"In other words, there's a huge unwillingness on the Israeli right to face reality -- that Israel is fast losing friends and allies in the world, and that this government in Jerusalem has only accelerated the shift. It's not hard to imagine boycott campaigns gaining momentum, damaging the Israeli economy and isolating the country diplomatically, especially in Europe.
"The one thing that might extricate Israel from this mess is a violent response from the Palestinian side -- which never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Stay tuned." FP Passport
Israel offered to sell South Africa nuclear weapons
"The "top secret" minutes of meetings between senior officials from the two countries in 1975 show that South Africa's defence minister, PW Botha, asked for the warheads and Shimon Peres, then Israel's defence minister and now its president, responded by offering them "in three sizes"." World news | The Guardian
U.S. Presses Pakistan for More Data on Travelers
T]he issue is now on a “short list” of sticking points between the two countries — including some classified counterterrorism programs, a long-running dispute over granting visas to American government workers and contractors in Pakistan, and enhanced intelligence sharing — that have intensified since the failed Times Square car bombing on May 1..." NYTimes.com
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US rehearses strikes inside Pakistan: diplomats
“The American decision to once again explore the possibility of a unilateral military strike is not a threat,” said a diplomatic source. “It aims at convincing Pakistanis that now is the time to uproot extremists. A failure to do so may lead to an attack on the US soil, which, in turn, could lead to an American military strike inside Pakistan.” DAWN.COM
White House In P.R. Battle With Pentagon?
"But whatever the generals really believe now about Afghan policy, they have had their full say, gotten most of the troops they requested and fought the war essentially their way. It's the President's responsibility to make the final calls — and to create a force-reduction strategy for Afghanistan that protects what will remain of America's interests there. The generals can and should help him do that. After 10 years of war in Afghanistan, American arms, men, women and treasure are needed far more elsewhere." Logic of the Leak - TIME
Omaba Security Strategy Focuses on Managing Threats
An America “hardened by war” and “disciplined by a devastating economic crisis,” he argues, cannot sustain extended fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan, while fulfilling other commitments at home and abroad. NYTimes.com
More on Pakistan’s Conspiracy Talk
Are our American friends seeing the conspiracy here? U.S. Is a Top Villain in Pakistan’s Conspiracy Talk - NYTimes.com
U.S. Military Going Asymmetric?
This is the latest in a series of developments that suggest the U.S. military is working hard to build capacity to deal with asymmetric challenges asymmetrically. U.S. Is Said to Expand Secret Military Acts in Mideast Region - NYTimes.com
The Cyborgs Are Coming!
"Telepathic helmets. Grid-computing swarms of cyborg insects, some for surveillance, some with lethal stingers. New cognitive-enhancement drugs. (What? Adderall and Provigil aren't good enough for you?) Lethal autonomous robots. Brain-chip-to-weapon platform control systems on a "future force warrior" platform. American military technology is getting very frisky." Brad Allenby - Slate Magazine
Dawn: Pakistan ready to move in on North Waziristan
“Pakistan is sincere and committed in combating terrorism and is ready to expand its anti-militancy operations to North Waziristan. However, for that we will require time to do the necessary shaping up. The operation will be started according to our own judgment,” a senior official told Dawn.... DAWN.COM.
UK can't deport men to Pakistan over torture risk
''There is a long and well-documented history of disappearances, illegal detention and of the torture and ill-treatment of those detained, usually to produce information, a confession or compliance,'' the judges said in a ruling issued Tuesday. DAWN.COM | World
Jones, Panetta in Pakistan Over Times Square Plot
“In light of the failed Times Square terrorist attack and other terrorist attacks that trace to the border region, we believe that it is time to redouble our efforts with our allies in Pakistan to close this safe haven and create an environment where we and the Pakistani people can lead safe and productive lives,” a White House official told AFP. DAWN.COM | World
Why Was Faisal Shahzad A Bad Bombmaker?
