Is Afghanistan a Narco-State?

POPPY FIELDS FOREVER A crop in Helmand Province in 2006. An unlikely coalition of corrupt Afghan officials, timorous Europeans, blinkered Pentagon officers and the Taliban has made poppy cultivation stubbornly resistant to eradication.

By THOMAS SCHWEICH

Published: July 27, 2008

On March 1, 2006, I met Hamid Karzai for the first time. It was a clear, crisp day in Kabul. The Afghan president joined President and Mrs. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Ambassador Ronald Neumann to dedicate the new United States Embassy. He thanked the American people for all they had done for Afghanistan. I was a senior counternarcotics official recently arrived in a country that supplied 90 percent of the world’s heroin. I took to heart Karzai’s strong statements against the Afghan drug trade. That was my first mistake.

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From the New York Times

July 30, 2008

By MARK MAZZETTI and ERIC SCHMITT

WASHINGTON — A top Central Intelligence Agency official traveled secretly to Islamabad this month to confront Pakistan’s most senior officials with new information about ties between the country’s powerful spy service and militants operating in Pakistan’s tribal areas, according to American military and intelligence officials.

The C.I.A. emissary presented evidence showing that members of the spy service had deepened their ties with some militant groups that were responsible for a surge of violence in Afghanistan, possibly including the suicide bombing this month of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, the officials said. Read more »

Comment by Yousuf Nazar 

First it was the matter of postponement of the by-elections. Rehman Malik thought he could pull a fast one and make an excuse about the law and order situation but the ANP NWFP government spilled the beans. Then came the constitutional package which was a non-starter but showed how quickly Asif Zardari was losing the plot. It had no hope of getting through but all it did was to damage his credibility after that ‘infamous’ statement that the Murree declaration was a political statement implying political statements are lies and should not be taken at their face value.

Now after spending weeks in Dubai, he came back and held long meetings with the Prime Minister and one meeting with his senior party members. The outcome was a fiasco in the shape of a crude and immature attempt to rein in the no less infamous ISI by placing it under the control of Rehman Malik. His former bosses tell me that he is a mediocre and corrupt fixer who has come this far only because he can do anything to please his master or madam. It is a tragedy that people like  Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Aitzaz Ahsan,  Raza Rabbani can take this situation and let the party sink. They should demand his resignation. Or they too fear the CIA who planted Rehman Malik in the first instance and who has the full blessings and support of AZ who has focused on nothing but his cases and accounts.

But the writing on the wall is clear. If the old PPP guard does not move and rid the party of Mr. Zardari and Rehman Malik, they might as well write their political obituary because at this rate, there may not be any government, forget independent judiciary, within a matter of few months. Even if what has been presented as her will is taken at its face value, Benazir Bhutto Shaheed requested the party to let Mr. Zardari lead ‘in the interim’ till they elect a new leader. The best way would be to hold a convention of the party and invite all members of central, provincial, and local organisations, members of national and provincial assemblies, and senators to discuss party’s future and elect new officer bearers including a new Chairperson, vice chairmen, and general serectary. Ms. Bhutto was an undisputed leader of the party but the situation has changed now. The old guard, for their own survival and political future, must come forward and save the party from being destroyed by Mr. Zardari and Rehman Malik or face political extinction.

An Indian view

By B.RAMAN, former Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of India

In a recent article ( June 25,2008), the “Dawn” of Karachi described Pakistan as a bus full of drivers “with no one really at the steering and the bus lurching from one side to the other.”

2. No driver has the courage and the confidence to take the steering in an attempt to bring the bus under control and no driver is prepared to let any other driver do so. It is a bus full of drivers, but with none driving.

3. On paper, Pervez Musharraf is still a powerful ruler. He is the President of the country, with unimpaired powers to dismiss the elected Prime Minister and the National Assembly. He is the Chairman of the National Security Council (NSC), which has the power to take decisions in all matters relating to national security. He is the Supreme Commander of the Armed forces, who has to approve all senior promotions and postings in the Armed Forces and whose orders on national security matters, including in matters relating to Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, have to be carried out by the Armed Forces. Read more »

Bilawal House security chief gunned down in Karachi

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 By Salis bin Perwaiz KARACHI: Gunmen killed the security incharge of the Bilawal House, Khalid Shahanshah, outside his residence in the upmarket Defence neighbourhood here on Tuesday.Mazhar, a friend of Shahanshah who was with him at the time of the incident, said they had just returned from the Bilawal House and were waiting outside the house at Khayaban-e-Bukhari for its gate to open when some unidentified gunmen showered Shahanshah with bullets. Mazhar was standing near the gate while the deceased was in the vehicle.The attackers escaped in a white car (GS-3909). Khalid received multiple bullet wounds and was shifted to the Ziauddin Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Soon after the incident, a large police contingent, led by DIG (South) Iqbal Mehmud, reached the spot and started investigation.

