Intelligence X

Institutional Crisis and Terrorism

2014-03-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

The US has not seen any major terrorist attack since 9/11. They have the maximum capabilities and resources which a nation could possess. Wealth has certainly helped them but that was not the definitive factor. They devised a policy and then it was implemented. Pakistan is now doing the same but it will not succeed. The problem lies in governance and democracy will not solve this problem.

Freedom, liberty, democracy and religions are good principles for governing a nation but they are far from reality. Every system works under some presumed circumstances. China rose to the world's stage under a Communist flag. Singapore turned from a third-world country into a developed nation under a dictatorship. Vladimir Putin resurrected Russia under more of an autocratic rule and a lesser democratic regime. Pakistan saw its worst crisis during democracy, an era of chaos and heightened corruption under the late Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif's rule. The fact is that the process through which things are governed matter less than how things actually happen.

Institutions and their importance

Many think that the Industrial Revolution was the greatest achievement of the West, but the truth is, it was the modern concept of an institution which changed how they preserved and utilized knowledge. It was not the gunpowder or the steam engine which conquered the subcontinent, it was a company, the East India Company, created under British law. Corporate entities are so common and familiar that we often take them for granted and ignore them.

Institutions provide a system of governance. A marriage, which forms a family, is the first basic institution a man creates. The joint family system in the Hindu and Arab world were primary institutions which further transcended into sects and tribes. Political Islam provides another great multinational governing model. The problem with these natural institutions was that they were personal in nature. The death of a Caliph or a King ended an entire empire or changed the way they behaved. This problem was solved with the introduction of more superior and impersonal entities: A corporate body. It could survive hundreds of years, generate and maintain a vast amount of knowledge and yet still behave like a person.

Modern legislation gave birth to institutions. That is, they originated in law created by political elites. These corporate bodies had their own sub-constitutions which operated under national law. It is important to note that it was the same principle and philosophy which led to the creation of computer programming.

Muslims are immune to the written legislation. Hence, they cannot grasp the fundamental concept which led to the drafting of a constitution. To this day, many laws in the Muslim world are adopted from the West.

But an institution cannot be created in one day. It takes years and even decades to make them functioning. They usually require bureaucrats and officers to run them, who in turn are required to be competitive and educated. Here comes the basic problem: For a well functioning bureaucracy, it needs educated people and these educated men and women come from the middle class. Developing a middle class is no easy task. It requires generations.

The Pakistani dilemma

The Pakistan, as envisioned by its founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah - due to weak institutions - barely survived a decade. It was conquered by the military. This is a harsh claim and certainly not receptive, but so is the reality. Pakistan may have survived as a state but the institutional and political system which was meant to govern Pakistan, failed. I am not implying that martial law and military takeover was an evil act, it was necessary. Had the army not taken over then, the political crisis would have turned into a national crisis which could have proven fatal for Pakistan.

As observed in most former British colonies, the military is the only institution which is fully functional and strong. An institution tends to behave like a person but it is not one in actuality. It does not have a heart and a soul. It is directed by its interests. It were not the military takeovers which made making Pakistan a failing state, rather it is in itself a consequence of failure. It is in the interest of an institution to outcompete each other. Hence, it is in the interest of the military to keep other institutions weak. It is not that they have a nefarious agenda; they are preventing things that will undo themselves.

When the military takes over in Pakistan, it replaces the civilian administration with their own Generals and Lieutenants, especially in the law enforcement domain. Counterintelligence operations are handed over to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB). Military personnel engage in similar anti-corruption efforts replacing their civilian counterparts. Former military dictator, the late General Zia ul Haq, employed the same means to suppress the opposition as those employed by British masters. This creates the perception of a military running a 'state-within-a-state'. Soldiers are no longer seen as defenders of frontiers but simply as a ruling elite.

