Shadows of JSOC in Pakistan?

[SBD-3]

I have been following Jeremy Scahill's writtings for a while. Today I had the chance to see his newly released documentary "Dirty Wars" in which he describes the rise of a new US global AT outfit Joint Special Operations Command and its increasing influence and use in the territories where there is no declaration of war. Interestingly, he provides some intreguing information about the authority, preview and the structure of the organization. Due to documentary being short, only the OBL raid had been discussed for only a short while. Though mostly his writings have been confined on Somalia and Afghanistan. Nevertheless, he does have published some pieces on JSOC's Operations in Pakistan.
So let me start by describing some basic things about JSOC.
Structure of JSOC
1- JSOC is a component of US special Ops Command and is responsible for covert and clandestine missions, such as direct action, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, unconventional warfare,psychological warfare, civil affairs, and counter-narcotics operations. Each branch has a Special Operations Command that is unique and capable of running its own operations, but when the different special operations forces need to work together for an operation, USSOCOM becomes the joint component command of the operation, instead of a SOC of a specific branch.
2-More specifically, the JSOC is directly answerable to US President and withdraws most of her authority from the orders of President of United States. Jeremy Schaill puts it that though the command was legislated by the congress and supervised by the various intelligence committees, the force has grown in her autonomy by many secretive presidential orders and now works as an independent strike force for US in the regions where she sees fit to protect US interests.
3-The US never acknowledged the existence of such force officially until the OBL raid which was initially covered up by using the name of SEAL strike teams. The command has grown exponentially in operations, scope and size under the Obama administration with hundreds on billions being poured directly into JSOC (this is important).
JSOC in Pakistan
Now in Pakistan there is a general belief that the US army or CIA or Blackwater perform the coverts or overt ops. However, if we connect the dots of information available both in the documentary with the public press. I can figure at least two notable incidents where JSOC could have been directly involved.
1- Raymond Davis Case:
Raymond Davis is believed to be an operative of CIA. However, the reaction from US over the incident was so vigorous that the Pakistani authorities bowed out. Arrested under strange circumstances (Perhaps during the pursuit of an operation the details of which remain still unknown), then foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi refused to hand over the killer of two Pakistani citizens to US authorities citing the legal implications (And was quietly sidelined as a result). However, strangely enough, neither the US military, nor the CIA whom he is claimed to be related made the first attempts. It was the president himself who came to the rescue of Raymond. And to an extent that he sent Jhon Carry with Presidential Administration staff to secure a safe outage of Raymond Davis. Mr.Daivis was tagged as a "member of the administrative and technical staff" in US consulate Lahore. The pressure was brought to bear on Pakistan. resulting in the release of Mr.Davis. However, how this pressures was successful despite a firm resolve by the establishment is also an interesting secret still broadly undercover. I will return back to this after point 2
2- OBL Raid:
On May 2, 2011 Osama Bin Laden was traced, attacked and reportedly taken out by the special team of "US forces". Initially, the reports indicated Seals being used in the raid. However, the picture of control room reveals some important points

Now with Mr Obama, Mrs Clinton, Mr. Biden, General Mike Mulen (COAS) and defence secratary being present. However, the man in the driving seat i.e. in blue uniform is Joseph L. Votel, The chief of JSOC who was personally supervising the mission. As far as the equipment (especially the stealth halos) is concerned, as mentioned before, billions of dollars have been poured directly into JSOC in order to enhance their scope and capabilities. The halos operated by JSOC might directly be owned by JSOC, not the US Army.
And whats more interesting is the role of Pakistani authorities in both working with JSOC as well as in the OBL raid. For this, I would refer to Jeremy Scahill's column published on December 1, 2010 (almost 6 months before the incident took place). He notes

In one operation in September 2009, four US special operations forces personnel "embedded with the [Pakistani] Frontier Corps (FC)…in the FATA," where the Americans are described as providing "ISR": intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The support from the US forces, according to the cable, "was highly successful, enabling the FC to execute a precise and effective artillery strike on an enemy location." A month later, according to the cable, the Pakistan Army again "approved deployment of US special operation elements to support Pakistani military operations." To the embassy staff, this was documented in the cable as a "sea change" in Pakistan's military leaders' thinking, saying they had previously been "adamantly opposed [to] letting us embed" US special ops forces with Pakistani forces. According to the cable, "US special operation elements have been in Pakistan for more than a year, but were largely limited to a training role," adding that the Pakistani units that received training from US special operations forces "appear to have recognized the potential benefits of bringing US SOF personnel into the field with them."

He further goes ahead

In another operation cited in the cables, the US teams, led by JSOC, were described as providing support to the Pakistani Army's 11th Corp and included "a live downlink of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) full motion video." Whether the drones were used for surveillance or as part of a joint offensive is unclear from the documents. While the US government will not confirm US drone strikes inside the country and Pakistani officials regularly deride the strikes, the issue of the drones was discussed in another cable from August 2008. That cable describes a meeting between Ambassador Patterson and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani. When the issue of US drone strikes came up, according to the cable, Gillani said, "I don't care if they do it as long as they get the right people. We'll protest in the National Assembly and then ignore it."

The ability of US special operations forces to operate in Pakistan is clearly viewed as a major development by the US embassy. "Patient relationship-building with the military is the key factor that has brought us to this point," according to the October 2009 cable. It also notes the potential consequences of the activities leaking: "These deployments are highly politically sensitive because of widely-held concerns among the public about Pakistani sovereignty and opposition to allowing foreign military forces to operate in any fashion on Pakistani soil. Should these developments and/or related matters receive any coverage in the Pakistani or US media, the Pakistani military will likely stop making requests for such assistance."

And last but not the least.

A special operations veteran and a former CIA operative with direct experience in Pakistan have told The Nation that JSOC has long engaged in combat in Pakistan—which raises a question: How in-the-loop is the US embassy about the activities of JSOC in Pakistan? Just because Ambassador Anne Patterson approves a cable saying that US special ops forces have only done two operations with Pakistani forces and plays this up as a major-league development doesn't make it true. JSOC has conducted operations across the globe without the direct knowledge of the US ambassador. In 2006, the US military and Pakistan struck a deal that authorized JSOC to enter Pakistan to hunt Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders with the understanding that Pakistan would deny it had given permission. JSOC has struck multiple times inside Pakistan over the years, regardless of what Ambassador Patterson's cables may say.

This is exactly what happened afterwards, Pakistan denied (in fact objected to) her involvement in OBL raid. US however, maintained silence so as to role of Pakistan whereas it could point figures given the fact that OBL was residing just some kilometers away from a military academy. In fact some of the members in this forum pointed out that the choppers were fueled at SSG base Tarbaila en route to the target and PAF asked to stand down. Moreover, despite registering heavy protest, Pakistan subsequently quietly handed over the debris of destroyed halo.
So it can be believed that there existed an operational relationship between the JSOC and Pakistan military at least until 2012. This also potentially puts some weight to the story of Lt Gen Shuja Pasha lending a helping hand for the release of Raymond Davis because of intelligence and recon assistance provided by JSOC authorities.