US/NATO arming Afghanistan & Pakistan to the teeth

[Gouda]

I have posted here before with alarm over 'western' attempts to completely militarize and overarm Afghanistan, a place that can not be described in any way as a 'nation' having any 'national interest' for a 'national army' or police to any defending. I think we know it is a region of multivarious 'international interests' especially that of US/NATO military-corporate-brzezinski complex. But there are also strong regional powers that could throw them for a loop. Any guesses as to why we are arming both Pakistan and Afghanistan, Iraq-style, while pretending to smooth out the differences between Karzai and Musharraf? Contingency planning?

Summary of following 3 articles:

1. Daily Telegraph reports in Spring 2006 that the Pentagon has a massive "wish list" of arms it would like to supply the so-called "Afghan National Army" with in order to, acording to them, defend borders, fight insurgency & drugs, and defend against any threats from Pakistan should the US or NATO withdraw its troops.

2. In June 2006, an FT article comes out reporting that "Kabul wants to arm tribal militias." No mention of the Pentagon list - Russia supplier deal.

3. September 2006, CNN reports that NATO will graciously supply Kabul's wish list for armaments via "donations" of "surplus" equipment and munitions, again, to the "Afghan naitonal Army."

Humanitarian Arms Laundering? By the looks of this and all the rest, we may be just seeing the begining of real middle east chaos. As if it is not already far beyond real for millions.

*******************

Here's the first article, from spring 2006 :

"US sets up £215m deal for Afghan arms - from Russia"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ussia.html

The Daily Telegraph can disclose that Pentagon chiefs have asked arms suppliers for a quote on a vast amount of ordnance, including more than 78 million rounds of AK47 ammunition, 100,000 rocket-propelled grenades and 12,000 tank shells - equivalent to about 15 times the British Army's annual requirements...

The "decade's worth" of ammunition will give the Afghan National Army a vast arsenal to deal with Taliban or drug warlords if Washington withdraws its troops...

It would allow Kabul to defend its borders against outside interference but could also be used for offensive operations against neighbours such as the old enemy, Pakistan...

"The operations and planning staff at the Pentagon came up with numbers for their wish list...

Then notice an FT article from June 2006 showing a shift from Pentagon-backed armament to "kabul wants this" :

Kabul may arm militia to fight terrorists
www.ft.com/cms/s/3db53bf2-f7dd-11da-948 ... e2340.html

The Afghan government is considering arming tribal groups across the south of the country, where Nato is set to take command next month, in a move diplomats say would destabilize the country.

However, experts say the tribal groups to be armed are likely to be militias commanded by warlords, which would create alternative power bases and weaken an already fragile state.

One western diplomat said: "If this happens it is the beginning of the end for southern Afghanistan and has far-reaching implications for the north and west."

Here's today's update, now it is NATO "donating" to an Afghani "wish list" :

"12,000 U.S. troops to serve under NATO commanders in Afghanistan"
(CNN Link now dead, but USA today still carries the AP report:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006 ... nato_x.htm)

OK, that there headline will not much sooth the alex jones libertarian and/or separatist patriot crowds, what with US troops serving under foreign command and all, but there is a deeper problem here. Embedded deeply in the article is this:

In addition, NATO countries, under pressure from the U.S. and military leaders, may soon come through with additional troops and equipment needed to fight the escalating violence in Afghanistan.

(...)

The 26 NATO defense ministers, gathering for their two-day fall meeting here, are expected to also agree on a plan to donate surplus military equipment to the country, and also are likely to announce new commitments of military resources.

According to a senior U.S. official, Afghanistan has compiled a list of needed equipment, from helicopters and vehicles to armor and guns, and officials will set up a program to coordinate the donations.

The official requested anonymity because the ministers had not met to finalize the agreement, which is similar to one set up previously for Iraq.

(...)

Under the expected equipment deal, allies will be able to coordinate and donate supplies to the Afghan National Army. The official could not estimate how much equipment was included on Afghanistan's wish list.