In a mafia state - where the government has little or no legal authority - the inhabitants affiliate themselves with other powerful parties in some way or the other. It is no coincidence then that the Pakistan Army has considerable public support. We have a large part of Pakistanis still praising the Mughals. People accepted Islam as it would affiliate themselves with the ruling elite. Exceptions included.

The military rule of late Field Marshal Ayub Khan ended with the uprising of the late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. The Musharraf era ended because of the populist lawyer movement.

Military dictators exploit weakness in the civilian institutions. Coups happen everywhere. Attaining power is the natural need of any individual who is capable of it. What deters the military from planning a coup is the rule of law, a legal mandate given to Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to detect miscreants and prosecute them without any hassle. For a functioning law enforcement institution, there needs to be a stable regime and zero political interference, something which can be observed in Turkey.

Terrorism and Institutions

Pakistan is footing on a complicated point when it comes to terrorism and regional geopolitics. Acting out of necessity, it cannot afford a hostile Afghanistan, but that policy is also undermining its own national security in the process. The policy of backing jihadist groups against opposition forces is an extremely cheap yet effective strategy but only when it is carried on foreign land. Saudi Arabia is a good example. The way they cracked the jihadist ideology in their kingdom yielded a positive return. The same happened in Egypt. The jihadists who went to fight in Afghanistan against the former Soviet Union were later denied entry to their own respective motherlands simply because they were a threat to their stability. They played cleverly. Those jihadists ended up with Afghani or Pakistani documents, some staying in the Af-Pak regions, others making their way into Iraq and Africa. This is also because the Pakistani military was itself penetrated with the same ideology.

The threat of terrorism will not subdue. It will be exploited by organized crimes and other foreign intelligence agencies. No matter what policies we make and no matters which Acts are passed, unless and until they cannot be implemented, they are of little use.

Politicians deliberately create loopholes. If they launder money and evade taxes, they do so because of weak institutions. The FIA is not capable to gather information and try these politicians in the courts of law. The jihadists too exploit these same loopholes.

Many analysts consider the Taliban - owning to their appearance maybe - as fools and illiterate fighters. They are not illiterate and certainly are not fools. Their intelligence capabilities run parallel to the ISI as both developed together in the late '80s. Their operations are as sophisticated as any top intelligence officer would devise. Pakistani strategists are of the view that as foreign forces will withdraw from Afghanistan, they will return in a situation similar to the '90s. This is a very risky bet. Pakistan cannot attack the jihadist ideology. This would mean cleaning its own house, filtering the military and intelligence apparatus. This is something which is not likely to happen. This would also mean going against the Afghan Taliban and anti-Indian jihadist groups. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and recently Egypt has done the needful. Pakistan Army, largely, is itself part of this ideology.

Terrorist acts are otherwise impossible to stop. No military in the world is capable of doing it. Pakistan does not have the sophisticated surveillance infrastructure as the West, to prevent such acts. Most importantly, it does not have the functioning institutions.

It is hard to see what the future course of action would be.

Read more: Terminal X

Pakistan and Changing Geopolitics

2014-02-09T17:19:00.001-08:00

First published on Terminal X

In 1991, when the Afghan Taliban defeated the former Soviet Union and a good part of the world was celebrating the end of the Cold War, it was beyond imagination that the US would replace the defeated Great Bear as a global superpower within a decade. At the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it was hard to imagine that this sole superpower could be stuck knee-deep in financial crises, thus changing its course of action.

Commentary: Decoding Pakistan's Nukes

2013-08-19T10:38:00.002-07:00

Since Pakistan announced the first test of the 60-kilometer Nasr ballistic missile in 2011, there is an implicit assumption in Western writings that India will respond to the Pakistani move toward tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) with similar weapons of its own.

However, this is precisely what India’s response should not be, and is unlikely to be, if the country and the rest of the international community correctly read the signals from Rawalpindi.
The primary task of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons is not to deter India’s nuclear weapons but to avoid having to engage a superior military capability. Pakistan believes that its low nuclear threshold constrains India from militarily punishing it.

