NationStates Jolt Archive

Here's what happens when you take your eye off the ball...
The head of US spying operations says the leaders of al-Qaeda have found a secure hideout in Pakistan from where they are rebuilding their strength.
National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said al-Qaeda was strengthening itself across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
...
Mr Negroponte told a Senate committee that al-Qaeda was still the militant organisation that posed the greatest threat to US interests.

He said the organisation was cultivating stronger operational capabilities and relationships that radiated out of Pakistan.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6254375.stm
Well, colour me unsurprised.

Wasn't the 'War on Terror' (tm) main aim to clean up Afghanistan and destroy al-Qaeda? Or have I been reading the wrong book (the old unrevised one)?

Hasn't he quite his job ?

That's why he can afford to say the truth.

Wasn't the 'War on Terror' (tm) main aim to clean up Afghanistan and destroy al-Qaeda?

The Woh on terra is a front for PNAC.

AlQaeda 'rebuilding' in Pakistan

They have made some good trades and have a couple of high draft picks.

Hasn't he quit his job ?

That's why he can afford to say the truth.
He's quit?
If so, it's refreshing yet exacerbating.
Refreshing to see that they (the ppl responsible for these things) aren't as dumb nor blinded by ideology as they appear at times.
Exacerbating because I really wish these ppl could come out and tell the truth while still in a position of power without the fear of suiciding their career and not have to wait til they've left and it's too late.

They have made some good trades and have a couple of high draft picks.
Think it's too late to make a bid for Beckham as team captain?

Here's what happens when you take your eye off the ball...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6254375.stm
Well, colour me unsurprised.

Wasn't the 'War on Terror' (tm) main aim to clean up Afghanistan and destroy al-Qaeda? Or have I been reading the wrong book (the old unrevised one)?

Err... am I missing something here? How is this news?

Al Qaida's been working out of Pakistan since the early 1990's. They have recieved help from Pakistans ISI. Their partners the Taliban were basically created by the ISI. And their top leaders have been there since 2002. Of course they're basing out of Pakistan.

We can use our massive army to crush them!!!!!!!

Oh, wait. Damnit. :mad:

They have made some good trades and have a couple of high draft picks.
They still have a good franchise player, a strong offence uncomprimising on defence with a fast action counter attack and a play book full of surprises.

Wasn't the 'War on Terror' (tm) main aim to clean up Afghanistan and destroy al-Qaeda?

You've never been at war with Afghanistan. You've always been at war with Iraq.

You've never been at war with Afghanistan. You've always been at war with Iraq.
New Zealand is at war with Iraq?:eek:

You've never been at war with Afghanistan. You've always been at war with Iraq.

*gets confused*

:p

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/12/AR2007011200767.html
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan on Friday rejected allegations by America's spy chief that it is a refuge for terrorist leaders and demanded that his intelligence networks share information on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaida figures. [yeah, WE need information from YOU about people in OUR country...]

The statements Thursday by U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte that Pakistan is a haven for al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists are "incorrect," Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said.


"In breaking the back of al-Qaida, Pakistan has done more than any other country in the world," ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said. "The proper way to do this would be to share the intelligence with us."
[so that we can promptly alert them to change locations...:rolleyes: ]

Following Maj. Gen. Freakley, another general, Lt. Gen. Eikenberry, repeats the obvious

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-01-16T084801Z_01_ISL240273_RTRUKOC_0_US-AFGHAN-USA-TALIBAN.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C1-topNews-6
Taliban step up cross-border attacks: U.S. military

Tue Jan 16, 2007 3:48 AM ET
By Andrew Gray

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban fighters have stepped up attacks from Pakistan into Afghanistan and are taking advantage of a deal between the Pakistani government and local tribes that was billed as an effort to reduce the threat, U.S. military officials said on Tuesday.

U.S. officials also say the commanders of Afghanistan's Taliban insurgency reside in Pakistan. The Taliban were resurgent in 2006, increasing attacks on NATO troops and Afghan government forces.

"Our military relations, our dialogue between Afghanistan, NATO, the United States and Pakistan is good but I'd also emphasize that we do have a challenge right now with command and control of the Taliban forces that has to be addressed," said Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates began a visit to Afghanistan on Monday, aiming to ensure military commanders have the resources to counter an expected spring offensive by the Taliban.

"The enemy does use both sides of the border, they use the inside of Pakistan as well for command and control," Eikenberry told reporters traveling with Gates.

"And they have senior leaders that operate on both sides."

Pakistan sealed an agreement in early September with tribes in the area of North Waziristan under which Pakistani troops would withdraw to garrisons on the understanding the tribes would not tolerate incursions into Afghanistan.

Eikenberry said the number of cross-border attacks in that area last month was 200 percent higher than the same period a year ago. He did not give precise figures.

Colonel Tom Collins, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said there were signs the deal with the tribes had worsened the situation.
"We're seeing evidence that the enemy is taking advantage of that agreement to launch attacks into Afghanistan," he told reporters.

"COMMAND AND CONTROL IN PAKISTAN"

Eikenberry said the porous border with Pakistan, where members of the same tribes live on both sides, was a long-term problem which would take time to solve.

U.S. military officials also say they have hard evidence of Taliban fighters crossing the border unimpeded close to Pakistani border checkpoints.

"The safe haven that Pakistan presents cannot be over-emphasized," said a U.S. military intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Command and control resides in Pakistan while operations occur in Afghanistan," the official said.