"Donations" now is it. "Surplus equipment"?! A humanitarian response to unified Afghani needs? There's that "wish list" again. See how it went from a Pentagon "wish list" in the Telegraph article to a home-grown Afghani wish list in today's news. Our command is your wish.

I am sure Karzai knows that it is not wise to hyper-arm his dirt poor army, which is not under his control. I sure hope he got a good secure luxury compound to live out his final days in his deal with the devil.

Looks like an indirect way to arm factions, drug-running militias, keep civil wars crackling, terrorism thriving, and Pakistan under pressure. Get ready for the pentagon-backed post-Brzezinski Neoliberals to step back in. Donations. Surplus equipment.

Edited to fix links

[Gouda]

Notice the contradicting possible outcomes put on the table here. <br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Afghanistan: Why NATO cannot win</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>By M K Bhadrakumar <br><br>(...)<br><br>US Marine Corps General James Jones, NATO's supreme commander of operations, has admitted that the fierce resistance put up by the Taliban and the burgeoning insurgency has taken the alliance by surprise. NATO forces have realized that an all-out war is at hand, rather than the peacekeeping mission that was imagined earlier. New rules of engagement have been accordingly drawn up for NATO contingents deployed in the southern provinces of Afghanistan - and soon to be extended to the whole country, where US soldiers are reportedly to be put under NATO control...a British commander has been reported as telling the media, "The intensity and ferocity of the fighting is far greater than in Iraq on a daily basis." <br><br>(...)<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>The fatality rate of the 18,500-strong NATO force averages about five per week, which is roughly equal to the losses suffered by the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Indeed, in withering comments to The Sunday Telegraph newspaper last weekend, Soviet commanders who oversaw Moscow's disastrous campaign have predicted that the NATO forces will ultimately be forced to flee from Afghanistan. </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>(...)<br><br>Clearly, a huge crisis is shaping up for NATO. Its credibility is at stake. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Sir Cyril does not foresee that the alliance will come up with the required military resources </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->"to beat the Taliban on its own ground". No wonder Lieutenant-General David Richards, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan and former assistant chief of the general staff of the British army, ominously warned in a recent television interview,<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> "We need to realize we could actually fail here." </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>(...)<br><br>Widening somewhat the gyre of the blame game, almost everyone acknowledges that opium is eating away the vitals of the Afghan state as counter-drug operations have been a dismal failure. <br><br>(...)<br><br>Comparison has been drawn with the successful peacekeeping operations in the Balkans. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>General Wesley Clark,</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> former supreme commander of NATO, wrote in Newsweek magazine recently, "In order to succeed, we must adopt some of the lessons and practices we put in place so painfully in the Balkans. We must acknowledge the magnitude of the task and pull in the full authority of the international community. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>NATO can do much more than just supply troops. We need to acknowledge that, yes, we do nation-building." </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>(...)<br><br>At any rate, the stratagem aimed at exploiting the Afghan problem to seize geopolitical advantages was not so apparent at the beginning. But it didn't take long before it became clear that the US agenda was to exploit the "war on terror" for establishing a client state in Afghanistan, and for gaining a sought-after military presence in Central Asia. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>And in the event, the US military presence incrementally paved the way for creating a base for NATO in the region. </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>(...)<br><br>While abdicating from power in Kabul in early 2002, Rabbani said he hoped that it was the last time the proud Afghan people would be bullied by foreigners. Anyone familiar with Afghan ethos and character could foresee at that juncture that Karzai would find it next to impossible to consolidate his grip on power, let alone establish his authority over the entire country. Indeed, that is exactly what has happened over the past five years. <br><br>(...)<br><br>What lies ahead is, therefore, becoming extremely difficult to predict.<br><br>(...)<br><br>Karzai's inability to do anything about the coalition forces' arbitrary behavior is only adding to his image of a weak leader and is deepening his overall loss of authority in the perceptions of the Afghan people, apart from strengthening the raison d'etre of the Afghan resistance. <br><br>(...)<br><br>it is a matter of time, if the threshold of the Taliban resurgence goes unchecked, before the non-Pashtun groups in the eastern, northern and western regions also begin to organize themselves. There are disturbing signs pointing in this direction already. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>If that were to happen, NATO forces might well find themselves in the unenviable situation of getting caught in the crossfire between various warring ethnic groups. </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>(...)<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Fourth, at a certain point it becomes unavoidable that regional powers will get drawn into the strife. The fact remains that all Afghan ethnic groups enjoy a contiguous presence across the borders in neighboring countries. There is considerable misgiving among regional powers already over Washington's hidden long-term agenda to bring Afghanistan, which has been historically a neutral country, under the NATO flag. </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>(...)<br><br>Without doubt, in the perceptions of regional powers, NATO's defeat in Afghanistan can only mean the scattering of the US blueprint of domination of Central Asia, South Asia and the Persian Gulf.<br><br>Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, stated in testimony at the House International Relations Committee of the US Congress in Washington last week: "Foreign pressures are making Afghanistan the turf for proxy wars. The country is being destabilized by an inflow of insurgents and weapons and money and intelligence. There is collusion from neighboring countries, and this is a problem in itself." <br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HI30Df01.html">www.atimes.com/atimes/Sou...0Df01.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i></i>