Indian Subcontinent Is Fast Becoming An Arena For A Third World War!

2013-08-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

By Dr. Sawraj Singh

The Indian subcontinent is moving toward becoming an arena for a Third World War. The changing world situation, sharpening contradictions, and the shifting balance of power are making it likely that the Indian subcontinent will become an arena for a Third World War. The major factors which are likely to push the subcontinent in this direction are: the decline of the American and western powers, the re-emergence of Russia as a world power, the widening gap between Europe and America, the re-emergence of Japan as a military power, the rise of secular forces in the Maghreb (Arab countries), and the growing differences between America and the South American countries.

Insight into Mumbai 26/11 Attacks

2013-06-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

Following is a report by an investigative journalist Wayne Madsen into Mumbai 26/11 attacks. It is compelling and may give an alternate perspective other than simple terror attack argument. Please read.

WMR previously reported that the violent and bloody attack on Mumbai represents a pay-back from exiled Indian Muslim Mumbai gangland warlord Dawood Ibrahim who fears that the CIA was conspiring with the Pakistani government to extradite him from Pakistan to India. Such an event would effectively cede control of Mumbai's lucrative organized crime territory to Hindu extremist criminal syndicates allied with the Hindu terrorist Shiv Sena group.
The targeting of the Lubavitcher Chabad House in Mumbai, where a New York rabbi and his wife were killed by one team of gangsters that arrived by sea from Pakistan, was likely more score settling by Ibrahim who suspected that Israeli Mafiosi were conspiring with Hindu extremist gangs to supplant Ibrahim's criminal influence in Mumbai.

Tapping into Pakistan’s Massive Oil and Gas Reserves

2013-06-06T14:41:00.002-07:00

Editor's Note: This report is from oilprice.com an energy intelligence firm which thrive on its expertise and intelligence network for this insight.

Geopolitics is not all about oil but it does play a significant role which cannot be overseen by any analyst or policy maker.

Pakistan’s Tribal Areas (FATA) and Frontier Regions (FR) are believed to have massive reserves of oil and natural gas—which Pakistani officials have suddenly become very keen to demonstrate. But this is a highly restive, war-torn area where one right move could make all the difference, and one wrong move could ignite a conflict with irreversible consequences.
For now, the area remains unexplored and it was only in 2008 when Pakistani geologists began to study the area in earnest, with the support of the local authorities in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and the Frontier Region (FR). The results of this research were collected, processed and digitized in June 2012. The geologists discovered seven new oil and gas seepages during the mapping. The geologists also claim that 11 oil and gas exploration companies have already reserved 16 blocks in Fata.

The Lawyers' Movement

2012-08-05T19:08:00.000-07:00

The Lawyers' Movement (of Pakistan) initially began as a result of the actions taken by General Pervez Musharraf on 9th March, 2007. Pervez Musharraf, after getting intelligence that Chief Justice of PakistanIftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was conspiring with Nawaz Sharif to overthrow the government called for a meeting asking him to resign or face "charges of misconduct".

Investment Environment: Turkish Firm to Pull Out

2012-08-03T15:54:00.003-07:00

Pakistan may lose a planned investment of $1 billion in the energy sector following threats from Global Energy of Turkey that it will drop plans to hold operations in the country because of an ‘unstable’ investment environment.

According to sources, Global Energy Chairman Ahmet, in a meeting held at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, told the ministry officials that the company could not wait any more in Pakistan after spending millions of dollars on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import project.

To Know about ISI Officer

2011-09-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

أَهُمْ يَقْسِمُونَ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّكَ نَحْنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ مَعِيشَتَهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَرَفَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ لِيَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا سُخْرِيًّا وَرَحْمَةُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ

Is it they who would portion out the Mercy of thy Lord? It is We Who portion out between them their livelihood in the life of this world: and We raise some of them above others in ranks, so that some may command work from others. But the Mercy of thy Lord is better than the (wealth) which they amass.

