Thursday, October 7

WSJ Report: Pak ISI officers pressing Taliban field commanders to fight ISAF in Afghanistan

A Pakistan official is hotly denying the claim: "Honestly, they see ISI agents behind every bush in Afghanistan."

Of course they're not behind every bush; that's ridiculous. They're behind every tree.

As to who ratted out the ISI this time -- from the Wall Street Journal report, it seems the ISI is now making enemies right and left among its puppets:
Some Taliban commanders and U.S. officials say militant leaders are being pressured by officers from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency not to surrender.

"The ISI wants to arrest commanders who are not obeying [ISI] orders," said a Taliban commander in Kunar province.

U.S. officials say they have heard similar reports from captured militants and those negotiating to lay down their arms.
[...]

The Taliban commander in Kunar, like others interviewed in recent days, said he remained opposed to the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan and had no plans to stop fighting them. But "the ISI wants us to kill everyone -- policemen, soldiers, engineers, teachers, civilians -- just to intimidate people," the commander said.

He said he refused, and that the ISI had tried to arrest him. "Afghans are all brothers; tomorrow we could be sitting together in one room."
[...]
As to what the U.S.-ISAF command plans to do about the Pak military/ISI war against NATO forces in Afghanistan -- again, from the WSJ report, there's split opinion between the ostriches and those who have faced up to reality:
[T]he U.S. has generally muted its concerns about ISI cooperation, in part because senior U.S. officials remain divided on whether it is coming from rogue elements within the intelligence agency or is fully sanctioned.

Some U.S. officials say the top levels of the ISI are committed to trying to reform the agency. "It is difficult to know how much the lower levels of ISI answer to senior leadership," said a military official.

Other officials are more skeptical, saying such work couldn't go on without sanction from the ISI's top officers. "I haven't seen evidence that the ISI is not in control of all of its parts," said a senior U.S. defense official.

U.S. officials say Pakistani pressure on midlevel Taliban leaders is part of Islamabad's effort to make sure it has significant leverage in peace efforts.
There's lots more in the WSJ report Pakistan Urges On Taliban, filed close to midnight Eastern time on the 6th by Julian E. Barnes, Matthew Rosenberg and Habib Khan Totakhil with additional reporting from Tom Wright.

1 comment:

  1. You would do well to remember Mullah Baradar.

    Also remember the Punjabi strain of influence behind this. Check the 'Black legs'.

    Note that there has never been a Punjabi empire. What does that mean in terms of risking the country.

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