rediff.com
FBI to set up office in Delhi, train Indian personnel
Josy Joseph in New Delhi
*CIA tapes talk between Mush..... and Aziz and gives it to RAW*
The external intelligence agencies of the United States and India are engaged in a continuous exchange of information on regional
developments, especially Islamic fundamentalism, which is drastically
altering international equations.
*FBI office in new Delhi*
The cooperation is expected to peak with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation giving regular training to Indian security personnel on
anti-terrorist operations, possibly at A PERMANENT BASE in India, sources said.
According to authoritative sources, the CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY has
been providing regular "INPUTS" to the Indian authorities.
The inputs come primarily through diplomatic contacts, but it is believed that
direct contact between the CIA and the (RAW )Research and Analysis Wing is also
in place.
*CIA tapes talk between Musharraf and Aziz and passes the tape to RAW*
Regular information exchange between the CIA and RAW intensified since
the Kargil crisis began, and was visible in the release of tapes containing
conversations between Pakistan Army chief General Pervez Musharraf and
his chief of general staff, Lt Gen Mohd Aziz, on May 26.
The conversation, it has now been confirmed by authoritative sources, was
tapped by the CIA and passed on to the Indian authorities.
The tapes were released to the press and diplomatic missions later to prove
the Pakistan Army's involvement in the Kargil intrusions.
Ever since, the sources said, American intelligence inputs on various terrorist
outfits in Afghanistan and Pakistan are being supplied regularly to the Indian
agencies. In fact, on international terrorist Osama bin Laden, the CIA
provides an 'intense' update.
It was the CIA that informed the Indian authorities about bin Laden's
presence in Pakistan over the last week. He was based at the Muzaffarabad
headquarters of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen terrorist group in
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
*Bin Laden Weds into Taliban Boss family*
According to information passed on to the Indian agencies, bin Laden also
travelled to Lahore for a meeting of pan-Islamic terrorist organisations. In
the midst of all this, he got married to the daughter of one of the Taliban
bosses.
*Americans fired at the Bin Laden's Cellular phone, borrowed by an assistant*
The INMARSAT phone that the Arab was using earlier was being
constantly monitored by the CIA and various other intelligence agencies.
During last year's missile attack on bin Laden's hideout in Afghanistan, the
American fleet, which was stationed far off the Pakistan coast, fired at him
by tracking his satellite phone. But bin Laden had left the phone with an
assistant, who was killed in the attack.
Sources said bin Laden has almost completely stopped using telephones for
communication, but the American intelligence network around him has been
tightened.
From mere sharing of intelligence inputs, the Indo-US tie-up has grown to
regular diplomatic exchanges. Last month, two senior officials of the
external affairs ministry travelled to Washington to discuss the menace of
Islamic terrorism, and it was reciprocated with the visit of the American
co-ordinator for counter-terrorism, Michael A Sheehan, to Delhi last week.
It was during Sheehan's visit that the proposal for FBI training for Indian
security personnel was concretised. According to sources, America wants
to set up a permanent FBI office in Delhi, which has been accepted by India
in principle.
But a senior government official involved in the anti-terrorist operations said
permitting the FBI to set up an office in Delhi is "too sensitive a decision to
be taken in a hurry".
Though the formalities are yet to be worked out, it is believed that selected
military and paramilitary officials will be given training in undertaking
specialised anti-terrorist operations. Already, the National Security Guard
has crack teams that are flown down to meet terrorist crises anywhere in
the country.
But even as the Indian establishment moves closer to the US on
anti-terrorist operations, there are sceptics within the establishment who
urge India to be cautious in its dealings with Washington. They argue that
under continuing pressure from America, Pakistan may finally allow the US
to set up a permanent base in PoK, an undercover demand of the
Americans for long. That will completely alter the security scenario in the
region.
"For the time being, because the internal politics of Pakistan do not allow the
Americans smooth passage to PoK and due to the heat of Islamic terrorism,
the US is friendly with us. But under intense pressure and economic crisis,
Pakistan will finally give in, [though] that may not be in the immediate future.
But once that happens, the entire security scenario in the region will
change," said a senior intelligence officer.
He said, "It is by now well known that the US's great ambition for this region
is to have a permanent base in the area." |