Al-Qur'an, (Az-Zukhruf [Ornaments of Gold, Luxury]) Ayah 32

He could be posing as a "rayrhi wala", coming everyday around your area, and you wouldn't note.

He could be someone unloading the luggage from a busy bus terminal.

He could be as professional in his undercover espionage, as can be.

Who is it?

An ISI officer.

Since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Allah Has been sending forth pious, humble men from amongst our own ranks to watch over us, take care of us. We never bother to note. Since the inception of the "awaara" (not azaad) media in 2002 onwards, the Pakistani masses have been constantly fed a combination of mixed emotions, stories. All either confusing, sometimes plain provocative, some very bizarre.

Behind all these facades, are those men. In ordinary kameez shalwar, they often roam about gathering information from sensitive points for reconaissance and updates. They do not care about "fame" or "fortune".

And from the most part of them, 5 waqt k namaazi, jo Allah k huzoor girgira kar Pakistan k liye din raat duaen maangte hain aur undercover rehte huwe hi iske liye din raat apna waqt aur apni koshishein sarf karte hain. In one diplomatic and bureaucratic circle, we had an astounding personality of Qudratullah Shahab, a faqeer of Allah who was amongst the echelons but his true identity and status was noticed and fully realized after he passed away.

Kitne hi log hain, Institute mein, kuch maujooda, kuch retired, jo naik niyyati se aur jazbe se mulk o qaum ki khidmat kar rahe hain. Jin ki shaklein aap ne TV pe nahin dekhi hongi, jin ki awaz aap ne kabhi suni nai hogi. So much and more. Maybe you did come across them, or they happened to pass you by in their regular clothes and kameez shalwaar, and you would never have even hinted or noticed who they really are.

They are those who do not want a name. All they know is that for you to sleep peacefully at night and be alive the next day to spend time with your loved ones, to make this possible they have to sacrifice their time for you. Even at 3 a.m. early morning, when everyone is sound asleep, they observe and monitor internal/external threats 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all round the year. Their existence is our living. Allah Has blessed many of them with the power of special insight and caution.

The Armed Forces operate by devising strategies based on information gathered from the ISI and MI (Military Intelligence). And today, these same UNNOTICED, UNSUNG HEROES, are also being targeted and getting martyred by those who claim to be "Muslims", whereas their sole intent is nothing but fasaad.

They can be among you, and you wouldn't know. Unsung heroes, determined to protect you all and Pakistan from vile enemies

There are GOOD AND BAD people in every organisation. BOTH.

What people forget, is that as long as even a handful of few noble and dedicated Men of Allah are in the ranks of an institute, Allah will never abandon or punish that jamaat. Alhamdulillah, so is the Institute and it's officers.

They are humans too. They fail sometimes, but that does not mean they have made mistakes after which people should start wrongfully cursing them or doubting their loyalty and jazba.

Ask the officer who is near the border at 2 a.m. night-time in frosting cold, posing undercover as a member of some group who are against Pakistan, and he stays with them just so that he can get firsthand information to transmit.

Espionage (spying) is not a crime.

There are wonderful examples in Islamic History:

> RasulAllah sallallaho alayhi wasallam used informants in most of his expeditions. As Abu Sufyan's caravan, that was coming from Damascus, was approaching, RasulAllah sallallaho alayhi wasallam wanted to know the caravan's destination. While the prophet was in Madina, he sent Talha Ibn Obaidallah and Said Ibn Zaid to the Damascus route to gather information about the caravan. On their way back to Madina, and at the conclusion of the Badr battle, they met RasulAllah sallallaho alayhi wassallam in Terban, as he was descending from Badr to take Madina.