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The murder of Khalid Shahenshah, a key witness in Benazir Bhutto’s murder case, has been blamed rather quickly on the ‘terrorists’ by Sind Home Minister. But Khalid had a controversial background which included a record of criminal cases, working as an activist of People’s Students Federation in the 1980s, an alleged member of Dawood Ibrahim’s gang later, and most recently as one of the body guards of Benazir Bhutto. He was considered a diehard member of the Karachi PPP during the 1980s.  Shahenshah’s group was a source of inspiration among pro-PPP students throughout the 1980s because Karachi’s urban areas were under the influence of either religio-political parties or the MQM. “He experienced the worst days of his life when he was put behind bars during the rule of Martial Law dictator General Zia ul Haq,” recalled Waqar Mehdi, special assistant to the Chief Minister of Sindh. Shahenshah had contested Elections 2002 from NA-246 and while the MQM’s candidate defeated him, Shahenshah was appreciated for standing from the home constituency of none other than MQM Chief Altaf Hussain. After the electoral contest, he was relatively less active in the PPP for quite some time. He was also accused of having connections with the underworld. 

He was sitting in the back seat of Benazir’s car when she was hit by bullets and bomb blasts and was a key witness in her murder case. He was also interviewed by the Scotland yard.  His most controversial part was his antics on the stage where BB addressed her last public meeting. See the following video:

After BB’s murder, the above video was run by many channels including DAWN News and Rehman Malik denied Khalid Shahenshah’s or his responsibility in BB’s secuirty lapses. (See Daily Times of Jan. 06, 2008)

According to the Post of Januray 4, 2008:

PPP sources have reported that the moment Benazir ended her address, this (servant) man was the first one to dive into her bullet proof Land Cruiser; an unusual change from past routine whilst he always boarded the vehicle after Benazir, often hanging by the external pedestals of her Cruiser, as was evident in videos.

One other household servant and Dr Safdar Abbassi got seated in the rear portion of the Cruiser, and when the suicide bomber blew himself apart, Khalid was also present in the Cruiser. Afterwards he (Khalid) went over to the Zardari House, Islamabad where he lived for two days, and did not visit Naudero despite Benazir’s death, making it there on third day. When informed about the video of his antics he promptly disappeared from the scene, over the excuse of his mother’s death.

Khalid’s name figured in Asia Times reports of July 16, 2003 and  October 22, 2003 as a gang member linked to the famous underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. The News in its June 18, 2006 issue published a report speculating Dawood may have moved to Waziristan.

The Newsline in its September 2001 issue had reported:

Meanwhile, not only have the Pakistani authorities turned a blind eye to the gang’s activities within Pakistan, but many in the corridors of power have partaken of Dawood’s hospitality.  Dawood often throws lavish mujras for Pakistani politicians and bureaucrats.  A recent guest was a former caretaker Prime Minister.

            These are not the only members of the establishment who have close ties with Dawood.  He is said to have the protection of assorted intelligence agencies.  In fact, Dawood and his men move around the city guarded by heavy escorts of armed men in civvies believed to be personnel of a top Pakistani security agency.

 

New York Times 

July 20, 2008

By JEFF ZELENY

WASHINGTON – Senator Barack Obama arrived in Afghanistan early Saturday morning, opening his first overseas trip as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, to meet with American commanders there and later in Iraq to receive an on-the-ground assessment of military operations in the two major U.S. war zones.

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by Senator Barak Obama,  at Wilson Center Washington, D.C., July 15, 2008

Sixty-one years ago, George Marshall announced the plan that would come to bear his name. Much of Europe lay in ruins. The United States faced a powerful and ideological enemy intent on world domination. This menace was magnified by the recently discovered capability to destroy life on an unimaginable scale. The Soviet Union didn’t yet have an atomic bomb, but before long it would.

