continued from here
U.S. expanding the Afghan war into Pakistan - part 2
Saw this reported on the CBC a few minutes ago, found this link:
Pakistani officials: US missiles kill 54 in NW (North Waziristan)
It is unclear what prompted the Obama Administration's sudden interest in spreading its drone war into Kyber, far north from its usual targets in North and South Waziristan, nor is it immediately apparent why such moves were taken against the Laskar-e Islam, a group which has clashed with the Pakistani government but does not appear to be a major player in Afghanistan.
It may simply be a case of escalation for escalation's sake, as the Obama Administration struggles to claim some measure of progress in the nearly decade long occupation of Afghanistan and seems to be lashing out in odd directions in an effort to turn those claims into something at least vaguely credible.
http://news.antiwar.com/2010/12/17/pakistani-officials-us-drone-strikes-...
US Drone Strikes Kill 22 in N. Waziristan: Identities of 'Suspects' Unknown
http://news.antiwar.com/2010/12/27/us-drone-strikes-kill-22-in-north-waz...
"A pair of US drone strikes in the Mir Ali village of North Waziristan have left at least 22 people dead. Though the Pakistani government, as usual, was quick to declare every single person killed an 'alleged militant' also conceded that they had no idea who any of the people killed were..."
If I was someone living in North Waziristan, I would be hoping and praying that those living in the belligerent countries involved in this war of terror against Indigenous people on their own lands, would either get off their asses and try to stop this madness and murder, or that someone would launch similar retaliatory attacks against them for their cruel and studied indifference to the actions and war crimes of their governments and militaries.
Seems this isn't the first time Mir Ali village has been in the news. The Pakistani army fought a battle there with the Taliban in 2007 and has been in and out of there several times after that. Since they can't go in there without a fight I'm willing to bet they are the ones asking or tipping off the CIA to watch that area and that strike probably benefitted them, the Pakistani military, more than "the war on terror".
The Pakistanis are good at playing the two sides of the fence. It seems to me they are trying to control that region from the sky through drones by way of CIA proxy (whom are more than willing to cooperate). Most of those drones are the size of small private aircraft now and the Pakistani air force could easily clear the skies of those drones if they wanted to. But they don't and it's not just because they are "USA puppets". They benefit from those drones as much as the USA or NATO does, maybe even more; the drones give them plausible definability to attack their enemies they might have truces with.
Apparently these incursions into Pakistan don't even rate a [url=http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/richardnixoncambodia.html]"Good evening, my fellow Americans."[/url] address to the nation. Four decades ago the doctor and the madman waged an off the record bombing campaign over Cambodia. Supposedly they were worried Cambodia would become a staging country for NVA launching attacks on US military in Vietnam. And as it was with the anti-Vietnamese Khmer Rouge, the US and Canada have supported right wing factions which they themselves have created and-or catapulted from obscurity into prominence in Afghanistan and Pakistan at one time or another over the last 30 years.
Except that today, Pakistan is not a nation of seven million people as was Cambodia 40 years ago. Today, Pakistan is a country of 170 million people and capable of supplying enemy recruits and cannon fodder for purposes of feeding the US warfiteering agenda in Cenrtal Asia for many years to come.
And unlike desperately poor Cambodia of the 1970s, desperately poor, third world neoliberalizing [url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larisa-alexandrovna/sibel-edmonds-speaks_b... has nuclear weapons technology[/url] thanks to corrupt US officials says US patriot and whistleblower Sibel Edmonds.
Pakistan and Afghanistan won't fare any better than Cambodia and Vietnam after decades of US warfiteering and dirty war devastated those countries. Crimes against humanity and organized murder reign merrily today as it was during the doctor and madman's time in the sun. They are all the same war criminals just different faces and names embroiled in slightly different geostrategically significant regions of Asia. The anticommunist, anti-Asian US Military dictatorship has embroiled themselves in Asian affairs since 1917.