[Gouda]

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr> <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>ISI under fire from all sides</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>....With that to the ISI's credit, Musharraf mounted a strong defence of his secret service in the face of a leaked report commissioned by Britain's Ministry of Defence, written by a consultant with a military intelligence background.<br><br>It said Pakistani agents were aiding the Taliban.<br><br>The British government distanced itself from the report saying the views were not its own -- though some British officers serving with NATO in Afghanistan have spoken of their belief insurgents are coming over from Pakistan.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"You will be brought down to your knees if Pakistan does not cooperate with you," Musharraf told the BBC on Saturday before leaving London for home on the last leg of a three-week trip.<br><br>"Remember my words, if ISI is not with you and Pakistan is not with you, you will lose in Afghanistan."</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>British perceptions weren't helped by the adjournment of a terrorism trial in mid-September, when a defendant, Omar Khyam, refused to answer questions from his lawyer, claiming the ISI had visited his family in Pakistan and he feared for their safety.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-10-01T143041Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-270159-2.xml&archived=False">in.today.reuters.com/news...ived=False</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i></i>

[Iroquois]

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>I tried to post this earlier, but my ISP is dying and had to start a new account with someone else. Since then, sunny has started a separate thread on the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group announcement. I don't know which method is more efficient, different points of data in separate threads or many loosely connected points in the same thread, since they all pretty much will buried in this infernal ezBlog code in a few weeks anyway.</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Pakistanis plotted 11/7 blasts, claim Mumbai Police<br></strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>Debasish Panigrahi<br><br>Mumbai, September 30, 2006<br><br>An analysis of cellphone calls made by a phone-booth operator in Bihar’s Madhubani district to key commanders of the terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyeba in Kathmandu started the investigations, which culminated in an announcement on Saturday that the 11/7 bombings had been solved.<br><br>“It was a blinder in the beginning,” said Mumbai Police Commissioner AN Roy. “The technical clues showed us the way to solve one of the trickiest cases in present history.”<br><br>Flanked by Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief KP Raghuvanshi and Director General of Police (DGP) PS Pasricha, Roy told a packed press conference that the serial bombings, which claimed 194 lives, was planned by the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and executed through the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba’s (LeT) Pakistani and Indian operatives, helped by the now-defunct Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).<br><br>“We have enough evidence of the ISI’s involvement in the terrorist attack,” Roy said. “The entire plan was conceived by the ISI and given shape by the LeT and SIMI.” The commissioner said there was “a diabolical plan” to destabilise the country’s economy and spark communal riots.<br><br>Roy’s statements brought angry denials from Pakistan and the commissioner was later involved in a televised feud with Tariq Azim Khan, Pakistan minister of state for information on the BBC.<br><br>“We are still studying the Indian statement. Needless to say this is once again a baseless allegation — yet another attempt by India to malign Pakistan,” said Khan. “Both the president and the prime minister condemned this terrorist attack on the train ... but India also must look at home for this growing insurgency.”<br><br>A source in the Anti Terrorism Squad, on condition on anonymity, revealed on Saturday that the Intelligence Bureau had started tapping the telephones of some key Lashkar operatives, including absconding LeT India commander Azam Cheema after the blasts.<br><br>That's when they came across a number of calls made from Navi Mumbai to Kathmandu, where many Lashkar operatives were believed to be.<br><br>In one such conversation, the source said, Ansari was heard telling his Lashkar handlers that he needed money for those who had "done the work". Later, Ansari was arrested from his residence at Madhubhani in Bihar on July 19. After that breakthrough, there was no looking back.<br><br>Roy said there was no evidence of an Al-Qaeda role in the blasts. He also said the police had not found any link yet between 11/7 and the bombings in the town of Malegaon on September 8.<br><br>According to Roy, 11 of those involved were Pakistanis. He said of the 15 arrested thus far, 12 had a "direct role". All are Indians. A hunt is on for three more.