> Omar Ibn Al-Khattab radi allaho ta'ala anho advised his commander Saad Ibn Abi Waqqas -may Allah be pleased with him -saying, “If you step foot on your enemies’ land, get spies for them. Choose those whom you count on for their truthfulness and advice, whether Arabs or inhabitants of that land. Liars' accounts would not benefit you, even if some of them were true; the deceiver is a spy against you and not for you. "Khaled Ibn Al-Walid -may Allah be pleased with him -used to take informants and spies with him in each of his wars against the Christian Orthodox. He chose them carefully and treated them well.

> Concerning the issue of clothing and appearance (appearance of true religion), Ibn Taymiyyah said, "If a Muslim is in a combat or godless area, he is not obligated to have a different appearance from [those around him ].The [Muslim] man may prefer or even be obligated to look like them, provided his action brings a religious benefit of preaching to them, learning their secrets and informing Muslims, preventing their harm, or some other beneficial goal."

At the end, I would like to say, if you disagree with the Institute as a whole, you are being ungrateful from your part. You should always remember those in prayer who are sincere and just. And as long as there are hidden gems of Allah in the land, you cannot point fingers at them as a whole.

Learn to be grateful, appreciative and helpful.

Credit: Codename Hijazi
ENL: You left your mark!

Global Security's profile of Inter-Services Intelligence

2011-09-20T06:52:00.001-07:00

Editor's note: The following content is copied from The New York Times as it is. Intelligence X does not agree with any of its stated material or fictions story.

Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] was founded in 1948 by a British army officer, Maj Gen R Cawthome, then Deputy Chief of Staff in the Pakistan Army. Field Marshal Ayub Khan, the president of Pakistan in the 1950s, expanded the role of ISI in safeguarding Pakistan's interests, monitoring opposition politicians, and sustaining military rule in Pakistan.

The ISI is tasked with collection of of foreign and domestic intelligence; co-ordination of intelligence functions of the three military services; surveillance over its cadre, foreigners, the media, politically active segments of Pakistani society, diplomats of other countries accredited to Pakistan and Pakistani diplomats serving outside the country; the interception and monitoring of communications; and the conduct of covert offensive operations.

The FAS profile of Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI]

2011-09-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

Editor's note: The following content is copied from The New York Times as it is. Intelligence X does not agree with any of its stated material or fictions story.

The Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] was founded in 1948 by a British army officer, Maj Gen R Cawthome, then Deputy Chief of Staff in Pakistan Army. Field Marshal Ayub Khan, the president of Pakistan in the 1950s, expanded the role of ISI in safeguarding Pakistan's interests, monitoring opposition politicians, and sustaining military rule in Pakistan.
The ISI is tasked with collection of foreign and domestic intelligence; co-ordination of intelligence functions of the three military services; surveillance over its cadre, foreigners, the media, politically active segments of Pakistani society, diplomats of other countries accredited to Pakistan and Pakistani diplomats serving outside the country; the interception and monitoring of communications; and the conduct of covert offensive operations.

The New York Times' profile of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)

2011-09-20T06:42:00.000-07:00

Editor's note: The following content is copied from The New York Times as it is. Intelligence X does not agree with any of its stated material or fictions story.

The Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate is Pakistan's military equivalent of the Central Intelligence Agency.

According to some, it has in the past functioned almost as a shadow government, one that has used its ties to drug dealers and Islamic extremists to stir up trouble not only in Pakistan but in Afghanistan and the Kashmir region of India as well. The agency helped bring the Taliban to power in Afghanistan in the 1990's, and many American officials suspect that those ties still are at work. It has also worked closely with groups that have conducted terror attacks in India, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

US Ambassador Failed to Propagate Haqqani Evidence

2011-09-20T05:20:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—US ambassador Cameron Munter tried to use an interview with the Pakistani state-run radio to peddle a theory linking an Afghan group, the Haqqanis, to the brazen attack on US embassy and NATO office in Kabul.