All Parties Demand End to Drone Attacks
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=2975&Cat=13
"Leaders of these parties said the government and authorities should sort out the matter in accordance with parliament's unanimous resolutions and take action against the extremists by itself wherever it is needed. 'It is because the US is fighting against the Taliban which are not an ideological group but their fight against Americans has been changed into a Pashtoon resistance. And this shows the US is fighting against a population which simply means that it is a never-ending-war. So the US is fully stuck in Afghanistan,' the PTI chief said.."
Obama's CIA War in Pakistan
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/73709.html
"The US does not acknowledge it is launching the attacks or making war in Pakistan, much less report the civilian casualties that it's inflicting. The war on terror is merely a cover story. These events are part of a broader strategy of the expansionist American empire."
US: No Way To Seal Afghan Border With Pakistan
http://news.antiwar.com/2010/12/28/us-no-way-to-seal-afghan-border-with-...
"the US has been demanding that the Pakistani military seal the exact same border virtually since the 2001 occupation began, and is only now conceding that even the much more powerful US military can't do what they'd been expecting Pakistan to do...It seems that the group with the closest thing to practical control over the border is the Taliban.."
For CIA Drone Warriors the Future is Death - by Pepe Escobar
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/LL23Df03.html
"a key feature of this 'enduring commitment' is that the Afghan army soldiers and cops NATO is training (supplemented by US private contractors of the Dyncorp/Blackwater mould) will need no less than US 6$ Billion a year, every year, till probably eternity...
And while we're at it, here's some breaking news, the 2011 Pentagon/NATO strategy for AfPak is already established. Wait for the Taliban spring/summer offensive to see where they're at. And then drone them to death. Call it Drone Eye for the Bad Guy.."
Taliban Ask Tribesmen Not to Join Security Forces
http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=ts&nid=1856
"It is a conspiracy to pit the people of North Waziristan against each other.."
Is Pakistan's 'Monkey Show' Coming Apart?
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/01/23/is-pakistan's-monkey-show-coming-apart/
"For too long now, the government of Pakistan - at its highest levels - has looked like a monkey show staged by the United States of America...How long is this monkey show going to go on? How long will Pakistanis stand for this humiliation? There are growing signs that the monkey show is coming apart. It appears that the top monkeys in the show are beginning to fear for their lives.."
not so for our Canadian monkeys - the show just goes on and on..
The Deepening Mystery of Raymond Davis
http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff02082011.html
"The mystery of American Raymond A Davis, currently imprisoned in the custody of local police in Lahore Pakistan and charged with the Jan.27 murder of two young men, whom he allegedly shot 8 times with pinpoint accuracy through his car windshield, is growing increasingly murky. Also growing is the anger among Pakistanis that the US is trying to spring him from a Punjab jail by claiming diplomatic immunity.."
US Warns to Cut Pakistan Aid Over Davis
http://www.presstv.com/detail/164343.html
"Reports say Davis was not a consulate official but an agent for the notorious US security firm Blackwater. 'We continue to make it clear to the government of Pakistan that our diplomat has diplomatic immunity and in our view was acting in self-defense and should be released,' State Department PJ Crowley said Monday."
When the Pakistani people finally get fed up with the current situation then the excrement will really start hitting the air conditioning.
Think Egypt times two. With nuclear weapons.
Societal fragmentation runs quite deep in Pakistan, however, the growing rage from US crimes against the population may very well serve as a uniting catalyst for some wonderfully spectacular event.
Societal fragmentation runs quite deep in Pakistan, however, the growing rage from US crimes against the population may very well serve as a uniting catalyst for some wonderfully spectacular event.
We need to get our troops the hell out of there.
US Official Raymond Davis on Lahore Murder Charges
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12305049
"Lahore's police chief Aslam Tareen told the BBC Mr Davis was employed on 'security details' in the consulate. He did not have diplomatic immunity and was not one of the foreign security personnel allowed to carry firearms, according to the Pakistani authorities"
Did Ray Davis Shoot Two Pakistani Spies
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/ray-davis-shooting-pakistan/story?id=12869...
"Pakistani officials claim American killed men working for ISI.."
