Wikileaks : Secret Afghanistan War logs

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

S2 or other US military professionals can help forum members understand what PIR and CCIR are and how they drive DIIR and this may help forum members understand how incoming Tacreps are supposed to help further DIIR and how the need to do gthat and get on the books so to speak, reflects on units.

In addition US military forum members can explain what analyst rating of tacreps mean -- similarly the entire process of "nominating" individuals to a JPEL list -- from what others tell me, most of these just get a delete when an analyst cannot rate it as credible but I have no other way of knowing - some US professional may shed some light on this.

S-2 is taking a leave of absence since he thought his nation was slandered by one of the mods here. Of course the fact that other fora he participates on, and his nations media, and some Indian and American posters on this forum, slander Pakistan far worse is something to merely be taken in stride by Pakistanis.

We Pakistanis have no cause for similar 'righteous anger'.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

An Ally of Necessity​

Over the past nine years, more Pakistani than NATO troops have lost their lives fighting the Taliban.

By HUSAIN HAQQANI

The much publicized leaking of several thousand classified documents relating to the war in Afghanistan may have provided the war's American critics an opportunity to press their objections. It does not, however, make the case against military and political cooperation between the governments of the United States and Pakistan, made necessary by the challenge of global terrorism.

Under elected leaders, Pakistan is working with the U.S. to build trust between our militaries and intelligence agencies. In recent months, Pakistan has undertaken a massive military operation in the region bordering Afghanistan, denying space to Taliban extremists who had hoped to create a ministate with the backing of al Qaeda. Pakistan-Afghanistan relations have been enhanced to an unprecedented degree. And exchanges of intelligence between Pakistan and the U.S. have foiled several terrorist plots around the globe. The WikiLeaks controversy and the ensuing speculation about Pakistan's role in the global effort against the terrorists should not disrupt the ongoing efforts of the U.S. and Pakistan to contain and destroy the forces of extremism and fanaticism that threaten the entire world.
Sadanand Dhume: A Sanctuary for Terror

Pakistan is crucial for helping Afghanistan attain stability while pursuing the defeat of al Qaeda led terrorist ideologues. For that reason the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department have denounced the leaking of unattributed and unprocessed information implicating Pakistan in supporting or tolerating the Taliban. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, a Democrat, warned Monday against judging Pakistan's role in the Afghan war by "outdated reports," adding that Pakistan had "significantly stepped up its fight against the Taliban." Most Americans and many Pakistanis agree on the need for improvements in Pakistan's efforts, but that is not the same as suspecting lack of cooperation.

The tragedy that has unfolded in South Asia is the product of a long series of policy miscalculations spanning fully 30 years. The U.S., in its zeal to defeat the Soviet Union—a noble goal indeed—selected Afghanistan as a venue. Pakistan became caught up in an ideological battle between communism and a politicized version of our Islamic faith. The most violent and most radical elements of the Mujahedeen resistance were empowered to fight the surrogate war against the Russians. Concerns—such as former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's warning in 1989 while visiting the U.S. that the world had created a Frankenstein monster in Afghanistan that would come back to haunt us—were generally ignored.

Alliances and relationships forged among supporters of the Afghan jihad 30 years ago have not been easy to dismantle within Pakistan. But they have been dismantled. After 9/11, Pakistan made a deliberate and courageous decision to confront the terrorists as the civilized world's first line of defense. Since the return of democracy in 2008, Pakistan has paid a terrible price for its commitment to fight terrorism. More Pakistanis have been killed by terrorism in the last two years than the number of civilians who died in New York's Twin Towers. Over the past nine years more Pakistani than NATO troops have lost their lives fighting the Taliban. Two thousand Pakistani police have been killed; our mosques and hotels have been savagely attacked; scores of billion dollars of foreign investment were frozen; and tens of billions of dollars of funding for education and health have been diverted to the battlefield against the extremists.

We cannot undo the past, but we can certainly alter the course of the future. The democratically elected government of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has followed a clearly laid out strategy of fighting and marginalizing terrorists, even when that decision was less than popular with a public still cynical because of what it believed was the political manipulation of the past. The course laid out by Pakistan's democratic leaders has been executed brilliantly by Pakistan's military and intelligence services.