But what Mr. Munter did not expect is robust counter-questioning by Murtaza Solangi, the director of the government’s largest media organization, Pakistan Broadcasting Corp.

The US government was quick to accuse Pakistan citing alleged links to the Haqqanis. US officials and think-tanks have long peddled this conspiracy theory without evidence.

Dawn's profile of ISI: Inter-Services Intelligence

2011-09-17T04:42:00.000-07:00

State Organ

The Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI is Pakistan’s intelligence agency. It is the largest of the three intelligence agencies of Pakistan; the other two are Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Military Intelligence (MI).

Overview: The Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI is Pakistan’s intelligence agency. It is the largest of the three intelligence agencies of Pakistan; the other two being Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Military Intelligence (MI). ISI is quite a well organized intelligence agency; it’s at par with any other intelligence agency of the world.

Role of the ISI: It was founded in 1948, in order to safe guard Pakistani interests and national security inside and outside the country.
The ISI collects foreign and domestic intelligence, it co-ordinates intelligence functions of the three military services; being the Pakistan Army, Air Force and Navy. It carries out surveillance of foreigners, media, politicians, diplomats of other countries assigned to Pakistan and Pakistani diplomats serving abroad. It also monitors communications.

Strength of the ISI: The ISI is staffed mainly by personnel either from the police, or from one of the military forces. There are approximately 25000 men making up its workforce, this figure does not include informants and assets.

Notable contributions by the ISI:

1980s; when Israel had plans to destroy the Pakistani nuclear facilities in Kahuta with India’s assistance, due to the ISI, Pakistan was made aware of the possibility of an air attack. Hence India was warned of retaliatory attack on its Trombay facilities for aiding Israel, and when the Israeli aircraft flew close to the Pakistani border, they found Pakistani fighter jets alert and ready to attack back in defense and this made Israeli jets pull back from the attack.

1979; ISI discovered a surveillance mission which was spying on Pakistan’s nuclear facilities at Kahuta Research Laboratories. The spying was conducted by the French Ambassador to Pakistan, Le Gourrierce and his First Secretary, Jean Forlot. Both were arrested, by the ISI and their cameras and other sensitive equipment were confiscated, intercepted documents later on showed that the two were recruited by the CIA.

1995; Ramzi Yousef, one of the planners of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was captured in Islamabad by the Pakistani intelligence, and the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).

2003; ISI along with CIA captured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks as well as other significant terrorist plots over the last twenty years, including the World Trade Center 1993 bombings, and the murder of Daniel Pearl.

2005; ISI and security forces arrested Abu Faraj Farj al-Liby, mastermind of two failed attempts on President Pervez Musharraf’s life.

2009; Maulvi Omer, senior aid to Baitullah Mehsud was captured by ISI.

2010; Taliban’s deputy commander, Abdul Ghani Baradar was captured by the ISI and U.S. forces.

Year of Establishment: 1948
Headquarters: Islamabad
Agency Executive: Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha

India Wishes to Strike Pakistan

2011-09-16T03:54:00.000-07:00

Written by Brig. (Redt) Asif Haroon Raja

Whereas Pakistan is the next door neighbor of landlocked Afghanistan, which is dependent upon Pakistan land routes and Karachi port for its imports and exports, Pakistan has never tried to exploit its vulnerability or to blackmail it.

India, which doesn’t share border with Afghanistan, is aspiring to become the most influential in that country. It wants to create a permanent wedge between Afghanistan and Pakistan so as to eliminate Pakistan’s influence in that country altogether. While India is among the trouble mongers in Afghanistan, it hypocritically says that it is keen to see Afghanistan becoming a stable and sovereign state free from external interferences.

Is Pakistan's Army As Islamist as US Think?

2011-09-16T02:36:00.000-07:00

The following article in Foreign Policy magazine is no doubt a foreigner's failed try to comprehend us. It discusses about the penetration of Islamism in the Pakistan Military. C. Christine Fair, an assistant professor at the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, relied heavily on the statistical data of Army officer to base the opinion.

