US seeks Pakistan crackdown on Taliban

[third eye]

DAWN.COM | Pakistan | US seeks Pakistan crackdown on Taliban

Thursday, 27 May, 2010

WASHINGTON: Two top Obama administration officials have told Pakistan that it has only weeks to show real progress in a crackdown against the Pakistani Taliban, a senior US official said Wednesday, reports AP.

The US has put Pakistan “on a clock” to launch a new intelligence and counterterrorist offensive against the group, which the White House alleges was behind the Times Square bombing attempt, according to the official.

White House national security adviser James Jones and CIA Director Leon Panetta delivered that message to Islamabad last week, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

As first reported by the Los Angeles Times, the high-ranking US delegation presented the Pakistanis with evidence they believe proves that Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad was trained and funded by the Tehrik-e-Taliban, or TTP, as the Pakistani Taliban are known. Shahzad is accused of attempting to ignite what turned out to be a poorly constructed car bomb in Times Square.

The evidence also showed that two TTP members escorted Shahzad to a training base in the lawless tribal area of Waziristan, where he received some instruction in how to build explosives, the US official said.

Pakistani authorities have already detained two suspects thought to be those TTP escorts, the official said. The US now expects to see Pakistan carry out further independent counterterrorist operations and quietly increase other unspecified cooperation with the Americans, the official said.

The visiting delegation reminded Pakistani leaders that President Barack Obama had sent them a letter in November, asking for a tougher crackdown against al-Qaida and its affiliates like the TTP, the official said.

So far, many US officials have rated Pakistan's progress on that front as mixed because Pakistan has maintained a detente with some of the al-Qaeda affiliates that operate in its frontier provinces, like the Haqqani network.

The official said those in the delegation to Pakistan were hopeful that the Shahzad case may spell the difference because the US is asking Pakistan to crack down on a group that is a sworn enemy of Islamabad.

The TTP have launched a series of bloody bombings against Pakistani government targets and civilians over the past year.

 

[WAQAS119]

So far, many US officials have rated Pakistan's progress on that front as mixed because Pakistan has maintained a detente with some of the al-Qaeda affiliates that operate in its frontier provinces, like the Haqqani network.

Hahaha, US rated Pakistan!!!!!!!!!!
They seems so desperate

 

[third eye]

Skeletons tumbling out of .. everywhere ?


US hands over dossier on Times Square plot | Pakistan | News | Newspaper | Daily | English | Online

US hands over dossier on Times Square plot
By: Kaswar Klasra | Published: May 27, 2010

ISLAMABAD – Since the Obama administration is said to have presented to Pakistan a dossier on terrorism suspect Faisal Shahzad, including a detailed chart describing his contacts with the Tehreek-I-Taliban Pakistan before his attempt to detonate an explosives-laden vehicle in New York City’s Times Square, Foreign Office said on Wednesday it was not in knowledge of the dossier.

“You better put this question to officials of the Interior Ministry, however, I confirm it to you that Foreign Office has not been consulted so for in this regard,” a spokesperson of Foreign Office told TheNation when asked if the US has presented a dossier on terrorism suspect Faisal Shahzad to Pakistan.
According to American media reports, Senior US officials had held an urgent meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari last week and presented him a dossier on terrorism suspect Faisal Shahzad.

Pakistan denied that TTP was involved in the May 1 bombing attempt in New York. However, authorities in Islamabad took a U-turn from their earlier statement soon after American top officials including Jones and Panetta met with President Asif Ali Zardari and other leaders, and begun to acknowledge that the group provided support to Shahzad.

The evidence was part of a vigorous American warning that there would be “inevitable pressure” on the United States to take action if there was an attack traceable to Pakistan that resulted in US casualties, officials familiar with the talks said.

It is believed that the same warning was delivered last week in a visit to Islamabad by White House National Security Advisor James L. Jones and CIA Director Leon E. Panetta, who said Pakistan needed to intensify its crackdown on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban.

It is important to mention here that, TTP had initially claimed responsibility for the Time Square (failed) bomb plot, however, it backed away from the claim and denied even knowing Shahzad.

According to American media reports, US officials have become convinced that the TTP, after primarily focusing on attacks against the Pakistani government, is increasingly seeking ways to strike US targets. The group has formed closer links with Al-Qaeda and has seemed to adopt the terrorist network’s goal of striking the United States on its own territory.