The documents circulated by WikiLeaks do not even remotely reflect the current realities on the ground. For example, a retired Pakistani general is named as the master planner of the Afghan Taliban's strategy. But this is a man who hasn't held any position within Pakistani intelligence or the military for more than 20 years. For its part, Pakistan's current leadership will not be distracted by something like these leaks. We have paid an unprecedented price in blood and treasure over the last two years. We will not succumb to the terrorists.

As we speak, the military of Pakistan is engaged in a bloody battle, taking enormous casualties, in the mountains of South Waziristan to purge the tribal areas of terrorist sanctuaries. Our intelligence forces are gathering information across the country and targeting terrorist cells in North Waziristan to thwart their designs for destabilizing our government and terrorizing our people.

This is Pakistan's war as much as it is a battle for civilization. Pakistan's very existence and traditional way of life are at stake. We fight alongside our friends from all over the world to protect freedom. The U.S could not have a more committed ally in this defining battle of the third millennium than the people, the government and the military of Pakistan.

Mr. Haqqani is Pakistan's ambassador to the United States.

Husain Haqqani: An Ally of Necessity - WSJ.com

 

[DesiGuy]

Oh, i am sorry if saying "ISI supports Taliban" is trolling.

Sir, as far as i know and has as much as knowledge i have, i would say there is no doubt that ISI is supporting tali bans just like RAW is supporting ppl in Baluchistan.

There is no doubt that both ISI and RAW are at War, so they would do anything to beat each other. I don't like to lecture a lot, and i just like to get to the the main point. unlike many of you agnostic Muslim, i am not that intelligent on this forum, however my opinion is not stated on my hatred or anything like that, but based on the reports i hear everyday whether it's cnn, dawn, BBC , TOI, or even rupee news. I like to have debate with my dad and one thing i agree with hi and is that both these agencies are at war. As much as ISI is creating havoc in India, Raw is no saint.

 

[ambidex]

The trend is evident; USA snubbed India on disclosing Headley's revelation for spoiling it efforts to engage Pakistan. Therefore arguments that USA has condemned these reports and is still aiding Pakistan are totally bias to prove Pakistan's Innocence. USA has no other option but to purchase its rights to raise war on terror for logistical and tactical assistance form Pakistan.
Therefore raising doubt on the truth by saying that since USA is not firing all its shots against Pakistan is again weak opinion.

Keeping Pakistan of the hook by saying leaks do not correspond to present situation and is outdated is a sheer hypocrisy cause once friend has to be always friend.

Pakistan's Strategic depth in AF and WOT are contradictory to each other and is only reason for Pakistan's double play.

However the only nation in jeopardy after this is USA, who has risked rest of his alley for the security of America.
Even if we do not mention ISI in this whole exposure, the abuse of power is going to hunt USA and sister concerns for many years to come. There is exceptional tranquility between western nations those who are helping USA for post 9/11 WOT (we all know the reason). Also they have the resources to compensate its bad effects in future by many means. Also I don't think they will ever cross question each other after packing their tents; back home. But where Pakistan will stand while condemning these abuses being a Muslim nation and alley of WOT at the same time. Will Pakistan share its responsibility or will just debunk accusations by people and nation involved, as usual.

 

[sparklingway]

Islamabad slams allegations of ISI-Taliban links

Pakistan Foreign Office issues statement dismissing Wikileaks disseminated documents.​

Responding to the contents of leaked US military documents, Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Monday dismissed the contention that the government and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is aiding militancy in Afghanistan and hampering the war on terror.

Following the publication of a six-year archive of classified military documents that link the ISI with the Taliban and other militant groups in Afghanistan, FO spokesperson Abdul Basit said: “These are far-fetched and skewed reports, evidently inconsistent with ground realities.”

The spokesperson said the allegations contained in the reports showed a “lack of understanding” of the complexities involved.

“Pakistan’s constructive and positive role in Afghanistan cannot be blighted by such self-serving and baseless reports,” Basit added. The previously classified documents were leaked by website Wikileaks on Sunday. The documents suggest that ISI representatives meet directly with the Taliban to formulate strategies to work against Afghan and coalition forces. Former chief of the ISI, General (Rtd) Hamid Gul also features heavily in the reports, which suggest he has been working to revive ties with personalities like Jalaluddin Haqqani and Gulbiddin Hekmatyar. The Haqqani group is currently the subject of intense US scrutiny, as Washington urges Islamabad to act against what it sees as a terror network. However, some experts interviewed by the NYT cautioned that a establishing a direct link between the ISI and terror networks like the al Qaeda was difficult.

