AF-PAK: Arresting Taliban to Cover America’s Ass

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AF-PAK: Arresting Taliban to Cover America’s Ass

March 13th, 2010

Muslim Khan, [one of Pakistan’s most wanted] arrested by Pakistani security forces. Muslim Khan was chief spokesman for the TTP in Swat. He was the first one in the series in which many others Taliban leaders including those from Afghanistan [ fighting against NATO & ISAF forces in Afghanistan] have been arrested by Pakistan.

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Peter Chamberlin

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The multitude of theories on the reasons for the arrests are divided between cooperation and confrontation theories, either it is explained by mutual interests or by rivalries. In my opinion, it is both.

Researchers and analysts are banging their heads against many walls, searching for meaning in reports of multiple arrests of Taliban, by the Pakistani government.

Speculation is running rampant, that Pakistan has finally “seen the light,” that it represents a “split” within the Taliban, or that Pakistan has arrested Taliban who have been negotiating with Brits or Americans. In my opinion, the arrests began as a clean-up operation to remove links to the intelligence being revealed in British courts, but it turned into a tit-for-tat series of paybacks between the ISI and the CIA.

Left: Former Guantanomo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed said, he was tortured in US custody following his arrest in Pakistan. British court has now ordered the government to disclose classified information about how he was tortured while in US custody.

The true meaning of the arrests can be ascertained from the timing of the events. It may have been primarily an American/Pakistani operation to isolate Taliban leaders who had either negotiated with the British, or had been held at Guantanamo. British courts had taken up the case of Binyam Mohamed and American officials publicly stated that disclosing classified information about US abuse of this detainee would damage intelligence cooperation between the agencies of the two nations.

The first arrest, of Taliban number two, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, was on, or about Feb. 7. Multiple news reports have tied Baradar to ongoing negotiations to identify and isolate “reconcilable” Taliban. These attempts at negotiating have all come from the British or Afghan sides, with the US supposedly prepared to take advantage of any breakthroughs.

On February 10, 2010:

“A British court has ordered the government to disclose classified information about the treatment of a former Guantanamo Bay…It was released after judges at an appeals court on Wednesday rejected the UK government’s claim that disclosing the information would damage intelligence co-operation with US agencies.”

In the days that followed, the western media was abuzz with more reports that Pakistanhad made multiple “arrests” of the Taliban’s leadership. It is impossible to know how many of these names obtained from the Western media are correct, but some of them had also been tied to the British negotiations, while at least two of them were former inmates of Guantanamo.

Mullah Abdul Raouf. GUANTANAMO Taliban military chief for northern Afghanistan

Mullah Abdul Qayoum Zakir GUANTANAMO around 2006, then transferred toAfghanistan government custody in late 2007, eventually released around May 2008. American officials won’t say why he was let go and have not released a photograph of him.

Mullah Abdul Salam is unidentifiable, at this point, whether he is the governor of Kunduz, or the former Taliban who was involved with British diplomat Michael Semple and EU diplomat Mervyn Patterson, or still other candidates, such as former inmate of Guantanamo Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, or Mullah Abdul Salaam Rocketi.

Mullah Muhammad Hassan

Mullah Muhammad Younis. who is also known as Akhunzada Popalzai

Mullah Ahmed Jan Akhunzada (could be Akhunzada Popalzai)

Maulavi Abdul Kabir, aka Mullah Abdul Kahir Osmani

Mohtasim Agha Jan, son-in-law of Mullah Omer

Do the arrests mean that Pakistan has embraced the American mission in the war on terror?

The following timetable relates the arrests to the rest of the unfolding understory.

1/28- London conference

2/2-4- India/Iran development conference, topic opening Afghan route

2/8- Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar

2/13- Operation Moshtarak offensive begins

2/17- Mullah Abdul Salam

2/18- Car-bomb targeting Mangal Bagh mosque, blamed on Berelvi “Ansar al-Islam”

2/18- Mohammed Haqqani killed in Predator attack

2/20- Two Sipah e-Sahaba militants killed Faisalabad

2/20- Pak Army adds 26 posts to border, Balochistan

2/23- Rigi arrested

2/23- Pak announces new naval base near Gwadar

2/24- Qari Zafar killed in Predator attack

2/25- India/Pakistan talks

2/26- Kabul bomb targets Indian doctors

2/26- Khalid Khwaja petitions Lahore High Court to block deportation of Taliban.