<br><br>One of the Pakistanis involved, Saleem, from Lahore, was killed in the blast between Khar and Bandra stations. Another Pakistani suspected to be part of the conspiracy was killed in a police encounter at Antop Hill last month. The other nine Pakistanis are suspected to have escaped the country.<br><br>Roy applauded the efforts of the investigators, who he said had to "start from scratch". He said: "In almost all the major serial blasts around the world, the Mumbai serial blasts of 1993, Madrid, Spain and London tube bombings, there always remained behind unexploded bombs, which gave major pointers but in the 11/7 case, we had no such luck."<br><br>Relying heavily on scientific procedures, like RDX swabs from the residences of those arrested to narco-analysis tests, the pieces fell in place, he said. RDX was mixed with ammonium nitrate and the bombs, packed into eight pressure cookers, were primed with quartz timers. One of the cookers is still missing, said Roy.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>This article and more Hindustan Times coverage on the 7/11 attacks in Mumbai can be found here: <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/611_0,001302390000.htm">www.hindustantimes.com/ne...390000.htm</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>Meanwhile, another pot is starting to simmer to the west in Georgia...<br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/611_0,001302390000.htm">www.hindustantimes.com/ne...390000.htm</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>Of course, announcements that the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and the Boxer Marine Expeditionary Strike Group (see: <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2136033.php)">www.navytimes.com/story.p...36033.php)</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> are headed to the region may really be what's raising the temperature. <p></p><i></i>

[Gouda]

Anyone else going to make a deal with the taliban before the kaka hits the fan?<br><br>***<br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>British troops in secret truce with the Taliban</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>BRITISH troops battling the Taliban are to withdraw from one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan after agreeing a secret deal with the local people.<br><br>(...)<br><br>The deal — and the avoidance of the word ceasefire — allows both sides to disengage without losing face, an important aspect in the Afghan psyche. Polls suggest that 70% of the population are waiting to see whether Nato or the Taliban emerge as the dominant force before they decide which to back.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesonline.co.uk%2Fnewspaper%2F0%2C%2C176-2383232%2C00.html">RawStory link to the rather idiotic but useful Times Online article</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br>***<br><br>“Losing face” indeed. Yeah, Afghan psyche. <br><br>So much for that secret. First World militaries really need to improve their secret-keeping skills, I tell ya. <p></p><i></i>

[Gouda]

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Afghans may back Taliban, general warns</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061009/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan">news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061...fghanistan</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>KABUL, Afghanistan - NATO's top commander in Afghanistan warned on Sunday that a majority of Afghans would likely switch their allegiance to resurgent Taliban militants if their lives show no visible improvements in the next six months.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Nato's top brass accuse Pakistan over Taliban aid</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fmain.jhtml%3Fxml%3D%2Fnews%2F2006%2F10%2F06%2Fwafghan06.xml">Raw Link to Telegraph.UK article</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Nato's report on Operation Medusa, an intense battle that lasted from September 4-17 in the Panjwai district, demonstrates the extent of the Taliban's military capability and states clearly that Pakistan's Interservices Intelligence (ISI) is involved in supplying it.<br><br>Commanders from Britain, the US, Denmark, Canada and Holland are frustrated that even after Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf met George W Bush and Tony Blair last week, Western leaders are declining to call Mr Musharraf's bluff.<br><br>(...)<br><br>The cushion Pakistan is providing the Taliban is undermining the operation in Afghanistan, where 31,000 Nato troops are now based.<br><br>(...)<br><br>Gen Musharraf this week admitted that <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>"retired" ISI officers</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> might be involved in aiding the Taliban, the closest he has come to admitting the agency's role.<br><hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> Ah, so Pakistan also has a problem with those "retired" agents. Perhaps the multi-state "formers" and "retireds" and "gone into private business" perps have formed their own class. <p></p><i></i>

