the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Milli Council, the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM) and others on Monday formed a ‘Co-ordination Committee of Indian Muslims’ to form a united front against the highhandedness of police and intelligence agencies.
Addressing a press conference, AIMMM President Dr Zafrul Islam Khan demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into last Friday's encounter in Delhi's Jamia Nagar Muslim locality, in which two alleged terrorists were killed. He wondered why the so-called terrorists had not been caught alive. "People believe the two were killed in a fake encounter," he said. The leaders said, "We want to contribute to establishing a terror-free India. Muslims are fundamentally opposed to terrorism, as Islam forbids killing anyone unjustly and by unjust means."
They said the committee had been set up as it was felt necessary to deal with "the current terrorism scare among the Muslim community in India". iftikhar gilani
The Indian Muslims are between a rock and a hard place. They face constant threats of "Pakistan ya Qabristan", discrimination in jobs and in society, incarceration in Kashmir, deportation in Bihar and Genocidal rape and burning in Gujarat.
Muslims being targeted in name of fight against terrorism’
NEW DELHI: Muslim organisations in India said on Monday that their community in general and Muslim youth in particular were being targeted in the name of the fight against terrorism. Eight Muslim groups representing the Jamaat-e-Islami, the Milli Council, the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat (AIMMM) and others on Monday formed a ‘Co-ordination Committee of Indian Muslims’ to form a united front against the highhandedness of police and intelligence agencies.
Addressing a press conference, AIMMM President Dr Zafrul Islam Khan demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into last Friday's encounter in Delhi's Jamia Nagar Muslim locality, in which two alleged terrorists were killed. He wondered why the so-called terrorists had not been caught alive. "People believe the two were killed in a fake encounter," he said. The leaders said, "We want to contribute to establishing a terror-free India. Muslims are fundamentally opposed to terrorism, as Islam forbids killing anyone unjustly and by unjust means."
They said the committee had been set up as it was felt necessary to deal with "the current terrorism scare among the Muslim community in India". iftikhar gilani
Will US drones defy flying pigs and stop bombing Pakistan?
پاکستاان لیجر | PAKISTAN LEDGER | پاکستاني کھاتا |Sept. 21, 08 | Moin Ansari | معین آنصآرّی |
Is the sway of the US drones over? Will US troops stop landing in Pakistan and shooting people, many of which turned out to be women and children. The US may stop the attacks. yes pigs can fly with our without lipstick.
Of course, Mullen is very aware of Pakistan’s counter leverage. Most U.S. supplies for Afghanistan must flow through Pakistani ports and roads. Any interference with this access would jeopardize our operations. Additionally, the U.S. military needs a cooperative Pakistani armed forces and intelligence services to work along the Afghan border if the insurgency is to be stopped.
That’s why -- for mutually beneficial reasons -- both nations must put aside their differences before the situation gets out of hand. But America also must be realistic about Pakistan.
Recently -- and naively -- Donald Camp, the U.S.’s deputy assistant secretary of state, said there is no situation in which the U.S. and Pakistan will shoot at each other. That view ignores the role Islamic thinking plays in Pakistan’s military and among a sizable portion of the population. There are no guarantees that Pakistan will see things America’s way, and it is possible Islamabad could change course for our worse.
That’s why America’s new strategy regarding Pakistan must go beyond talk. It must deal with substantive issues that threaten to push the region into war, like the long-term tensions between Pakistan and India which have festered to near blows in the recent past. Human Events dot com
Zardari deplores U.S. intrusions in Pak soil Updated at: 0825 PST, Tuesday, September 23, 2008
NEW YORK: Calling the fight against terrorists as Pakistan’s war, President Asif Ali Zardari has asked American troops to stay away and leave the Pakistani forces to do the job. “Our orders are clear: not to allow any incursion of anybody in Pakistan.
American troops are coming, without letting us know, without Pakistan’s permission, they are violating the United Nations Charter,” he said in a television interview Monday.
The president said Pakistan will ask any American troops crossing into its territory to leave and was confident that they would go.
Pakistan, he said, has a strong commitment to fight terrorism but only its troops have the responsibility to take anti-terror actions on its soil and any foreign troops crossing into its territory violate the U.N. Charter.
The president voiced the confidence that the country would be able to defeat the menace of terrorism with the cooperation of its anti-terrorism partners.
“Pakistan is capable (of fighting terrorism) with the help of the world, yes we are capable,” he told news channel in an interview.
Is the sway of the US drones over? Will US troops stop landing in Pakistan and shooting people, many of which turned out to be women and children. The US may stop the attacks. yes pigs can fly with our without lipstick.
Of course, Mullen is very aware of Pakistan’s counter leverage. Most U.S. supplies for Afghanistan must flow through Pakistani ports and roads. Any interference with this access would jeopardize our operations. Additionally, the U.S. military needs a cooperative Pakistani armed forces and intelligence services to work along the Afghan border if the insurgency is to be stopped.
That’s why -- for mutually beneficial reasons -- both nations must put aside their differences before the situation gets out of hand. But America also must be realistic about Pakistan.
Recently -- and naively -- Donald Camp, the U.S.’s deputy assistant secretary of state, said there is no situation in which the U.S. and Pakistan will shoot at each other. That view ignores the role Islamic thinking plays in Pakistan’s military and among a sizable portion of the population. There are no guarantees that Pakistan will see things America’s way, and it is possible Islamabad could change course for our worse.
That’s why America’s new strategy regarding Pakistan must go beyond talk. It must deal with substantive issues that threaten to push the region into war, like the long-term tensions between Pakistan and India which have festered to near blows in the recent past. Human Events dot com
Zardari deplores U.S. intrusions in Pak soil Updated at: 0825 PST, Tuesday, September 23, 2008
NEW YORK: Calling the fight against terrorists as Pakistan’s war, President Asif Ali Zardari has asked American troops to stay away and leave the Pakistani forces to do the job. “Our orders are clear: not to allow any incursion of anybody in Pakistan.
American troops are coming, without letting us know, without Pakistan’s permission, they are violating the United Nations Charter,” he said in a television interview Monday.
The president said Pakistan will ask any American troops crossing into its territory to leave and was confident that they would go.
Pakistan, he said, has a strong commitment to fight terrorism but only its troops have the responsibility to take anti-terror actions on its soil and any foreign troops crossing into its territory violate the U.N. Charter.
The president voiced the confidence that the country would be able to defeat the menace of terrorism with the cooperation of its anti-terrorism partners.
“Pakistan is capable (of fighting terrorism) with the help of the world, yes we are capable,” he told news channel in an interview.
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