OMAID WEEKLY
29 October 2001
Pakistani duplicity in the war against terrorism, and US complicity in the Paki-Taliban-bin Laden axis success
Editorial
The 25 October 2001 edition of The Washington Times included a short yet sapient Letter to the Editor, "How serious is the U.S. about finding bin Laden?," by California resident Suresh M. Smith. [eds: It should be noted that to its credit, The Washington Times advocated United States support for the martyred Ahmad Shah Masood (rahmatullah alaih -- God's blessings upon him), in an editorial in its 23 April 1992 edition. Had the US State Department taken this sagacious advice back then, neither Afghanistan nor the United States -- nor even the world, for that matter, would have to be in this current global crisis.]
The letter cited a statement from top Taliban official Jalaluddin Haqqani during his recent stay in Pakistan, which said, "Osama bin Laden and his companions are living in complete safety. No harm has come to them [from U.S. bombing attacks]."
Mr. Suresh correctly points out that Haqqani, who according to Pakistani press reports is in charge of Osama bin Laden's security, is surely the one person who would know the whereabouts of the Arab terrorist. The writer also rightfully questions why US "State Department geniuses" did not demand Haqqani's detainment or hand over by Pakistani officials.
The writers seeming puzzlement is perhaps more sarcasm than a true inquiry, since he is surely aware of the US State Department's abysmal track record in Afghanistan. For more than twenty years, Washington's Afghan policy, formulated in large part by the State Department, has led to the appeasement of Pakistan's nefarious intelligence agency, the InterService Intelligence (ISI) directorate, the rise of Gulbudin Hekmatyar, the creation of the Taliban militia, and the empowerment of groups like Osama's Al-Qaida.
Gulbudin, of course, was responsible for the death of more mujahideen than Soviet troops during the 1980s, even though he received the bulk of US aid. At the behest of the ISI, Gulbudin was also responsible for the sabotage of the 1992 mujahideen government, the destruction of Kabul, and the death of over 60,000 Kabul residents -- hence his apt title to infamy, the Butcher of Kabul. And it's no secret that the Taliban, along with their Al-Qaida and other international terrorist group allies, are responsible for numerous atrocities and crimes against humanity -- ethnic cleansing, cultural genocide, and gender apartheid to name only a few. All of these tragedies were in part due to the US State Department's active support or at least acquiescence to the ISI.
And so the US State Department's failure to prevent the deaths of thousands of its own Americans, let alone countless tens of thousands of Afghans, goes further back than Mr. Suresh's current challenge to today's Foggy Bottom "geniuses": "To capture bin Laden as soon as possible and reduce US war casualties, shouldn't the United States have asked Pakistan to apprehend Haqqani and turn him over for questioning?"
While Mr. Suresh's tongue in cheek jab at the US State Department displays his knowledge of that Agency's serious shortcomings, he may not be aware that Haqqani has faithfully served as an ISI agent for the past two decades. Since the terrorist attacks on Washington and New York, and in spite of the US-led international war against terrorism, the ISI is still intact, Haqqani is still an ISI darling, and even with his appointment to head of Osama's security, Haqqani easily travels to and from Peshawar, just miles away from US troops.
Perhaps, but very unlikely, the US State Department and its non-military policymakers have been duped by Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf's "bold" and "courageous" decision -- to borrow terms from US Secretary of State Colin Powell's recent complementary words in reference to Pakistan's ruler -- to replace the ISI director as a step toward Islamabad's alignment with the US-led anti-terrorism effort. Very likely, however, the US State Department is aware that Musharraf has fully preserved the ISI, allows it to function unhampered, and encourages it to continue aiding the Taliban and guarantee the militia's stranglehold on Afghanistan. Some analysts have speculated that the ISI furnished the Taliban with information on the late-Commander Abdul Haq's location, which ultimately led to his death.
The ISI is working now to make sure that Haqqani -- who is responsible for ethnic cleansing campaigns in the provinces of Parwan and Kapisa, as well as the poisoning of wells and torching of orchards and fruit trees in that region -- is included in any future government, should or when the Taliban crumble.
Undoubtedly, if Pakistan and its nefarious ISI are allowed to function as kingmaker in Afghanistan, as Washington has allowed and prompted them to do for so long, then the US-led anti-terrorism war will not reach a conclusive, successful end, neither now nor in the foreseeable future. >< |
