Intelligence report on Pakistan was altered

[BATMAN]

Intelligence report on Pakistan was altered: Post

http://www.dawn.com/2007/08/06/top3.htm

By Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON, Aug 5: The Bush administration deliberately altered an intelligence document to show that Pakistan has allowed Al Qaeda to establish a safe haven in Pakistan, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.

The claim was made in the US national intelligence estimate, submitted to President George W. Bush last month.

“Drafts of that document were deliberately altered to reveal this conclusion, a move that ‘changed the complexion’ of the nearly finished report,” a senior intelligence official familiar with the revisions told the Post.

“The July 17 US claim sparked outrage in Islamabad but helped yield the result that US officials sought,” the Post observed.

“President Musharraf abandoned his truce with tribal leaders and on July 19 formally launched a military offensive aimed at breaking the terrorists’ grip on the frontier province.”
Dawn learned from official sources that Pakistan made several attempts to convince US officials not to say that Al Qaeda had established a safe haven in Fata and was told that this would be replaced with more appropriate term.

But when the report was released, it contained the term ‘safe haven.’

“The events leading to the public confrontation with Pakistan -- including the alarming evidence of Al Qaeda and Taliban retrenchment in northern Pakistan -- were described in new detail by more than half a dozen senior administration and intelligence officials,” the paper reported.

The report said that Washington also sent stream of high-powered visitors to Islamabad early this year --- starting with Defence Secretary Robert M. Gates on Feb. 12, and followed closely by Vice President Cheney and others – to show Gen. Musharraf sensitive intelligence revealing a substantial increase in Al Qaeda activity in the country's west.

Mr Cheney and the other visitors warned President Musharraf that his deal with the tribal chiefs had broken down and the terrorists had exploited the vacuum created by departing Pakistani troops and had begun rebuilding a network largely dismantled during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. Despite their concerns about President Musharraf’s alleged ‘half-hearted’ cooperation, the US continued to support him because of worries that the next Pakistani leader will be less cooperative, the report said.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

So Al-Qaeda was building up in the Tribal areas, the Americans told Pakistan they would fudge that fact in the report, but they didn't. Bad press for Pakistan, but Musharaf's hands have been tied in the aftermath of the Lal Masjid operation anyway. And I thought it was the Taliban that unilaterally broke off the accord, not Musharraf.

 

[HAIDER]

wonder why somtime, who is right who is wrong....why US foreign policy is totally failure, instead of making more friends, they are making more enemies....????????

 

[BATMAN]

Apparently, US is making descions based on false intelligence.
It is clear that US has been used as tool by some to acheive personal gains.
I blame it all to the faulty US intelligence and which also shared by the press and than the result is a public+leader who is either biased or misinformed.

 

[BATMAN]

So Al-Qaeda was building up in the Tribal areas, the Americans told Pakistan they would fudge that fact in the report, but they didn't. Bad press for Pakistan, but Musharaf's hands have been tied in the aftermath of the Lal Masjid operation anyway. And I thought it was the Taliban that unilaterally broke off the accord, not Musharraf.

Agnostic, It seems what happened in Pakistan recently was multi faced, there are many elements using the situation or further detoriating it to serve there interests.
To analyze the situation honestly, we must put forward the characteristics of enemy, which may be good or bad.
Now considering the characteristics of various Afghan warring factions (incl. ruling northern alliance), when I hear (news) Taliban disassociating them selves from recent suicide bombings in Pakistan and they did it with oath in a Jirga meeting. I would believe that and start looking at other grounds. After all it was the same characteristic, which formed the basis for famous peace deal.
Now actually the success of this peace deal proved that US intelligence was not very accurate as usual and especially the Afghan government was lying from day one and would lead to investigation which might expose undesirable facts.
Now this could have very serious implications especially while whole world was already very displeased with US over Iraq invasion.
Yesterday, I heard (on TV) Hamid Karzai saying that in Afghanistan it is possible to buy suicide bombers and they regularly receive offers from those bombers. In such circumstances it is very stupid to associate every suicide bomber with religion; rather every suicide bomb any where in Afghanistan or Pakistan should be seen as a conspiracy to de-stabilize the peace in both countries. Now considering Indian campaign against Musharraf’s rule and it’s losses with peace in Afghanistan it should be the first suspect of all suicide bombings in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Don't forget, only Kabul is under the rule of US hence they are just trying to pull Pakistan to share there failure. As an example few days back ZalmayKhalilZad blamed Saudi Arabia for promoting terrorism in Iraq!