[Byrne]

Look at this article, published by the (UK) Royal College for Defense Studies (MoD) in <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>August 2001</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Afghanistan and the "New Great Game"</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>COMMODORE NOMAN BASHIR<br><br>SUMMARY<br><br>After the withdrawal of Red Army from Afghanistan, the country imploded as a result of intense conflict between rival Mujahideen factions. Regional and extra regional interests actively abetted this slide into anarchy and chaos for their own vested interests.<br><br>While Taliban were able to re-unify the country and bring some degree of order by demobilization of the militias, their policies have generally been regarded as medieval based on tribal traditions. The international community has sought to isolate Afghanistan and regards Taliban as posing a threat of Islamic extremism. However, a closer analysis reveals that Taliban are inward rather than outward looking. They have also signalled readiness to engage constructively with the international community.<br><br>The <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>emergence of resource rich</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> newly independent states in <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Central Asia and Caspian region</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> evoked a simultaneous interest from amongst regional and <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>extra-regional countries</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> to compete for the resources. The competition has focussed primarily on providing routes for outflow of the hydrocarbons from these landlocked states. Additionally, <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>the area considered as heartland of Eurasia is strategically significant to the states aspiring for regional and global primacy</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->.<br><br>The geo-politics dictated by geo-economics in Central Asia and Caspian region as well as the internal turmoil consequent to the jihad against the Soviet invasion has impacted severely on Afghanistan. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Keeping Afghanistan broken and destabilized suits those who do not want the Caspian/Central Asian oil and gas pipelines to take one of the shortest and economical outlets over Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Arabian Sea</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->. The current situation in Afghanistan is thus dependent as much on external factors, which have fuelled the ongoing strife. The efforts for stabilisation of Afghanistan and restoration of peace cannot succeed in isolation. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>A sustained and institutionalised process of addressing concerns about terrorism or fundamentalism may produce positive results.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> Similarly, a more cooperative endeavour to stabilize the Eurasian heartland regions <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>could bring handsome dividends to all regional and extra regional interests</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->.<br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20020624054845/www.mod.uk/rcds/bashir.htm">source</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Also see the article <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-177.html">Creating the Islamic Fundamentalist Threat </a><!--EZCODE LINK END-->, published in 1992.<br><br>The Great Game indeed... <p></p><i></i>

[Byrne]

UK Troops in Afghanistan & Iraq are to receive a bonus........<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6036309.stm" target="top">Soldiers to get 'tax bill' bonus</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--></strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br> <p></p><i></i>

[Gouda]

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>"You will be brought down to your knees if Pakistan does not cooperate with you," Musharraf told the BBC on Saturday before leaving London for home on the last leg of a three-week trip.<br><br>"Remember my words, if ISI is not with you and Pakistan is not with you, you will lose in Afghanistan."<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-10-01T143041Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-270159-2.xml&archived=False">Reuters Link</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong> NATO chief asks Musharraf for help</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/10/10/nato.pakistan.ap/index.html">CNN Link</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> <p></p><i></i>

[Gouda]

Some updates. This proxy region is being set up big time. Drugs flowing, and all sides duly (over) armed. Things are looking great for spring.


1.) War on Drugs in Afghanistan Could Take 20 Years To Win [as planned - gouda]
A U.N. report suggested that some officials in the country have been so corrupted that the opium trade would not be stamped out for a generation

The report in particular presented a strong indictment of the Interior Ministry, which runs the country's police, and said Afghanistan's criminal underworld could not operate without the support of the political "upperworld."