“We have been lucky in the past, but our luck will run out and in the future, we are likely to face successful attacks,” said a senior US intelligence official, who, like several others, was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, stated Los Angeles Times.

The evidence, which included photographs of militants suspected of assisting Shahzad, was shown to Zardari and Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, the Chief of Army Staff, along with other Pakistani officials, US officials said, according to the newspaper.

According to a news report of the same US newspaper, Jones and Panetta were attempting to convince the Pakistanis that the US had hard evidence that Shahzad had received support from the Pakistani Taliban, the officials said.
The chart, which was assembled by US intelligence agencies, “showed who all he had contacts with,” one official said, and drew “clear links between Faisal Shahzad and the TTP leaders in Pakistan.”

The White House originally considered warning Pakistan about the consequences of another attack in a confidential letter from President Obama to Zardari, but it decided to dispatch Jones and Panetta to deliver the message in person.

In addition to that visit, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned publicly in the days after the Times Square attempt that Pakistan faced “very severe consequences” in the event of another plot originating in Pakistan. Her comment provoked a strong backlash in Pakistan.

It is pertinent to mention here that on May 14, US and Pakistan had agreed that individual incidents like New York’s Time Square Bomb incident would not affect the ties between the two countries and both sides would continue working together for the elimination of terror.

The affirmation to this effect was made during a telephonic call made by US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Richard Holbrooke to Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a week earlier.

 

[fatman17]

^back to square one - 'do more', 'do more', 'do more' - what abt the great US Homeland Security department doing? - awarding citizenships left and right to people of questionable backgrounds - what 'background' check did the US do on the times square bomber?

Pakistan has made it 'very clear' when they will go into NWA - also the thread heading is mis-leading - Pakistan has been 'cracking down' on the TTP since the last 12-14 months with 'proven successes' and acknowledged world-wide (except maybe to our indian friends)

 

[Emperor Palpatine]

(except maybe to our indian friends)

and who would that be ? Sure you had success against Pakistani Taliban no Indian would deny that.. But would you take similar action against JEM and LET terrorist organizations..?

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

^back to square one - 'do more', 'do more', 'do more' - what abt the great US Homeland Security department doing? - awarding citizenships left and right to people of questionable backgrounds - what 'background' check did the US do on the times square bomber?

Pakistan has made it 'very clear' when they will go into NWA - also the thread heading is mis-leading - Pakistan has been 'cracking down' on the TTP since the last 12-14 months with 'proven successes' and acknowledged world-wide (except maybe to our indian friends)

I suspect the veracity of these reports for a few reasons - they seem like jingoistic reporting more than fact based reporting. Keep in mind that the US media widely reported that McChrystal had given Kiyani an ultimatum on North Waziristan after the Faisal Shazad plot was discovered. McChrsytal had to publicly deny ever making any such comments or taking such a position with Kiyani. Similarly, last year Mullen had to deny another report in the LA Times quoting 'anonymous intelligence officials' reporting on the drone effort.

The entire premise here is bizarre (as were Hillary's comments after the NYC incident) - Pakistan's major focus is directed against the TTP and its allies currently, with operations in multiple agencies - Swat, SW, Orakzai, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber etc. - and these are the groups the article suggests the US is pressuring Pakistan to 'do more' against. There is some sort of disconnect here and this story doesn't make sense.

Were the people behind FS the Haqqani network or Gul Bahadur from NW, then I might understand why the US might have in fact taken the sort of line with the GoP that is being reported here, but that is not the case.

Pakistani officials have often attributed this 'disconnect' (IMO strange and duplicitous US behavior) to a State Department vs Defense Department issue - the US Defence department understands better the military operations being conducted and the military and resource constraints faced by the Pak Military, whereas the SD, given Hillary's comments, comes across as a bunch of 'armchair warriors', forever demanding more without any understanding of the limitations and issues faced while fighting a tough COIN campaign.

 

[SekrutYakhni]

I am not asking for something big here. Tell me, tell me that this war was "our" war from the beginning. Answer me from the core of your heart. Just leave politics, money, strategy etc aside and answer a simple question. I am not supporting TTP nor I EVER supported PA's strategy; call me a traitor or a child but answer a simple question.