"...Shahzad's alleged militant pedigree reconciles very poorly with the ineptitude of his attempted attack, which raises more questions about his background than it answers." Art Keller | The AfPak Channel
For Times Sq. Suspect, Long Roots of Discontent
Mr. Shahzad glared when Mr. Haq once asked him to fetch water to mix with his whiskey, a family friend recalled. “He wanted to change his father,” said the classmate. NYTimes.com
U.S. Is Still Using Private Spy Ring, Despite Doubts
"A senior defense official said that the Pentagon decided just recently not to renew the contract, which expires at the end of May. While the Pentagon declined to discuss the program, it appears that commanders in the field are in no rush to shut it down because some of the information has been highly valuable, particularly in protecting troops against enemy attacks." NYTimes.com
How Terrorist Groups End
"[Most terrorist groups] ended for one of two reasons: They were penetrated and eliminated by local police and intelligence agencies (40 percent), or they reached a peaceful political accommodation with their government (43 percent)....
"In 10 percent of cases, terrorist groups ended because they achieved victory. Military force led to the end of terrorist groups in 7 percent of cases." RAND Research Brief | How Terrorist Groups End: Implications for Countering al Qa'ida.
"In 10 percent of cases, terrorist groups ended because they achieved victory. Military force led to the end of terrorist groups in 7 percent of cases." RAND Research Brief | How Terrorist Groups End: Implications for Countering al Qa'ida.
Safe Pakistan, Safe Times Square
"If we want Times Square to be safer from terrorists, we need to start by helping make Pakistan safer as well." NYTimes.com Op-Ed Columnist NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF.
Time on Afghan Endgame Talks Between Karzai & Obama
"Pakistan, which has been at the center of the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan over the past eight years, is determined to shape the outcome in a way that restores much of the influence it lost in Kabul when the Taliban, its erstwhile proxy, was defeated by the U.S. and its allies. Afghan Taliban Endgame Talks Set for Karzai's U.S. Visit - TIME.
Pakistan Military in Spotlight After Times Square Plot
"But doing nothing may no longer be an option, now that the Obama Administration is blaming the failed Times Square bomb attack on the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). TIME.
'Sorry, if there is a successful attack, we will have to act'
"The Times said the new pressure from Washington was characterized by the Pakistani and US officials as a sharp turnaround from the relatively polite encouragement adopted by the administration of President Barack Obama in recent months.
It came amid increasing debate within the administration about how to proceed in the war on terror that included even “a boots-on-the-ground presence” on Pakistani soil..."
Faisal Shahzad’s anti-Americanism
"Drone attacks ... have devastated militant operations in Waziristan while causing far less collateral damage than Pakistan Army operations." Pervez Hoodbhoy via DAWN.COM | Editorial
Sec. Clinton on Pakistan and The War on Terror - 60 Minutes - CBS News
"We've made it very clear that if, heaven-forbid, an attack like this that we can trace back to Pakistan were to have been successful, there would be very severe consequences". Sec. Clinton on Pakistan and The War on Terror - 60 Minutes - CBS News
What Happened to Khalid Khwaja?
"[H]ow could someone like Khawaja—a self-described confidant of Osama bin Laden who relished affiliations with the Taliban of old—have ended up dead in a ditch, murdered by the kind of people he was previously accused of aiding? And what does that say about the dramatic cultural changes underway in Pakistan?" In A Ditch | The New Republic
US tones down tirade against Pakistan
"...Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley said he would not allow the department’s platform to be used to suggest that all terrorist activities in the world originated in that country." DAWN.COM
Evidence for Taliban role in Times Square plot growing
"The U.S. is planning to give Pakistan a detailed request for help with the case...." Daily brief | The AfPak Channel.
Correspondent Azaz Syed’s residence attacked
"Azaz Syed has been working on several important stories, most of which throw light on the role of the armed forces, the intelligence agencies and even militant organisations besides some political parties and influential personalities in Pakistan." DAWN.COM.