2.) US elevates Pakistan to regional kingpin
By M K Bhadrakumar
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IA27Df02.html

There is a deliberate US attempt to play down the gravity of the Afghan crisis - and Pakistan's role in it. Yet The Economist magazine wrote, "Insurgents allied to the Taliban are believed to be planning a big offensive...

A sense of alarm over the Taliban's resurgence is apparent in regional capitals, especially Moscow, Tehran and New Delhi. Top leaders of the erstwhile Northern Alliance (which spearheaded the anti-Taliban resistance) visited Tehran in recent weeks and held consultations with Iranian officials.

Russia of course knows the advantages of making sure one is "involved" in "conflict resolution." Yes, arming poor factions has always been a great way to peace.

However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said in Moscow on Wednesday, "Taking into consideration the continued escalation of tension in Afghanistan, we intend to continue to provide assistance to that country, including in the military field. [This will be done] primarily to help the Afghan Army to improve its combat preparedness and equipment and ensure its ability to protect the state's interests on its own."

Finally,

At the same time, emerging ties with Pakistan will enable NATO to begin to reduce its dependence on Russian airspace (and Russian goodwill) for ferrying supplies for troops in Afghanistan. Not only that: at a time when Israel's formal admission to NATO is under active discussion, NATO will have already established a foothold on the Persian Gulf region's eastern periphery. Most important, the configuration works to the great advantage of the US in the event of an outbreak of military hostilities against Iran, which borders Pakistan.

3) Pakistan gets their goodies.

Lockheed gets $144 million deal for Pakistan F-16s
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061205/bs_ ... fighter_dc

Update: United States and Pakistan Break F-16 Stalemate, Finalizing $5 Billion Sale
http://www.cdi.org/program/document.cfm ... =index.cfm


4.) And the first installments of the massive weapons cache (broadcasted upthread) have been made to the so-called Afghan national army (AP declines to report on the origins of the sale) :

U.S. hands major weapons supplies to Afghan army
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070201/ts_ ... weapons_dc

KABUL (Reuters) - The Unites States handed over thousands of weapons and hundreds of vehicles to Afghanistan's fledgling national army on Thursday as part of its strategy to boost local security forces in the fight against the Taliban...

Karzai described the package as "part of the tip of the iceberg" of the long-term U.S. commitment to Afghanistan...

Ahead of what U.S. and Afghan commanders warn will be a bloody spring offensive by the Taliban within months, Washington also doubled its ground combat troops by extending the tour of duty for some of its troops here by four months.

The moves come as the United States prepares to take over the 33,000-strong NATO-led force here from the British on Sunday and after the bloodiest year since the Taliban were ousted in 2001.

[Gouda]

And yet another market has been opened:

Starving Afghans sell girls of eight as brides [or worse – Gouda]
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/st ... 96,00.html

[Gouda]

Another deal. And more American weapons easily making their rounds.

***

Pakistan makes a deal with the Taliban
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IC01Df03.html

KARACHI - The Pakistani establishment has made a deal with the Taliban through a leading Taliban commander that will extend Islamabad's influence into southwestern Afghanistan and significantly strengthen the resistance in its push to capture Kabul.

(…)

The deal with Mullah Dadullah will serve Pakistan's interests in re- establishing a strong foothold in Afghanistan (the government in Kabul leans much more toward India), and it has resulted in a cooling of the Taliban's relations with al-Qaeda…Al-Qaeda will have nothing to do with the Islamabad government, though, so the Taliban had to go it alone.

(…)

What the Taliban desperately needed were sensors for their missiles. These detect aircraft emissions designed to misdirect the missiles.

And it so happened that Pakistan had such devices, having acquired them from the Americans, though indirectly. The Pakistanis retrieved them from unexploded cruise missiles fired into Afghanistan in 1998, targeting bin Laden. They copied and adapted them to fit other missiles, including the SAMs.

Now that the Taliban and Pakistan have a deal, these missiles will be made available to the Taliban. Much like the Stingers that changed the dynamics of the Afghan resistance against the Soviets, the SAMs could help turn things Mullah Dadullah's, the Taliban's and Pakistan's way.