US Consulate Employee Kills Two in Pakistan: What We Know
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2011/0131/US-consulate...
"Pakistani outrage can be understood by 'reversing' the situation says Haider. 'Let's assume a Pakistani diplomat was carrying an illegal firearm in Manhattan and shoots two men, and a backup vehicle comes to his aid, which kills another American. How would the people of the US have behaved?"
Replies Sought on Pleas for Davis Record
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=29956&Cat=5&Result=0
"The issuance of a passport with a faked name to Davis by the US government was telltale.."
There appear to be great discrepancies in this story..
Davis May Also Face Espionage Charge
http://www.columnspk.com/tag/raymond-davis-news/
"In an interesting twist to the Lahore double murder involving a US 'diplomatic official' prosecutors have also recommended that an espionage case be also registered against him, sources said on Tuesday.."
Video: American Raymond Davis' Police Interview After Shooting Two Pakistanis Dead
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8316093/American...
"The case of Raymond Davis has convulsed Pakistan, opening a fresh seam of anti-American anger and unleashing a wave of speculation about what an American diplomat was doing driving alone in a Honda Civic through the streets of Lahore with a Glock handgun.."
Pakistan Extends US Official's Detention
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/164751.html
"A Pakistan court has extended the detention of a US consulate employee, who has been charged with killing two locals in Lahore, amid pressure from Washington to set him free. More suspicion has been raised about the case as Pakistan's police have caught two US consular vehicles holding fake license plates in Islamabad.."
NATO Truck Torched in Pakistan
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/164736.html
"Pakistan militias have attacked a NATO supply truck transporting fuel destined for US-led forces in Afghanistan, setting it on fire in Baluchistan Province.."
Compelling New Evidence About Aafia Siddiqui's Detention... - by Andy Worthington
http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2011/02/14/compelling-new-evidence-abou...
"Getting to the bottom of what actually happened to Dr Siddiqui - and specifically, whether she was held by the US, or by Pakistanis, and whether, as it appears, the entire Ghazni scenario and the subsquent trial and sentencing was a sham and a coverup designed to silence her forever without actually killing her outright - has been a long hard struggle for those seeking the truth.."
Hints of Prisoner Swap Over US Official
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8324134/Hints-of...
"A senior Pakistani politician has hinted that his government may try to swap an American official accused of murder for a female scientist linked to al-Qaeda. Religious leaders have drawn thousands of people on to the streets to demand the release of Aafia Siddiqui, as the price for freeing Raymond Davis.."
Breaking: UK Guardian Reports Raymond Davis is Working for the CIA
http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/node/473
"A report today in the British Guardian newspaper is confirming that Raymond Davis, the man jailed in Lahore, Pakistan charged with murdering two young Pakistanis who were almost certainly themselves working for Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is an employee of the CIA. The paper says that based upon its reporters' interviews with both Pakistani and US sources, it is 'confirming' that Davis is a CIA spy."
So Davis, who is CIA, and hundreds of US-NGO reps and "private contractors" have been supporting the TTP(Pakistani Taliban). And now the Pakistanis are angry.
killing and droning them actually...
Apparently Islamabad is saying they have concrete evidence that "Ray Davis” is linked with the Tehrik e Taliban e Pakistan and some of the terrorism that's been perpetrated against Pakistani citizens. No drones on that end just the usual car bombs and improv'd explosives they learn from the CIA and British SAS - the usual training provided to fundamentalist gladios.
And apparently ISI told the Americans they raised Davis' security treatment to level 3 or some such, which is another way of saying they've tortured this information out of him. He's singing.
Sounds like the perfect set up to trade CIA man for Aafia Siddiqui
And her children, who were probably murdered by the gladio gang by now.
Davis was tied in to the drone strike program and some recent strikes in N Waziristan. There would appear to be a bit of a turf war in progress between CIA and ISI over 'assets'. Additionally, it is being reported that preliminary explorations as to possible Afghan peace talks have been met with Taliban demands that the participation by Pakistan/ISI or Karzai's government, would not be acceptable at this point and only direct talks with US officials would be entertained, if at all. It should also be pointed out that the so called Pakistan Taliban and the Afghan Taliban are two discrete movements with very separate concerns and alignments.