No-Name Terrorists Now CIA Drone Targets | Danger Room | Wired.com
"[I]n a war, you don’t need to know the name of someone on the other side before you take a shot." Danger Room | Wired.com
'Terror Made in Pakistan'
This Foreign Policy Magazine's AfPak Channel story leads with a New America Foundation policy paper that 'outlines how the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region emerged as al-Qaeda’s central operational hub for plotting attacks in the West after 9/11 through the eyewitness accounts of Western militants who allegedly received terrorist training in the region.'
Says the executive summary of the paper:
Says the executive summary of the paper:
"In a majority of the serious terrorist plots against the homelands of Western countries since 2004, plotters were either directed or trained by established jihadist groups in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, demonstrating the sustained threat to the West posed by the terrorist safe haven. In 38 percent of the serious terrorist plots in the West during this period, al-Qaeda or an allied group in Pakistan provided operational direction to plotters."Policy recommendations? "High priority and more resources should be given to reducing their safe haven in Pakistan." The Militant Pipeline | NewAmerica.net.
Probe in failed Times Square attack focusing on Pakistani Taliban
"There are only a few organizations in Pakistan that could provide training, and the Pakistani Taliban is . . . one that has an ax to grind with us." Washington Post story.
Time analysis betrays ... what?
The Time story 'The Times Square Suspect's Pakistan Connection' includes some interesting 'analysis'. Let's take a look.
Afghanistan and Pakistan arena'? TTP naval task force or mountain division deploying overseas? They are no regular force; networked (however loosely) individuals is all they need to strike. As regards motivation of the individuals, tribal people are by definition driven by tribal loyalties. Time doubts the TTP capability to strike in the US; I am sure the average head of a Pakhtun clan - adequately motivated or provoked - can strike almost anywhere in the world.
Why TTP would want to strike in the U.S. is an utter no-brainer; because (a) the TTP is taking a fair bit of punishment from the Pakistani military and (b) facing devastating drone strikes from the U.S. They are a guerrilla outfit - who should be expected to (a) take ops away from regular warfare and (b) at least appear to be striking at the real enemy. The Time analysis clearly turns this argument on its head.
Where does this 'analysis' lead? Let's see if the context helps:
1. Failed Times Square bombing attempt
2. Taliban claim responsibility
3. U.S. authorities discount the claim as propaganda
4. Investigator link a naturalized U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin to the attack
5. 'He also claimed to have been trained at a terror camp in ...Waziristan '
6. Investigators hedge against their earlier stance by saying they are considering all possibilities
7. Time analysis appears to exonerate TTP...
Interesting, no?
"It's unclear if [TTP] is even capable of extending its reach overseas beyond theWell, what would it take to clarify the TTP capability to strike ' overseas beyond theAfghanistan and Pakistan arena — or why it would want to, given that it is facing a punishing Pakistani military offensive in its tribal sanctuaries north of the capital, Islamabad. It has also been handicapped by U.S. drone strikes that have effectively crippled its communications capability and maneuverability."
Why TTP would want to strike in the U.S. is an utter no-brainer; because (a) the TTP is taking a fair bit of punishment from the Pakistani military and (b) facing devastating drone strikes from the U.S. They are a guerrilla outfit - who should be expected to (a) take ops away from regular warfare and (b) at least appear to be striking at the real enemy. The Time analysis clearly turns this argument on its head.
Where does this 'analysis' lead? Let's see if the context helps:
1. Failed Times Square bombing attempt
2. Taliban claim responsibility
3. U.S. authorities discount the claim as propaganda
4. Investigator link a naturalized U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin to the attack
5. 'He also claimed to have been trained at a terror camp in ...
6. Investigators hedge against their earlier stance by saying they are considering all possibilities
7. Time analysis appears to exonerate TTP...
Interesting, no?
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