2/27- Intra-Sunni battles Faisalabad (revival of Sipah e-Sahaba attacks on Berelvis)

2/27- Hafiz Saeed, “India will have to fight if it will not talk.” Silence on Taliban arrests.

If you look at the timetable to understand whether or Pakistan and the US are on the same page you see some clear evidence of a joint US/Pakistan mission to eliminate the Taliban leadership, but more than that, you see specific acts of resistance on Pakistan’s part.

“India will have to fight if it will not talk”, says Hafiz Saeed, the head of the Jamat-ud-D’awa [JuD], Pakistan. On Taliban arrests, however, he remained silent.

There is one inescapable reality–the Pakistani Army will never truly turn on the Taliban, who represent their last line of defense, as well as their first option, in any contest with India.

The historical relationship between the military and the militants has been one where the government has used sectarian terror groups (and even created them) to keep the tribes, sects and political groups in line. Keep these things in mind, as you consider the events.

In addition to the arrests, the timetable details American predator strikes which have eliminated some of the Army’s protected militants, in particular, Mohammed Haqqani and Qari Zafar. In between those two American assassinations, you have the arrest of American asset against Iran, Abdolmalek Rigi, thanks to Pakistan’s ISI.

Between the Haqqani hit and the Rigi arrest, Pakistan set-up 26 border posts to block US hot pursuit into Balochistan. Long dormant Sipah e-Sahaba started anti-Berelvi rioting in Faisalabad. After the Rigi arrest, Pakistan announced plans for a new naval base near the Chinese-constructed port at Gawadar.

After the Predator killed Qari, the India/Pakistan talks started and quickly ended, followed by the bombing of the Indians living in Kabul. This was followed by Khalid Khwaja (of Daniel Pearl fame) interceding at the Lahore High Court to block extradition of the Taliban.

But this does not leave us with a clear-cut case of Pakistan blocking American moves and supporting militants for political terrorism, but a record that speaks of both the United States and Pakistan together using militant Islamists and gangs for terrorism.

The Rigi case was a concrete example of the US supporting groups who are committing terror attacks, just like the case of Pakistan and the Taliban. Pakistan handing him to Iran is a clear sign of resistance to American plans, but it should probably be understood as retribution for the killing of Mohammed Haqqani.

But in spite of all this, there have been new signs since all of this has transpired that points to a new direction for the CIA/ISI partnership that leads where all parties have always wanted to go—central Asia.

There is one inescapable reality–the Pakistani Army will never truly turn on the Taliban, who represent their last line of defense, as well as their first option, in any contest with India.

A new war drama has emerged in Baghlan province, the former domain of “shadow” governor, Mulla Mir Mohammad; there, the forces of ISI friend Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (former CIA friend) have attacked the local Taliban who are hosting IMU terrorists (Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan).

This marks a new direction for a joint CIA/ISI mission. Together, Pakistan and the US will back Hekmatyar as the northern front is expanded (with the “discovery” of many new Uzbek militants) and moves to secure the new supply line.

Today’s news reports that Hekmatyar’s forces have surrendered to the Karzai (Northern Alliance) government. This opens the door to Pakistani-backed militants becoming part of the “reconciliation” program. This will allow the US to buy its way out of Afghanistan in such a way as to set-up the movement of US forces northward toward the hydrocarbon deposits of Central Asia.

Until this new level of cooperation was brought together, Pakistan and the US have been on a collision course over disagreements on the mission of the terror war, which began in the confrontations between Bush and Musharraf over the war in Waziristan.

That period was marked by US and British efforts to penetrate the veil of secrecy that shrouded South Waziristan, as well as the North. One of the most effective of these intrusions was by the British through their agent Michael Semple and his efforts to find “reconcilables” and convert them to an anti-Taliban mission.

The Semple mission through Mansoor Dadullah penetrated the S. Waziristan cloak of secrecy, where it uncovered another covert mission, a joint American/Israeli/Indian mission, known as the “Pakistani Taliban” (TTP), run by Mansoor’s big brother (Mullah Dadullah). Upon this discovery, the British mission was exposed and shut down by the American government (SEE: Dissecting the Anti-Pakistan Psyop).

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