The response to these reports in Pakistan on Monday was swift.

Ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani called the publication of the reports “irresponsible” and said they consisted of “unprocessed” reports from the field. “The US, Afghanistan and Pakistan are strategic partners and are jointly endeavoring to defeat the al Qaeda and its Taliban allies militarily and politically,” he said. “These reports are often proved wrong after deeper examination,” Haqqani continued, adding that the government was following “a clearly laid-out strategy of fighting and marginalizing terrorists, and our military and intelligence services are effectively executing that policy.”

Hamid Gul also dismissed the allegation contained in the reports, saying that they were “utterly wrong, totally fabricated and false.”

“They are talking about a 74-year-old general who retired long ago and has nothing to do with this. They are looking for some scapegoat and this is the sign of their defeat in Afghanistan,” said the former ISI chief.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, said that regardless of how the documents were published, they cast the Obama administration in a very poor light.

The allegations cast by the reports could have far-reaching consequences, say analysts. Defence analyst Talat Masood said that such leaks threatened to undermine efforts to improve relations between Pakistan and the US.

“The report is contradictory as it contains assertions which officials contradict themselves. There is no substance in it,” he said. “These leaks really undermine relationship between US and Pakistan and actually promotes kind of an ill-will,” he added.

Security analyst Hasan Askari dismissed the leaks as out-of-date and put them in context of the intrigue in Afghanistan, where the ISI incites loathing, and the domestic political scene in the US.

“In 2009, Pakistan took actions and showed results,” Askari said. “These criticisms aren’t there any more.

“Groups who want to put pressure on the current US administration are behind this report. The anti-Obama lobby is releasing these reports at this stage because there are mid-term elections due in the United States.”

Meanwhile, reactions to the documents have poured in from around the world.

The Afghan government said on Monday that the information revealed in the reports was not surprising.

“Since 2006, since the first suicide bombing, we have talked about the role of (Pakistan’s) intelligence services,” Waheed Omar, President Hamid Karzai’s spokesperson, told reporters in Kabul.

The Kabul government welcomed the leaks, saying the documents could help “raise awareness on the sanctuaries” Islamabad provides for militant groups.

“We hope they (Pakistan) will take practical steps that convince everyone they don’t support them,” he said, referring to militant groups that include the Taliban, the al Qaeda and the Haqqani network.

The US and Britain have both condemned the leaks, saying that it has endangered the lives of personnel on the ground.

“We would lament all unauthorised releases of classified material,” a Downing Street spokesperson said on Monday. “We will not comment on leaked documents.”

In Washington, White House National Security Advisor James Jones said: “The US strongly condemns the disclosure of classified information by individuals and organizations which could put the lives of Americans and our partners at risk, and threaten our national security.”

Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan called the release of the documents a ‘criminal act’ and said the defense department was scramblingto review the documents to determine “whether they reveal sources and methods,” endanger troops or harm national security.

The founder of the website Wikileaks, Julian Assange, defended his decision to publish the documents, however, saying that the reports would help shape understanding of the past six years of fighting.

In a press conference in London, Assange said his team had tried to ensure that the material would not put innocents in harms way. “All the material is over seven months old so is of no current operational consequence, even though it may be of very significant investigative consequence,” he said. (With additional information from AFP)

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27th, 2010.

 

[Jigs]

Shouldn't pakistan be angry at wikileaks for releasing "unprocessed" Intel rather then the U.S. that collects it ? I mean most of it is speculative in its claims and the U.S. made the point that it had a problem with the raw intel as not being an accurate pro-trail of these issues. The only thing they said was 100% correct was the catalog of attacks in Afghanistan.

 

[Gin ka Pakistan]

The lobbies in US are more loyal to other nations then of their own. Who ever leak the documents had no respect for US interest.

 

[Hulk]

after posting this if indians keep on saying that why are pakistanis in denial of evidence, nothing you read is credible, you should start to issue out bans, because i have noticed they like to do these repetitive nonsensical belligerent rants in every single thread. constantly repeating over and over and over the samething while completely disregarding the revelant important facts. don't take this as me trying to censor them, consider it blocking out repetitive stupidity.

This agreed is irritating but same thingS Pakistani's do in Indian threads. Why only banning Indian's?

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Shouldn't pakistan be angry at wikileaks for releasing "unprocessed" Intel rather then the U.S. that collects it ? I mean most of it is speculative in its claims and the U.S. made the point that it had a problem with the raw intel as not being an accurate pro-trail of these issues. The only thing they said was 100% correct was the catalog of attacks in Afghanistan.