 

[niaz]

We are forgetting that these Taliban are indigenous to area. It is acceptable to attack and eliminate Egyptians, Chechens, Uzbecks and Afghan extremists; such people are aliens and thus have no business hiding in Pakistani territory. But people in Waziristan and Bajour are Pakistanis!!. If we were living a century ago; one could send a strong force, kill off a generation. This would ensure peace for 20 years, the same process can be repeated ad infinitim. This is no longer possible today. You cannot bomb them to oblivion.

Despite the fact that I hate the taliban; there is no denying the fact that use of force alone cannot bring about the desired results. There is no alternative but to achieve some form of 'modus vivendi' or living arrangement. This can only be achieved thru dialogue. GOP acted wisely when they reached a settlement with taliban in Waziristan. Only thing to ensure is that each side abides by what they had promised. It is like walking a tight rope, but to achieve a lasting peace, both the heart and the mind of these people have to be won.

Massive investment in the area in the form of hospitals, state schools and roads will also help educate the people to get out of the mullah/taliban influence in the long term. In the short term, it is also important that general conditions on the other side of the border ( Afghanistan side of the Pushtun belt) improve. This would bring about prosperity and man on the street would have some stake in the continued peace.

There is also an urgent need that all agencies such as ISI, the army, police and the civil service are purged of all elements who are suspected of extremist sympathies; regardless of who and how many they are. Admittedly, this is a bit extreme but extreme situations require extreme measures.

Even 10 years ago when I used to visit Islamabad regularly, all vehicles coming into Islamabad were randomly checked. If there were no sympathisers of LAL Masjid mob in the gov't apparatus, how could they have smuggled guns and gas masks into the heart of Islamabad?? Such supporters must be be rooted out. Else all efforts would be in vain.

 

[BATMAN]

Mr. Niaz, Thanks for your valuable comments and I agree to most of it.
I would like to add some thing which comes to my mind every time people discus Al-Qaeeda and Taliban and there hideouts.
First of all, we should never mix Taliban with Al-Qaeeda.
As far Taliban is concerned, today after 7 years of American invasion it is just limited to an ideology which merely is to reject the foreign troops or a foreign rule imposed upon.
There may be few individuals out there whom we can accuse of harboring Bin-Laden in his early days and that’s all. An act, which has earned taliban a status of ‘hunt’.
Otherwise the ruling northern alliance was more brutal and oppressive. How they ran affairs in there controlled territory or how does they treated there captives post US invasion is an unrivaled example of brutality. Without discussing more, I would say northern alliance were far more bad guys as compare to the than Taliban and now what US is hunting down were kids in 2000 and are in no way related to the oppression of Afghan people or harboring Al-Qaida and if this continues for another few years than technically it will be present Afghan rulers and invaders (and all those who support them) who will fall in the definition of terrorists and Afghanis (termed Taliban) would be true Mujahidin’s once again resisting foreign oppression?
Is it not common sense? Why the world, American people or NATO does not understand that as far Afghanistan is concerned they are not hunting criminals any more? There is no Al-Qaeeda, it is only local Pushtoons getting killed every day, where as in Iraq all rebels are foreigners and a war may be justified!
As you very right fully said instead of using force foreign troops should attempt to win there hearts by helping them in there re-building.

Now coming to Al-Qaeeda, any non Pakistani or non Afghani (refugees) present in Pakistan without visa should be held and investigated for being an Al-Qaeeda associate.
It should not be difficult to identify them for various reasons, one reason being strong tribal system and hence I doubt that they can roam freely around in Pakistan. Yes there is always a theory that they are hiding in voids of mountainous bordering regions of Afghanistan or India. Where as border is always a joint responsibility and still can never be fully marked in any country.
How do illegal immigrants from Africa or Asia end up in US or Europe? Answer is same phenomenon, they successfully cross borders of foreign lands and if it comes to Pak-Afghan border as you said they are indigenous people and extremely difficult terrain is not a foreign land to them, than what are the chances of stopping illegal border crossing?
If it is honestly desired than there has to be an inovative and higtech solution, Alas all such proposals were rejected by US troops for obvious reasons.
Principally, after reject fencing of border they have no right to ask Pakistan for help or complaining for not helping enough.