"Training, financing, recruitment, indoctrination, regeneration and other support activities occur in Pakistan."

Last year was Afghanistan's bloodiest since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban government in 2001 in response to the September 11 attacks. More than 4,000 people died in the violence.

Bomb attacks jumped from 783 in 2005 to 1,677 last year and suicide attacks surged from 27 to 139, according to U.S. military figures.

Eikenberry said he expected the Taliban to try to increase violence in southern Afghanistan in the spring but NATO and U.S. forces were already taking steps to meet the threat.

Fighting in Afghanistan often subsides during winter only to increase again after the snows melt.

"Although it's going to be a violent spring and I would expect that we'll have more violence into the summer, I'm absolutely confident that we're going to be able to dominate," Eikenberry said.

Eikenberry said he did not anticipate any reduction this year in the approximately 23,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. About half of them serve as part of a NATO force while the rest conduct missions ranging from training to counter-terrorism.

From WSJ, subscription site

http://online.wsj.com/google_login.html?url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB116894613188977566.html%3Fmod%3Dgoog lenews_wsj
U.S. Officials Say Taliban Attacks
In Afghanistan Are Surging
Associated Press
January 16, 2007 7:37 a.m.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Taliban fighters seeking to regain power in Afghanistan are taking advantage of a recent peace deal with the Pakistan government to dramatically increase attacks on U.S. and allied forces in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan, several American military officials said Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said in an interview that Taliban attacks tripled in December, and a U.S. military intelligence officer said that since the peace deal went into effect Sept. 5, the number of attacks in the border area has quadrupled.

Gen. Eikenberry didn't explicitly criticize the peace deal with tribal leaders in the border area and he said he is confident that U.S. and NATO forces are going to dominate on the decisive battlefields. But he predicted, "It's going to be a violent spring," and other officials said it has become commonplace for the Pakistani military at border outposts to turn a blind eye to infiltration of Taliban fighters.
Col. Thomas Collins, the chief spokesmen for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said the Pakistan peace deal has backfired. "The enemy is taking advantage of that agreement to launch attacks into Afghanistan," he said.

Meanwhile, Pakistani officials in Islamabad said Pakistan's army destroyed suspected al Qaeda hideouts in an airstrike near the Afghan border on Tuesday, killing 10 people. They said the raid was in South Waziristan, close to North Waziristan, where the government in September signed a controversial peace deal with tribal elders to halt military operations against militants.

Gen. Eikenberry spoke to a group of U.S. reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was receiving closed-door briefings from military officials on the resurgence of the Taliban in recent months. Mr. Gates was accompanied by Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Mr. Gates has publicly expressed concern that a resurgent Taliban could put areas of Afghanistan in danger of reverting to a haven for terrorists. U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 to oust the Taliban, and although gains have been made to stabilize the country, the Taliban has recently made inroads.

"The enemy does use both sides of the border, inside Pakistan as well," with senior Taliban leaders directing insurgent operations in some cases from sanctuaries on the Pakistan side, Gen. Eikenberry said.

Other U.S. military officers who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity because the information included sensitive intelligence, painted an even bleaker picture of the result of the September peace deal, which the Pakistan government portrayed as a vehicle for assisting U.S. efforts in Afghanistan.

U.S. officials recently gained firsthand evidence that Pakistani forces at a border control point opposite Afghanistan's Khowst province turned a blind eye to infiltration of a substantial number of Taliban fighters. U.S. troops at a base known as Forward Operating Base Tillman urged the Pakistanis to block the infiltrating fighters but nothing was done, one U.S. military intelligence officer said.

The U.S. military intelligence officer disclosed for the first time full-year statistics on insurgent attacks in Afghanistan. Suicide attacks in 2006 totaled 139, up from 27 in 2005, and the number of attacks with roadside bombs more than doubled, from 783 in 2005 to 1,677 last year. The number of what the military calls "direct attacks," meaning attacks by insurgents using small arms, grenades and other weapons, surged from 1,558 in 2005 to 4,542 last year.

The officer noted that some of the increase can be explained by the fact that U.S., NATO and Afghan forces conducted more offensive operations in more areas last year, but the officer said the insurgents also have begun to launch more sophisticated -- and in some case, more coordinated -- attacks.

"Although it's going to be a violent spring and I would expect that we're going to have more violence into the summer, I'm absolutely confident that we're going to be able to dominate," Gen. Eikenberry said. He is leaving his post this month.

There are nearly 24,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, which Gen. Eikenberry said was the highest number since the war began in 2001.


Meanwhile, in other news..

http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20070115-024720-8623r
Pakistan acquires U.S. air-to-air missiles

"This is the largest single purchase of AMRAAM missiles in the history of the AMRAAM international program," Raytheon Vice President Brock McCaman said in a statement Monday.

I am guessing these are for use against those dangerous talibani Sukhoi jets :rolleyes:

Here's what happens when you take your eye off the ball...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6254375.stm
Well, colour me unsurprised.

Wasn't the 'War on Terror' (tm) main aim to clean up Afghanistan and destroy al-Qaeda? Or have I been reading the wrong book (the old unrevised one)?

Don't you recall that the condition of getting Pakistan to help us in even the most minor and ineffectual way was for the US to agree not to stomp terrorists in Pakistan?

or did you miss the news for the past six years?