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| Afghanistan |
| Musharraf playing game with US, Afghanistan |
| 2003-02-12 |
| Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is playing a double game with the US and Afghanistan by arresting only the foreign members of al-Qaeda to placate the US, but allowing the Taliban to rearm and regroup for further forays into Afghanistan against the US, media reported on Tuesday. According to Ahmed Rashid, author of Taliban, Jihad, and The rise of militant Islam in Central Asia, Musharraf is also supporting the fundamentalists in his country and using their "threat" to get more military aid from the US. Rashid, who shares an excellent rapport with Afghan premier Hamid Karzai, told the Wall Street Journal about Karzai's fears that "Pakistan is giving him sleepless nights" by allowing extremist elements, living in Pakistan, to undermine his government in the Pashtun belt. Karzai also wondered why these rogue elements have not been arrested or handed over to the Afghan Government. The ominous issue, said Rashid, is that the rebels who have resurfaced in Southern Afghanistan recently were assembled in Pakistan with heavy weapons, sophisticated communications equipment for a clandestine radio station, posters and pamphlets announcing a jihad against US forces and the government of President Karzai. They had enough supplies to set up a base camp and a medical clinic in the mountains south of Spin Baldak, just 15 miles from the Pakistani border, he said, adding their objective was clearly to harass the (US) 82nd Airborne Division camp near Kandahar, some 120 miles to the west. According to Rashid, hundreds more are being mobilised in Wazirstan, in the Pakistani tribal belt adjacent to eastern Afghanistan, for a spring offensive calculated to coincide with a US assault on Iraq. Thought so. Not the least little movement of the old surprise meter. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #7 I've addressed this with more verbiage and maybe more coherence on WOTWeek. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-02-12 22:51:20 |
| #6 good analysis Fred (as usual {apply sucking-up sounds}...is the answer to apply some consequences to the assh***s that run NWFP and Pervez? Play up the India thang? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-02-12 19:39:55 |
| #5 Sharon, You post an interesting question that's probably too involved to be answered in a simple comment. I haven't seen the article you reference - I checked the NY Times site and couldn't find it. The premise would seem to be contradicted by this article, from EurasiaNet. That being said, I don't doubt that the Russians are trying to maintain relations with the Northern Alliance members, just as they're trying to achieve influence with the broader-based Karzai regime. Like the Paks and Iran, the Russers regard Afghanistan as within their sphere of influence, which is where a part of Afghanistan's problems come from. The Russians at this point probably somewhere between a minor problem and a moderate help, depending on what day of the week it is and what Ivanov had for breakfast. I'd also put Iran into the minor problem category, unless they see a real opening. Pakistan I'd put into the real problem category. You notice that there's no real insurgent activity along the Iran border. What fighting there is comes from the Kandahar-based Pashtuns trying to make inroads into Ismail Khan's fief in Herat. I think Ismail has made the decision to support the Kabul government. He's now sending men to join the national army, and he states here, in an address to a graduating class at his (Herat) military academy, that he regards his forces as a part of the national army. Ismail, remember, wasn't a part of the Northern Alliance - he was allied with it, but an independent force. Similar sentiments apply to the Pandjiris and to Dostum's forces and, to a slightly lesser extent, to the Hazaras - it appears the central government is coming together, albeit slowly, and as it gets stronger they'll provide more support. If it falls apart in the near future, they still haven't put all their eggs into its basket. Afghanistan's unrest comes from Pashtunistan, but even there, I think most of the Pashtuns are worn out from year after year after year of war and treachery. The arms, the ammunition, the leadership, the pamphlets, the safe havens, are all over the border in Pakistan, where they've been enjoying the benefits of fighting jihad against Kabul, without having to pay a serious price. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-02-12 18:13:35 |
| #4 I consider Pakistan as an honorary member of the Axis of Evil but like China, I'm willing to let Bush slide for not mentioning them, nukes and all. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-02-12 17:24:32 |
| #3 I saw somewhere, I think in the NY Times, that Moscow is suspected of funnelling $100 million + to Fahim et.al., outside of the auspicious of the new Afghan army. That seems decidedly unhelpful. What's your take on that? |
| Posted by: Sharon 2003-02-12 14:29:31 |
| #2 But the question here is, have Perv and the ISI reverted to type and resumed subverting Afghanistan by funding and directing the Talibs, Hek, and any resident al-Qaeda in the NWFP and Balochistan? This article says "yes." That puts Perv and his boyz - not just the local fundos and Soddy agents - into the position of actively working against our interests. If the Krazed Killer Korps at Spin Boldak traces back to ISI, rather than simply to Qazi and/or Fazl, they're due for a whacking. It's already pretty obvious that they're not indigenous, except by a severe stretch of the term. Given Pakland's record of being unable to stop meddling in Kashmir, I'd say it's likely. They regard Afghanistan as their sphere of influence. There's lotsa room for Pakland on the Axis of Almost as Evil. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-02-12 12:28:10 |
| #1 Its in Musharraf's best interests to release them, it makes his own islamofacists happy and it allows the US a chance to kill the buggers and remove the problem permenantly. It would be nice if he could put some kind of chemical on the rifle butts that allowed us to spot them quickly though. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-02-12 10:58:48 |