Reuters Photos of Dead At Bin Laden Kill Site

2011-09-15T02:32:00.000-07:00

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Photographs acquired by Reuters and taken about an hour after the U.S. assault on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad in Pakistan show three dead men lying in pools of blood, but no weapons.
The photos, taken by a Pakistani security official who entered the compound after the early morning raid on Monday, show two men dressed in traditional Pakistani garb and one in a t-shirt, with blood streaming from their ears, noses and mouths.
The official, who wished to remain anonymous, sold the pictures to Reuters.
None of the men looked like bin Laden. President Barack Obama decided not to release photos of his body because it could have incited violence and used as an al Qaeda propaganda tool, the White House said on Wednesday.
Based on the time-stamps on the pictures, the earliest one was dated May 2, 2:30 a.m., approximately an hour after the completion of the raid in which bin Laden was killed.
Other photos, taken hours later at between 5:21 a.m. and 6:43 a.m. show the outside of the trash-strewn compound and the wreckage of the helicopter the United States abandoned. The tail assembly is unusual, and could indicate some kind of previously unknown stealth capability.
Reuters is confident of the authenticity of the purchased images because details in the photos appear to show a wrecked helicopter from the assault, matching details from photos taken independently on Monday.
_________

Cryptome: The bodies in photos 1 and 2 are lying on terrazzo flooring with visible metal dividing strips, customarily used on lower floors but may be used on upper floors too. Terrazzo is usually installed on concrete slabs. The body in photos 3 and 4 is lying on loose floor covering atop terrazzo visible at left in photo 4. Marble floor base trim is seen in photos 2 and 4.

Punishing Pakistan and Challenging China - Pakistan in Pieces, Part 2

2011-09-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

[note] Special series by Andrew Gavin Marshall
Imperial Eye on Pakistan Part 1

The AfPak War Theatre: Establishing the New Strategy

As Senator Obama became the President-elect Obama, his foreign policy strategy on Afghanistan was already being formed. In 2007, Obama took on veteran geostrategist and Jimmy Carter’s former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski as one of his top foreign policy advisers,[1] and he remained his foreign policy adviser throughout 2008.[2] On Obama’s campaign, he announced that as President, he would scale down the war in Iraq, and focus the “War on Terror” on Afghanistan, promising “to send in about 10,000 more troops and to strike next-door Pakistan, if top terrorists are spotted there.”[3]

Imperial Eye on Pakistan, Pakistan in Pieces, Part 1

2011-09-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

[note] Special series by Andrew Gavin Marshall

Introduction

As the purported assassination of Osama bin Laden has placed the focus on Pakistan, it is vital to assess the changing role of Pakistan in broad geostrategic terms, and in particular, of the changing American strategy toward Pakistan. The recently reported assassination was a propaganda ploy aimed at targeting Pakistan. To understand this, it is necessary to examine how America has, in recent years, altered its strategy in Pakistan in the direction of destabilization. In short, Pakistan is an American target. The reason: Pakistan’s growing military and strategic ties to China, America’s primary global strategic rival. In the ‘Great Game’ for global hegemony, any country that impedes America’s world primacy – even one as historically significant to America as Pakistan – may be sacrificed upon the altar of war.

Part 1 of ‘Pakistan in Pieces’ examines the changing views of the American strategic community – particularly the military and intelligence circles – towards Pakistan. In particular, there is a general acknowledgement that Pakistan will very likely continue to be destabilized and ultimately collapse. What is not mentioned in these assessments, however, is the role of the military and intelligence communities in making this a reality; a veritable self-fulfilling prophecy. This part also examines the active on the ground changes in American strategy in Pakistan, with increasing military incursions into the country.

RAW and SAFMA in Pakistan: A Psy-Op case

2011-08-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

Christina Palmer, leads a team of investigative journalists that has produced this report:

This is the age of information, the IT and above all the media, both print and electronic. It is said that after the renaissance of media across the world, the wars are fought and won with the media being on the frontline.