Imam was Killed Last Month for Spying
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=32165&Cat=6&dt=2/21/...
The situation is highly complex and very fluid at present.
[url=http://www.presstv.ir/detail/166139.html]Hamid Zaid[/url] says the evidence was retrieved from Davis' sofa.
“The documents, photographs and the evidence that has come out from Davis' sofa almost confirms his links with Taliban terrorism…the attacks on ISI and the security establishment as well as the drone attacks,” Pakistani defense analyst and security consultant Zaid Hamid said in an interview with Press TV's US Desk on Saturday.
US Caught in the Big Lie - by Dave Lindorff
http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/node/473
"Talk about getting caught in a Big Lie..."
Raymond A Davis is Not Raymond A Davis: American Terrorism is a Plague on the World
http://www.redress.cc/global/cking2010219
"Davis should be prosecuted as an ordinary criminal. The United States' disrespect for law and insistence on its own exceptionalism is becoming more blatant every day. It is a nasty, hypocritical, extremely dangerous country and a plague on the world.."
New US Drone Strike Kill 15 in Waziristan: All Slain Termed 'Suspects' by Officials
http://news.antiwar.com/2011/02/21/new-us-drone-strikes-kill-15-in-wazir...
"At least 15 people were killed in a new flurry of US drone strikes against Pakistani tribal areas. The first strike killed seven people in South Waziristan, while a second strike killed another eight in North Waziristan. The strikes were the first in nearly a month, an atypical lapse that has fueled reports that the detained CIA spy adn US 'consulate worker' Raymond Davis, who police say was captured with GPS tracking devices on him, played a key role in the strikes.."
the West's mass murder of Indigenous peoples for their lands and resources continues..
The CIA's Killing Spree in Lahore - by Mike Whitney
http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney02242011.html
'Al Qaeda'? The CIA is working with 'ancillaries of al Qaeda' in Pakistan? No wonder the US media has been keeping a wrap on this story for so long. If Davis was working with the Tehreek - e - Taliban, (as alleged in many reports) then we can assume that the war on terror is basically a ruse to advance a broader imperialist agenda.."
US Military and 28 NATO armies should be ready to give up the great game in Central Asia any year now. It's just a matter of time.
I guess it's all the more reason to vote for Jacko so he can work that old ndp magic on nato and 'transform it from within'.
Who do should we vote for then? Or do you suggest we all acquiesce to our colder war lap poodles in Ottawa by not voting at all? That should work, right?
Fidelio, believe whatever you like and vote as it pleases you to.
Gotcha. You're offering us no alternatives. Then I can only presume, and since the NDP is always the target of your affection, is that the only party worth considering is the NDP. Thanks, but we already knew that.
"No one that ever lived ever thought so crooked as we.."
Beckett
I'm having a hard time understanding your disaffection for Canada's fourth political party. It's like they've upset the balance of powerlessness for the stoogeaucracy in Ottawa or something. Another thread perhaps.
'Al Qaeda'? The CIA is working with 'ancillaries of al Qaeda' in Pakistan? No wonder the US media has been keeping a wrap on this story for so long. If Davis was working with the Tehreek - e - Taliban, (as alleged in many reports) then we can assume that the war on terror is basically a ruse to advance a broader imperialist agenda.."
This is what our friend Fidel has been saying all along.
Can it be that my two friends are in agreement at this point?
Yes, I forgot to mention what a good article that is. Good find, NDPP. And this isn't nothing new for Democrats. As Michel Chossudovsky and others have pointed out, the feds in Clinton's time, British SAS and even Iran worked with KLA to train and arm radicals and mercenaries in Bosnia and Macedonia in the 1990s at a time when Mujahideen and Qaeda were reported there in the former Yugoslavia. The Republican Senate Committee reported on the Clinton administration's covert dealings then. It's been out in the open more or less. At least two articles are still there on the RPC web site dated 1997 and 1999. None of that was mentioned in the bipartisan 9/11 Commission cover-up report either. Whistleblowers like Sibel Edmonds are saying this bs with Qaeda and other terror groups is still going on. The corruption and lies are constant and pervasive. And it doesn't say much for our fearless leaders in Ottawa at the same time. They just obey orders from Washington. It's really sad.