Now, coming to the point of terrorist hide outs in those mountains. Today, this seems a stupid theory to me, when US invaded Afghanistan and flushed out many Al-Qaida terrorists to neighboring countries.
Those who entered Pakistan were immediately apprehended by Pak Army and handed over to the respective governments and US. Now assuming that those flushed terrorists are still surviving in the most inhospitable foreign land where it is near impossible to find water or food or communicate in Arabic, is a most insane theory. I doubt if even grass eating animals can survive for so long in those mountains.
There are local people in FATA regions (portion of Pak Afghan) who may have resentment over the bombing of there houses but not Taliban or Al-Qaeeda. Hence imagining Al-Qaida in those mountains is like deceiving your self or you’re lying to your own people.
What really could be the source of American intelligence? possibly some photographs from UAV’s showing some tribal people carrying guns on there shoulders or ceremonial air firing during weddings etc. or propaganda from Indian media perhaps a opportune story sold by a local this is not enough or possibly a wrong information which lead to civilian killings. Which surely add resentment against any military operation in those areas by either country! (Pakistan is very rightfully resenting US bombing of civilians in tribal region).
This certainly does not help the real cause and in such circumstance winning hearts and minds is a far cry but this definitely may act as catalyst to tilt the tribal hearts towards the insurgents and may help in assembling an alliance of hate towards any military.
I also would like to add the reference of American soldier ‘Jesse Spielman’, who has been sentenced in famous Iraqi, rape and killing case. I will not believe that all western soldiers operating in Afghanistan are saints. They certainly have killed and raped any one they wished, it’s just not surfaced because it is worst than Iraq and is supported by brutal regime of northern alliance, who on the first place should be charged with custodial mass killings of Pushtoons post US invasion.
Now to the point of Taliban sympathizers. I trust any one in this world would sympathize with people who have been victim of most brutal treatment ever on this planet. Any way, we all know that has been dealt by P.Musharraf immediately and many such elements had been trialed in military courts.
I also think it is not fair to conclude that arms were smuggled in lal mosque due to presence of sympathizers in police. Masses go in for Friday prayers and there are associated seminaries which houses many burqa clad women, thing is who dare to check if the person inside burqa is he or she. Imagine how easy it is to smuggle any thing in and out. I don’t think mosques in Pakistan were under surveillance before lal mosque incident or either they are now. It’s not that we don’t wish to it’s simply possible to monitor every mosque day and night.
The fact is in Pakistan police is limited and is careless in there approach as compare to western police. I hope recent events have helped to chage there attitude but still they are no enough in numbers and our economy cannot afford any more of what has been done.
I quote an example when arms are smuggled in Airplanes for terrorism reasons, shall we punish the security for associating in hijacking etc.?
I think the only solution for peace in Afghanistan is democratically elected government and to win heart and minds US should start with punishing those war lords who are sitting in present Afghan parliament and are responsible for genocide on ethnic basis.
In the end, these (Afghan parlimentarians) are the people who sell suicide bombers.

 

[BATMAN]

Again quoting another old news which remind us of Karzai's statement that sucide bombers are regularly offer themself for sale to Afghanistan govt.

Who can afford them and is profiting from them should be an easy guess!

Last but not least.... faking intelligence reports for blaming Pakistan... when it was not enough to gain legitimacy for war.... comes wiki leaks which sell the fabricated intelligence to masses... hence creating extremists in their own society.

 

[NoBullshit]

Again quoting another old news which remind us of Karzai's statement that sucide bombers are regularly offer for them for sale to Afghanistan govt.

Who can afford them and is profiting from them should be an easy guess!

Last but not least.... faking intelligence reports for blaming Pakistan... when it was not enough to gain legitimacy for war.... comes wiki leaks which sell the fabricated intelligence to masses... hence creating extremists in their own society.

@BATMAN, any special fixation with 3 year old threads?

 

[Coltsfan]

@BATMAN, any special fixation with 3 year old threads?

Space-time continuum has been warped for him