Be it US attack on Iraq or be it a terror attack in India, the media is immensely used to propagate one’s views and perception. The media endeavors are extensively manipulated to change the world opinion in own favor and against the enemy. Almost all the governments have given a free hand to their respective intelligence agencies to manipulate media and fund the media organizations and individuals to gain the required results. No matter if it is the CNN journalists embedded with US troops invading Iraq or the venom emitting Indian journalists and TV anchors targeting Pakistan after the Mumbai carnage, the intelligence hands are always there to direct them and to fund them.

How Active is Blackwater in Pakistan

2011-05-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

FOREIGN POLICY JOURNAL/Photo

This notorious private contractor is spreading its tentacles in Pakistan for undercover activities on behalf of the US agencies

[Editor's Note: As noted below, Blackwater changed its name to Xe Services last year, but is commonly still referred to by its former name.]

Not too long ago, a wave of concern had swept through Pakistan when the local media began screaming about Blackwater’s growing infiltration in the country and its dubious activities. The mounting pressure to expel this infamous US defense contractor put the Zardari government in a corner. It could neither ignore public pressure nor displease its benefactors in Washington. In the end, it chose to vehemently deny these stories. Pakistan’s interior minister, Rehman Malik, said publicly he would resign if Blackwater is found operating anywhere in Pakistan, as if his resignation would be a great loss for the people.

Risk of U.S. Debt Default

2011-05-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

Vice President of STRATFOR Analysis Peter Zeihan explains how the U.S. dollar’s position as the global reserve currency makes default impossible and why the euro and yuan cannot currently assume the role.

Israel Nuclear History

2011-05-22T04:09:00.000-07:00

Israel began actively investigating the nuclear option from its earliest days. In 1949, HEMED GIMMEL a special unit of the IDF's Science Corps, began a two-year geological survey of the Negev desert with an eye toward the discovery of uranium reserves. Although no significant sources of uranium were found, recoverable amounts were located in phosphate deposits.
The program took another step forward with the creation of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) in 1952.

India’s ‘most wanted list’ is bogus

2011-05-22T00:22:00.000-07:00

By Muhammad Jamil

Within one week after India released the list of most wanted persons allegedly living in Pakistan, at least four persons on the list are either in India or have died. Times of India carried a report about two dreaded terrorists, who the list claimed were hiding in Pakistan. “One of them, investigations revealed is dead and the other lodged in the city’s Cherlapalli prison.

Dawood Ibrahim’s elder brother, Noora, who died of kidney failure in Karachi last year, continued to show up as a wanted accused in the red-corner notice against his name. Chhota Rajan aide Ejaz Pathan, involved in the 1993 serial blasts, died in 2008 at Arthur Road jail after a heart attack. The red-corner notice against him showed him as wanted. Yet another embarrassing case was that of Feroze Abdul Khan, an accused in the 1993 Mumbai blast. He was nabbed from Navi Mumbai last year and is in a Mumbai jail”. With a view to turning up more heat on Pakistan after American Special Forces’ operation in Abbottabad killing Osama bin Laden, India released a list of 50 ‘Most Wanted Persons’ from Pakistan on 11th May 2011.

Israel's Growing Energy Security Concerns

2011-05-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

Summary

During a meeting between the Israeli and Qatari prime ministers May 8 in London, Doha reportedly offered to sell liquefied natural gas to Israel. The rumored offer comes as Egypt, which supplies Israel with about 40 percent of its natural gas needs, is showing an intention to renegotiate the controversial natural gas deal with Israel that has provided energy to the country at below-market rates. A partnership with Qatar may offer some longer term potential for Israel to reduce its dependence on Egyptian energy, but due to infrastructure limitations, Israel likely will not have any choice but to pay a higher price to Cairo in the interim.