NDPP'Al Qaeda'? The CIA is working with 'ancillaries of al Qaeda' in Pakistan? No wonder the US media has been keeping a wrap on this story for so long. If Davis was working with the Tehreek - e - Taliban, (as alleged in many reports) then we can assume that the war on terror is basically a ruse to advance a broader imperialist agenda.."
This is what our friend Fidel has been saying all along.
Can it be that my two friends are in agreement at this point?
I have always understood that the war on terror was itself the 'advance of a broader imperialist agenda.' Notwithstanding this, there is still authentic indigenous resistance movements working to defeat and destroy an occupying enemy. Tehreek e Taliban is only one formation, with a particular provenance, characteristics and objectives. Such terminology and tags as 'Taliban' or 'AQ' are highly unreliable and unspecific, as is the formation of hard and fast theories that are then applied too neatly to an entire theatre like Afghanistan or Pakistan. Things are not cut and dried in this regard no matter the schemes of CIA, ISI etc. I will continue to monitor things as they play out. The contributions of yourself, Fidelio and others only enrich my own, irregardless of what we may agree or disagree on.
'CIA Mulls Targeting Pakistani Agents'
http://www.presstv.com/detail/167258.html
"Pakistani diplomatic sources say the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is considering targeting Pakistani diplomats in retaliation for the arrest of one of the agency's contractors. The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has demanded that the CIA share a list of all its contractors working in Pakistan. 'They need to come clean, tell us who they are and what they're doing. They need to stop doing things behind our back,' an ISI official said.."
Raymond Davis Incident Shows How Tangled US-Pakistan Web Is - by Conn Hallinan
http://www.fpif.org/blog/raymond_davis_incident_shows_how_tangled_us-pak...
"...In short, the US and Pakistan don't see eye to eye on Afghanistan and Islamabad is suspicious that Americans like Davis are undermining Pakistan's interests in what Islamabad views as an area central to its national security. The result of all this is a major diplomatic crisis on what is arguably the most dangerous piece of ground on the planet."
Is Pakistan Also on the Edge? - by Aleef Khan
http://canada.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/83847
"Separating totally from the US and then not looking back is the only chance Pakistan has at reclaiming its dignity and self-confidence...in order to forestall such an event, US pundits, experts and ex intelligence agents are already in overdrive predicting an armageddon scenario.."
[url=http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/5084.htm][color=blue]Pakistani Writers Question CIA's Role in Pakistan Following Arrest of Raymond Davis:[/color][/url] It's 'No Longer Rational… To Dismiss Questions About the Presence, Motives, Activities and Scale' of CIA Agents' Operations in Pakistan'; 'The Duplicity of Our Successive Governments, in Terms of Hidden Deals with the U.S., Certainly Needs to Be Exposed' Via Davis Case; 'Anti-Americanism in Pakistan is Reaching Dangerous Proportions'
In an article titled "The CIA, the ISI and 'Desi Liberals," Pakistani author and former Citigroup executive Yousuf Nazar questioned the CIA's operations in Pakistan, also noting however that the CIA could not have placed its operatives inside Pakistan without the consent of the ISI. Nazar also accused 'desi liberals' – i.e. local/indigenous liberals – of becoming defenders of the CIA's 'biggest' operations in Pakistan in their zeal to fight Islamic extremism.
In another article, titled "America's Mala Fide Intent?" Pakistani politician and strategic affairs commentator Dr. Shireen Mazari questioned the "U.S. agenda" in Pakistan and called for Davis to be tried for espionage in view of new evidence that he is a CIA operative.