Has any US spokesperson come right out and pointed to the fact that these reports against the ISI are raw and unverifiable data?

That they have chosen to be ambiguous about the issue and neither confirm nor deny to me suggests either culpability in the leak (there is really little that is significantly damaging to the US war effort in the leaks, when you look at them further), or at the least duplicitous behavior in taking advantage of the leak to pressure Pakistan by implying through the lack of a categorical denial that the unverified reports have a degree of credibility.

Wikileaks does what it does - but the US, as the source (deliberate or inadvertent), through its approach in handling the content of the leaks related to Pakistan has certainly shown ill will and duplicity.

Various US spokespeople gave interviews and held press conferences today - none pointed out the obvious, that this was unprocessed and unverified intel.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Pakistan decries Wikileak release of U.S. military documents on Afghan war​

By Joshua Partlow and Karin Brulliard
Washington Post staff writers
Tuesday, July 27, 2010

KABUL -- Pakistani officials reacted angrily Monday to the publication of a trove of U.S. military documents that suggested Pakistan's spy agency collaborated with the Taliban, saying the United States is using their country as a scapegoat for its failing war.

Diplomats and officials dismissed the reports as rehashed falsehoods, but ones that could have damaging consequences for Pakistan's relations with the United States. Some expressed doubts about whether the United States could be trusted with sensitive information and questioned pledges of increased trust in Pakistan.

In a statement, the Pakistani government called the allegations, contained in more than 91,000 military documents leaked by the group Wikileaks.org to unveil $500 million worth of development projects, the first disbursement of a $7.5 billion, five-year aid package approved by Congress last year.

In Islamabad, Pakistan, a senior ISI official, speaking on the condition of anonymity according to agency custom, said it was still sifting through the documents. But the official said that the allegations did not sound new and that they appeared to contain no concrete evidence of ISI backing for the Afghan insurgency.

The official acknowledged, however, that some of the allegations sound "very damning" and could erode support in America for the U.S. alliance with Pakistan. If the CIA does not denounce the suggestions, the official said the ISI might need to reexamine its cooperation.

Pakistani officials dismissed the disclosures that their country's spies meet and coordinate attacks with Taliban leaders. Several officials and analysts suggested that the Obama administration is trying to exert pressure on their government or smear Pakistan's reputation.

Retired Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul, a former Pakistani spy chief who was repeatedly implicated in the documents, also lashed out at the allegations that he aided the Taliban attacks. Gul is accused, among other things, of directing Pakistan-based militants to craft plans for strikes inside Afghanistan, including one meant as payback for the death of an al-Qaeda operative killed by a U.S. drone attack.

In an interview Monday, he said the leaked documents should prompt Pakistan to drop its alliance with the United States. The Americans are "facing defeat in Afghanistan and to cover that, they are coming up with false allegations against Pakistan," he said. "This is a pack of lies to malign [the] Pakistan army and the ISI."

Gul worked closely with the CIA's anti-Soviet campaign during his tenure from 1987 to 1989. Today, he is one of Pakistan's most strident critics of the United States and an unabashed supporter of Afghan insurgents. U.S. officials have long suspected him of retaining links to former mujaheddin such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The senior ISI official said Gul has no remaining ties to the ISI.

washingtonpost.com

 

[Gin ka Pakistan]

Canada says leaked Afghan papers could hurt troops
Mon Jul 26, 1:13 PM


VANCOUVER (Reuters) - The leak of U.S. military documents on the war in Afghanistan could endanger Canadian troops in that country, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said on Monday
He dismissed suggestions, however, that the leaked reports show the Canadian public has been misled about the grimness of the situation facing the roughly 2,700 Canadian military personnel in Afghanistan.


Cannon refused to comment on specific information in the more than 91,000 U.S. military documents on the war released on Sunday by WikiLeaks, an organization promoting the leaking of information to fight corporate and government corruption. The documents include reports that Pakistan has allowed representatives of its spy service to meet directly with the Taliban.


"Our government is concerned, obviously, that operational leaks could endanger the lives of our men and women in Afghanistan," Cannon told reporters in Ottawa.


The documents say that the Taliban has access to heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles, and that a Canadian soldier was among those killed when one was apparently used to shoot down a helicopter.