 

[Bill Longley]

I am not asking for something big here. Tell me, tell me that this war was "our" war from the beginning. Answer me from the core of your heart. Just leave politics, money, strategy etc aside and answer a simple question. I am not supporting TTP nor I EVER supported PA's strategy; call me a traitor or a child but answer a simple question.

it is our war. we suffered a lot during 80's and 90's.these militants destroyed our social fabric.
agar 911 na bhi hota tou hamain yea jang larni perti

 

[SekrutYakhni]

it is our war. we suffered a lot during 80's and 90's.these militants destroyed our social fabric.
agar 911 na bhi hota tou hamain yea jang larni perti

No, we did not suffer. We suffered because we with the help of Arab countries and the U.S. made those militants. We presented a different version of Islam to those Jihadist so they could fight for us. We with the help of extreme mullah view told the Jihadist that you guys will go to Jannat and whatnot. Now, whose fault was it? We used Afghanistan as a buffer state against USSR and it was a successful strategic decision but the backlash of it ruined PAKISTAN.

"In war, truth is the first casualty."

 

[T-Faz]

The clock can tick for as long it can and all kinds of threats can be put across through the media. We know one thing and one thing alone, it has to be done our way or no way at all.

US is getting highly impatient becuase the Taliban are going from strenght to strenght and have clearly not been damaged to the required extent. The flawed NATO strategy is limiting their succes while allowing the insurgents to toy with different tactics and plans to attack and regain control of the important areas.

As I recall correctly, Obama has put up a deadline only becuase elections will come up at that time and results have to be in favor of the US strategy. The limitations in time, the acknowledgement of Mchrystal that they cannot meet deadlines and other such incidents has the USG on panic mode.

Their media campaign against Karzai backfired when he threatened to join the Taliban, the whole issue of selectvely fighing groups is absurd becuase the areas and groups that threatened us most were dealt with. This is simple logic, we are targeting what we can and who we can becuase they according to US would have overthrown our government and got our nukes.

Our war is for our interest and their war is for theirs. We can only move forward if the solution is desirable and dialogue is used to solve the insurgency problems. You do not get anywhere by killing more and more every day.

We have 100,000 + soldiers in the areas, they have achieved more in a year than what NATO has not done in a decade. This is the fact of the matter, this is an ill conceived war which was initially to get Al Qaeda but they are no where to be found.

 

[rohailmalhi]

it is our war. we suffered a lot during 80's and 90's.these militants destroyed our social fabric.
agar 911 na bhi hota tou hamain yea jang larni perti

if 911 dont happens thn we would have been in different position .
No taliban mess in Pakistan atleast.

 

[SekrutYakhni]

AND is it just a coincide or something else?

Zia overthrew the government and the war started.
Musharaf came and the war started.

Did the general team discussed this with the daddy (the U.S.)?

 

[Bill Longley]

if 911 dont happens thn we would have been in different position .
No taliban mess in Pakistan atleast.

I think its a myth.why you forget Lashker e Jhungvi , sipah sahaba and secterian killings. Pakistans war on terror started before Global war on terror

Name of Pakistan Tehrik e Taliban first time came on media in 1999 when few madrassa students in Aurakzai made a a tanzeem under this banner and tried to enforce sharia.

Secterianism and Militancy was increaseing and as far as I have talked to govt officals agencies were predicting that State had to control these militant islamists in order to stop full fledge civil war.

Pakistan's blunder was to fight US jihad against Soviats and it was fruit of that Jihad which
created monsters

 

[SekrutYakhni]

I think its a myth.why you forget Lashker e Jhungvi , sipah sahaba and secterian killings. Pakistans war on terror started before Global war on terror

Who created those militant groups?
Now, we did not have to create those groups if India was a neutral state BUT again; every action has a reaction. Now, do not call me an emotional rant but look at yourselves and tell me that am I right or did your strategy ruined Pakistan
And tell me that WOT saved Pakistan.

 

[Bill Longley]

Who created those militant groups?
Now, we did not have to create those groups if India was a neutral state BUT again; every action has a reaction. Now, do not call me an emotional rant but look at yourselves and tell me that am I right or did your strategy ruined Pakistan
And tell me that WOT saved Pakistan.

My dear i reckoned that blunders were committed our rulers sold our soverignity when they allowed US to train and finance Afghan mujahideen in 1979 before Soviat invasion and then allowing pakistan to become base of Afghan Jihad against USSR.

btw as sunni dominated country reaction to Iranian revolution in neighborhood was must. so coupled with afghan jihad enviroment with courtious financing and ideological propoganda of friendly states these Militants gained roots.

but now when we are fighting and defeating thee monsters we should not remain in past and play blame game. we must get united and fight these monsters for our and our children future