[Gouda]

I'm dizzy.

Let's try to summarize the reported deals and threats here:

* Pakistan/ISI makes a deal with the Taliban
* Afghans make deals with the Taliban
* The US makes (arms and other) deals with Pakistan/ISI
* The US makes (arms and other) deals with Kabul
* NATO scolds Pakistan/ISI for making deals with the Taliban
* NATO seeks Pakistan/ISI's help against the Taliban
* The Brits (NATO) secretly make a deal with the Taliban.
* Pakistan/ISI warns everyone to cooperate with them regarding the Taliban.

[Gouda]

U.S. Pays Pakistan to Fight Terror, but Patrols Ebb
NYT Link

WASHINGTON, May 19 — The United States is continuing to make large payments of roughly $1 billion a year to Pakistan for what it calls reimbursements to the country’s military for conducting counterterrorism efforts along the border with Afghanistan, even though Pakistan’s president decided eight months ago to slash patrols through the area where Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters are most active.

The monthly payments, called coalition support funds, are not widely advertised. Buried in public budget numbers, the payments are intended to reimburse Pakistan’s military for the cost of the operations. So far, Pakistan has received more than $5.6 billion under the program over five years, more than half of the total aid the United States has sent to the country since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, not counting covert funds.

(...)

The Pentagon, in response to inquiries, said Friday that the payments to Pakistan since October 2001, when the war in Afghanistan began, had averaged $80 million a month. The Congressional Research Service estimated last year that they accounted for about a fifth of Pakistan’s total military expenditures.

(...)

“They send us a bill, and we just pay it,” said a senior military official who has dealt extensively with General Musharraf. “Nobody can really explain what we are getting for this money or even where it’s going.”

(...)

A study of the roughly $10 billion sent to Pakistan by the United States since 2002, conducted by Craig Cohen and Derek Chollet of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, found that $5.6 billion in reimbursements was in addition to $1.8 billion for security assistance, which mostly finances large weapons systems.

[Gouda]

Pakistan and the Re-booting of al Qaeda. Pair this information, posted just above:

U.S. Pays Pakistan to Fight Terror, but Patrols Ebb
NYT Link

The United States is continuing to make large payments of roughly $1 billion a year to Pakistan for what it calls reimbursements to the country’s military for conducting counterterrorism efforts along the border with Afghanistan, even though Pakistan’s president decided eight months ago to slash patrols through the area where Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters are most active.

The monthly payments, called coalition support funds, are not widely advertised. Buried in public budget numbers, the payments are intended to reimburse Pakistan’s military for the cost of the operations. So far, Pakistan has received more than $5.6 billion under the program over five years, more than half of the total aid the United States has sent to the country since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, not counting covert funds.

...with the following reported development, which comes as little surprise:

The Return of Al Qaeda - A new National Intelligence Estimate raises concerns that the terrorist group is growing stronger.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19717961/si ... ek/page/0/

July 11, 2007 - A new National Intelligence Estimate presents a sobering analysis of terrorism threats to the United States, concluding that Al Qaeda has reconstituted its core structure along the Pakistani border and may now be a stronger and more resilient organization today than it appeared a year ago (...)

The signs that Al Qaeda leaders have regrouped and reconstituted themselves have been evident in increased intelligence reporting about plots against U.S. interests emanating from the Pakistani border, along with what one official called an unsually “robust” Al Qaeda public-affairs campaign.

The primary development that has allowed all this to happen, U.S. officials say, was the peace agreement signed last year between the Pakistani government of President Pervez Musharraf and pro-Taliban tribal leaders in the remote region of North Waziristan. The withdrawal of Pakistani troops under that agreement gave Al Qaeda leaders new freedom to operate with relative impunity, officials said. "Clearly, they are resurgent,” said one senior U.S. intelligence official about Al Qaeda.

Have US funds, overt and covert, to Pakistan's "counterterrorism" efforts along the border, combined with an array of cooperation agreements and pullouts (arm and ignore a/o fund and monitor) rebooted al qaeda?