The CIA Takes a Big Hit in the Afghan War
Time: The Khost death toll is second only to the record for the number of CIA staffers killed in a single day. On April 18 1983, eight members of the Agency were killed when the US Embassy in Beirut was blown up by a Hizballah suicide bomb. A retired officer who was then in active service says the Agency "was in shock for about one day... and then we got mad."
What Could a Stealth Drone Be Doing in Afghanistan? | Danger Room | Wired.com
"The Taliban do not have radar, so why deploy an expensive, stealthy done when conventional models like the Predator and Reaper work so well? And what’s the point of having a high-level, strategic craft in that theater?"Says the WIRED.COM story and it goes on:
"There has of course been plenty of speculation. Much of it is focused on the idea that while it is based in Kandahar, the Beast may be carrying out missions outside of Afghanistan, with Iran and Pakistan both being possible candidates. For both of those radar stealth could be an important asset, and the beast may be carrying out signals-intercept or other tasks (looking for traces of nuclear material?).
"This might make more sense than local operations: why risk an expensive, scarce black drone and run the chance of it being uncovered if you can do the job with other aircraft."
"There has of course been plenty of speculation. Much of it is focused on the idea that while it is based in Kandahar, the Beast may be carrying out missions outside of Afghanistan, with Iran and Pakistan both being possible candidates. For both of those radar stealth could be an important asset, and the beast may be carrying out signals-intercept or other tasks (looking for traces of nuclear material?).
"This might make more sense than local operations: why risk an expensive, scarce black drone and run the chance of it being uncovered if you can do the job with other aircraft."
Could Blackwater be working to help carve a united Pashtunistan?
What is Blackwater doing in Pakistan? Brig (R) Shaukat Qadir poses the question, and tries to answer it in this piece carried by UAE-based The National Newspaper.
NYDN: Obama, tell me how this ends?
"The Long War ends not in victory but in exhaustion and insolvency, when the United States runs out of troops and out of money", says Andrew J. Bacevich. Some in Pakistan may secretly share this view - but Bacevich's argument is based on a different error:
"The [War on Terror] has no coherent narrative. When it comes to defining victory, U.S. political and military leaders are flying blind", says the New York Daily News writer. "Historically, the default strategy for wars that lack a plausible victory narrative is attrition. When you don't know how to win, you try to outlast your opponent, hoping he'll run out of troops, money and will before you do." The full story.
"The [War on Terror] has no coherent narrative. When it comes to defining victory, U.S. political and military leaders are flying blind", says the New York Daily News writer. "Historically, the default strategy for wars that lack a plausible victory narrative is attrition. When you don't know how to win, you try to outlast your opponent, hoping he'll run out of troops, money and will before you do." The full story.
Guardian Reports British & American 'Boots on the Ground' in Pakistan
That was between 2003 and 2008. Now, "Disrupting the Taliban safe haven inside Pakistan is the unspoken part of Barack Obama's 'surge' announced this month. Although 30,000 troops will be deployed to Afghanistan by next summer, the Taliban and al-Qaida leadership is believed to be sheltering on the Pakistani side of the 1,600-mile border", says the Guardian report.
Why does Pakistan hate the United States? - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine
Attitude from the U.S. of A: Christopher Hitchens cannot imagine why Pakistanis are not head over heels in love with America after all these decades of favors - including overlooking "the regular interventions of its military into politics" and the funding of the Afghan Jihad. Small wonder the world is in a mess when this is the IQ of the pundits of the leader of the free world.
'The war is in Pakistan right now' | Raw Story
"The war is in Pakistan right now. There's no question about it. The question, though, is how much it's going to expand. ... These are actions that are going to destabilize Pakistan..." Scahill again.
This is a follow-up post to the previous one - it does move the story forward. For background, here is the link to the original Scahill story - The Secret US War in Pakistan - in The Nation.
This is a follow-up post to the previous one - it does move the story forward. For background, here is the link to the original Scahill story - The Secret US War in Pakistan - in The Nation.
Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan Nailed
Jeremy Scahill tells democracy now Blackwater is executing a secret war in Pakistan - as part of a program so secretive that top Obama administration and military officials have likely been unaware of its existence; and that Blackwater employees in Pakistan could be posting as aid workers. Does the Pakistan-US diplomatic row make sense now?
There is more: Beginning in 2006, the Pakistani government allowed the JSOC to operate in Pakistan; and that the US military involvement within Pakistan is set to increase....
Scahill broke the story in The Nation Magazine on 23 November; this video contains an interview (1:35-20:34) he gave to Democracy Now's Amy Goodman the next day. He also gives the names of a Pakistani defense contractor to which Blackwater is a subcontractor - he is naming the names. A must watch if you are trying to understand what is going on in (and happening to) our country. [Thank you to Maj. Talat Khurshid, for a tip that led me to this - how could I miss this?]
There is more: Beginning in 2006, the Pakistani government allowed the JSOC to operate in Pakistan; and that the US military involvement within Pakistan is set to increase....
Scahill broke the story in The Nation Magazine on 23 November; this video contains an interview (1:35-20:34) he gave to Democracy Now's Amy Goodman the next day. He also gives the names of a Pakistani defense contractor to which Blackwater is a subcontractor - he is naming the names. A must watch if you are trying to understand what is going on in (and happening to) our country. [Thank you to Maj. Talat Khurshid, for a tip that led me to this - how could I miss this?]
Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones - WSJ.com
$26 off-the-shelf software used to intercept video feeds from drones: "Some of the most detailed evidence of intercepted feeds has been discovered in Iraq, but adversaries have also intercepted drone video feeds in Afghanistan, according to people briefed on the matter. These intercept techniques could be employed in other locations where the U.S. is using pilotless planes, such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, they said."
A Chance for "These People" to Make a Difference
Pakistani-American Rob Asghar at Huffpo: "Diaspora-led initiatives can address challenges in ways that governments can't..."
The Year of Decision & the Year of Tumult
Goodbye to the NRO | The AfPak Channel: "The roller coaster U.S.-Pakistan relationship seems heading for another deep dive, unless cooler heads prevail."
U.S. Pressing Pakistan to Do Even More!
Under U.S. Pressure, Pakistan Balks at Helping on Afghan Taliban - TIME: "The immediate focus of discussion between the U.S. and Pakistan is North Waziristan."
Suspicions of Clandestine Activity?
Pakistan 'Harassing U.S. Diplomats', says NYTimes.com: "The campaign includes the refusal to extend or approve visas for more than 100 American officials and the frequent searches of American diplomatic vehicles in major cities, said an American official briefed on the cases."
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