Could it be that this CIA-ISI rift in recent years is complete and utter bullshit as usual by two right wing spy agencies that were bosom cold war allies in during anticommunist jihad against the Soviet-backed PDPA government in Kabul? Why would cold warriors in the CIA and ISI be at loggerheads now with the rich in Pakistan growing richer than ever under the neoliberal agenda backed by Warshington?
Phony wars and phony espionage. It's a corrupt US-backed military dictatorship in Pakistan same as before.
'Blood money' frees CIA contractor in Pakistan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110316/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_detained_american
An American CIA contractor detained on suspicion of murder was released on Wednesday after families of the two Pakistanis he killed were given "blood money" and the case was dropped, Pakistani officials said.
US to probe CIA contractor killings in Pakistan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110316/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_detained_american
The American Embassy says the Justice Department has opened an investigation into the killings of two Pakistani men by a CIA contractor in Pakistan.
The statement Wednesday came hours after the contractor, Raymond Allen Davis, was released from prison. A Pakistani lawyer for the families of the two victims in the Jan. 27 shooting says the United States paid $2.34 million in "blood money."
'Blood money' frees CIA contractor in Pakistan
It is probably more accurate to say "CIA contractor was freed by force":
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12757244
Faizan Haider, a lawyer representing the family of one of those killed, told the BBC that the "blood money" deal was done without his knowledge and that he was in detention when it was made."I was not allowed to participate in the proceedings of the case... and could not see or approach my clients," Asad Manzoor Butt said. "I and my associate were kept under forced detention for four hours. "If my clients have indeed signed a blood money deal, then this has been done behind my back and I don't know anything about it."
As recently as three days ago, relatives told the BBC they wanted justice not compensation.
Aijaz Ahmad, a cousin of Faizan Haider, said that eight members of his immediate family have not been traceable since news of the deal emerged. "There is a padlock on their door. Their phones are all switched off. If they have done this then they have acted dishonourably," he said.
The immediate family of the other man killed is also reported to have gone missing.
Raymond Davis Walks - by Dave Lindorff
http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff03172011.html
"The surprise 'deal' which Pakistani news reports are saying appears to have been forced on the relatives of the families, who up to March 15 had insisted they wanted no blood money, but only justice, was announced in a court session March 16 in Lahore, at which the prosecution's case of murder was to have been presented.."
What a farce. Cold warriors are joined at the hip still. All the world is a stage, and these guys are just bad actors.
Foreigners Escalate Pakistan Civil War (and vid)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184290.html
"...There is a civil war going on in Pakistan. And the civil war is between the militants who dislike the foreign policy, who dislike the US occupation of Afghanistan, who dislike, resent and protest against the drone attacks in the Tribal Areas;and the enforcement agencies and the Pakistani military, and the Pakistani intelligence agency, they are all perceived to be siding with the US and foreign elements...
There are civil wars going on in at least seven Muslim countries, from Tunisia, to Libya, to Syria, to Afghanistan, to Iraq and now to Pakistan. And they are also trying to foment a civil war in Iran. So it seems like the foreign elements want each Islamic country to have a civil war, so that there is economic stagnation, so that there is total chaos.
So there is a pattern and there are foreign elements in every civil war in a Muslim state."
Saleem Shahzad, a recently murdered Pakistani investigative journalist, has for years been reporting on the links between forces within the Pakistani military and the Taliban. The ISI had been supporting the Taliban since before 9/11, and attacks on former Pakistani president Musharraf were retaliatory strikes on Pakistan-US collusion.
Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and members of the Saudi Royal Family are all linked in conspiratorial schemes against the US and its allies. It boggles the mind to comprehend how the US supports the Saudis while being stabbed in the back at the same time. The question becomes who is playing who in a zero-sum outcome where the radical Islamists will inevitably turn mass popular opinion against the US.
There are a few good interviews on the subject on the Real News here and here.
CIA Instigates Mutiny In the Pakistan Army - by MK Bhadrakumar
http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2011/06/16/cia-instigating-mutiny-...
"The unthinkable is happening..."