The Taliban's access to the weapons had not been disclosed previously.


"We have certainly not misled the Canadian public in any way, shape or form," Cannon said, calling the government's handling of information on Afghanistan "extremely transparent".


Canada's military mission in Afghanistan, which has become increasingly unpopular at home, is scheduled to end next year. Since the mission began in 2002, 150 Canadian troops have died in Afghanistan.


(Reporting Allan Dowd, Editing by Peter Galloway)

Canada says leaked Afghan papers could hurt troops - Yahoo! Canada News

 

[Old School]

Wikileaks depends on insiders who provide them with credible information. Here we are talking about the involvement of some officials of Pentagon and the Afghan Intelligence. However, It is unlikely that this was done with the consent of White House but it did have consent from President Karzai. Now , the question is what purpose does it serve ?

It will not help the fight against the Taliban in any way.
It will not help any indictment vis a vis alleged war crimes committed by ISAF.
It will not diminish Pakistan's role as a major player in the Afghan issue.

On a contrary, it will harm none but President Karzai who just lost the final support base at the White House.
It will also harm 'a third country' who gave this ill advice to President Karzai.

People must realize that no Afghan solution is possible without the friendly hand of Pakistan and it makes no sense to harm Pakistan's image. Image is not the issue here. Pakistan is an indispensable necessity. Pakistan Khappay.

 

[jeypore]

Shouldn't pakistan be angry at wikileaks for releasing "unprocessed" Intel rather then the U.S. that collects it ?

The owner of WIKIleak is British..

An other aspect of this story is that before releasing this information, the owner decided to give this information to US, British and German major news papers. And this is the result afterwards...

To me, they all had to agree on the data that was provided by the Wikileak from them to publish!!!

Anyways what has been arguing for while now!!!

 

[Jigs]

Has any US spokesperson come right out and pointed to the fact that these reports against the ISI are raw and unverifiable data?

That they have chosen to be ambiguous about the issue and neither confirm nor deny to me suggests either culpability in the leak (there is really little that is significantly damaging to the US war effort in the leaks, when you look at them further), or at the least duplicitous behavior in taking advantage of the leak to pressure Pakistan by implying through the lack of a categorical denial that the unverified reports have a degree of credibility.

Wikileaks does what it does - but the US, as the source (deliberate or inadvertent), through its approach in handling the content of the leaks related to Pakistan has certainly shown ill will and duplicity.

Various US spokespeople gave interviews and held press conferences today - none pointed out the obvious, that this was unprocessed and unverified intel.

No no one came right out and said these were completely false but this is raw data. So at the same time no one can deny that the U.S. has issues with Pakistan's commitment in dealing with terrorist strongholds in Pakistan this has been discussed before. I think Robert Gibbs made a good point about it at the Presser. I don't think you can write any of this off or confirm it(Certainly the general media spin on the U.S. side has been negative towards pakistan). That is to be expected since Pakistan's commitment has been questioned and brought up before so raw Intel supporting that is going to fuel the conversation again.

 

[SMC]

Has any US spokesperson come right out and pointed to the fact that these reports against the ISI are raw and unverifiable data?

That they have chosen to be ambiguous about the issue and neither confirm nor deny to me suggests either culpability in the leak (there is really little that is significantly damaging to the US war effort in the leaks, when you look at them further), or at the least duplicitous behavior in taking advantage of the leak to pressure Pakistan by implying through the lack of a categorical denial that the unverified reports have a degree of credibility.

Wikileaks does what it does - but the US, as the source (deliberate or inadvertent), through its approach in handling the content of the leaks related to Pakistan has certainly shown ill will and duplicity.

Various US spokespeople gave interviews and held press conferences today - none pointed out the obvious, that this was unprocessed and unverified intel.

Makes sense to me.

On one they, hand praise Pakistan and ISI publicly.

Privately, they support disinformation and propaganda war against Pakistan. They deliberately do not publicly accept or deny that ISI is supporting Taliban so as to keep the whole thing ambiguous so that they have diplomatic leverage and pressure over Pakistan to do what they want us to do. They don't provide any convincing, smoking gun evidence but allegations - which are enough to convince their public that ISI is supporting Taliban (similar to pre-Iraq war).

Again, I must repeat this. There's no chance they would provide us so much aid (the quantity of which is ever increasing) if they knew that we were supporting Taliban. The whole propaganda war is to pressure Pakistan to do certain thing.