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Israel, the West, and a Nuclear Iran

From the Council of Foreign Relations

This article is being reproduced to show how far the anti Iran hysteria has gone in Washington

Updated: July 9, 2008

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits the Natanz Uranium Enrichment Facility in April. (AP/Iranian President’s Office)

After months of speculation about a U.S. military showdown with Iran over its disputed nuclear program, attention has turned to another state at odds with Tehran: Israel. Western media is abuzz with predictions of an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear installations. Former Bush administration official John Bolton went so far as to predict the timing (Telegraph)—during the U.S. presidential transition after November’s elections. Israeli military exercises over the Mediterranean have only added to the tension (NYT). As the Financial Times notes, while fear of a military answer to the Iranian nuclear question had once given way to hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough, that optimism has now been supplanted by ominous realities.

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CBS News July 11, 2008

Eleven people including nine Pakistani soldiers were injured during a U.S. air strike near Wana in the South Waziristan tribal area near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, local officials told CBS News.

A local tribal official told CBS News that U.S. jets carried out the assault in the Angoor Adda area Thursday night. Nine Pakistani troops and two civilians were injured while four vehicles had been destroyed in the air strike.

The injured were transported by helicopter to Banu hospital.

A Taliban spokesman said Thursday that if U.S. spy aircraft do not stop abusing Pakistani air space in tribal areas, the Taliban will respond inside Pakistan.

A local tribal elder told CBS News that missiles also hit Musa Neka and Baghar villages but there were no casualties there. He said U.S. spy planes and choppers regularly patrol the areas and such attacks are not a surprise.

A local tribal security officer said he was not sure if the strike was an air bombing or artillery shelling but it hit a check post over the Pakistan-Afghan border. He said nine Pakistani soldiers suffered heavy injuries.

Last month in a similar attack, dozens of Pakistani solders were killed and a U.S. defense minister later apologized for that attack.

COMMENT by Yousuf Nazar 

The following New York Times report indicates the growing risk that the Pakistan’s tribal areas would come under US air attacks. The Bush administration is under huge pressure to show progress given its debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan. While that is a reason cited for the recent build up of the US military activity, the US officials have been growingly uneasy in that the coalition partners have been advocating for negotiations with the militants. Lately however, the civilian government appears to have abdicated the responsibility of restoring peace in the North West to the Army. What is the problem then? Isn’t General Kiyani a friend and a professional soldier?

The Bush administration needs to demonstrate that it is going after “al-Qaeda” as the US moves nearer the presidential elections. However, these short term moves must be viewed in the broader and longer term context of the US policy and US-Pakistan Army relations. It may sound diabolical but it is intriguing that the recent military operations in the tribal areas have involved ‘dubious’ operations against what are generally considered friendly militant groups - that is - friendly with the intelligence agencies. Given the extremly close relationship of the Pentagon and these ‘agencies’, it is improbable that the US officials are not aware of the real nature of these ‘operations’. The question then is: what is the purpose behind the build up of the spectre of ‘Talibanization’ ? How real are the operations? Or the real purpose is to provide a justification for what has already been decided. We need to think why Abdullah Mehsud killed Chinese engineers and why did the mullahs of Lal Masjid targeted Chinese women for kidnapping? Pakistani Talibans seem to be the fodder Pakistani Army generals and the CIA are using to create conditions that would justify greater US military intervention in Pakistan’s northern areas. For those who would question this analysis, here is a BBC report dated September 18, 2001.

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By John Fraher and Shamim Adam

July 7 (Bloomberg) — Policy makers in emerging economies from Russia to Vietnam may have to start acting less like Ben S. Bernanke and more like Paul Volcker if they want to bring inflation under control.

With currencies tied to the U.S. dollar, officials in many developing countries have had to keep their monetary policies linked to the Federal Reserve’s. Now, after chairman Bernanke led the Fed’s most aggressive easing in two decades, their central banks find themselves with interest rates too low for their economies and the worst bout of inflation in a generation. Read more »

Note: The US media routinely mixes Talibans, al Qaeda and other militant groups.  The irony is that while several thousand Pakistanis have died in violence and terrorist attacks since 2001, there has not been even a single attack on the United States since 9/11 2001.

New York Times June 30, 2008

By MARK MAZZETTI and DAVID ROHDE

WASHINGTON — Late last year, top Bush administration officials decided to take a step they had long resisted. They drafted a secret plan to make it easier for the Pentagon’s Special Operations forces to launch missions into the snow-capped mountains of Pakistan to capture or kill top leaders of Al Qaeda.

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Editorial from the News International 

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

(please read army establishment for the government)

The report published in this newspaper that the military operation carried out in Bara is nothing but a piece of elaborate theatre is alarming. Read more »