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Woah, did Pakistan just arrest half of the Quetta Shura?
February 24, 2010 | Posted by Abu Muqawama - 2:21pm | 22 Comments
Anand Gopal, formerly of the Wall Street Journal and now with the Christian Science Monitor, has a scoop.
Pakistan has arrested nearly half of the Afghanistan Taliban’s leadership in recent days, Pakistani officials told the Monitor Wednesday, dealing what could be a crucial blow to the insurgent movement.
In total, seven of the insurgent group’s 15-member leadership council, thought to be based in Quetta, Pakistan, including the head of military operations, have been apprehended in the past week, according to Pakistani intelligence officials.
Western and Pakistani media had previously reported the arrest of three of the 15, but this is the first confirmation of the wider scale of the Pakistan crackdown on the Taliban leadership, something the US has sought.
“This really hurts the Taliban in the short run,” says Wahid Muzjda, a former Taliban official turned political analyst, based in Kabul. Whether it will have an effect in the long run will depend on what kind of new leaders take the reins, he says.
News of the sweep emerged over the past week, with reports that Pakistani authorities had netted Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the movement’s second in command, as well as Maulavi Abdul Kabir, a prominent commander in charge of insurgent operations in eastern Afghanistan, and Mullah Muhammad Younis.
Pakistan has also captured several other Afghan members of the leadership council, called the Quetta Shura, two officials with the Pakistani Intelligence Bureau, and a United Nations official in Kabul told the Monitor.
These include: Mullah Abdul Qayoum Zakir, who oversees the movement’s military affairs, Mullah Muhammad Hassan, Mullah Ahmed Jan Akhunzada, , and Mullah Abdul Raouf.
At least two Taliban shadow provincial governors, who are part of the movement’s parallel government in Afghanistan, have also been captured.
A Taliban spokesman denied the arrests, saying that they were meant to hide the difficulties that United States and NATO forces were having in Afghanistan.
Why Pakistan’s sudden crackdown?
The crackdown may to be related to efforts by some Taliban leaders to explore talks with Western and Afghan authorities independently of Pakistan, the UN official said. Pakistan is widely suspected of backing the Afghan Taliban in a bid to maintain influence in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad has long denied. But Pakistan may also be wary of Taliban attempts to initiate talks without its involvement or sanction.
I guess they're really
I guess they're really starting to think we'll be able to do it in Afghanistan, huh? Uncle Sam's got something better than heroin and ideology, we have the money. And we're showing it to them?
The crackdown may to be
The crackdown may to be related to efforts by some Taliban leaders to explore talks with Western and Afghan authorities independently of Pakistan, the UN official said. Pakistan is widely suspected of backing the Afghan Taliban in a bid to maintain influence in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad has long denied. But Pakistan may also be wary of Taliban attempts to initiate talks without its involvement or sanction.,
This says something....How much money has the US pumped into Pakistan?
It is about the money not stopping, until now.
Can we get a refund?
...or it could be just the
...or it could be just the fact that the Pakistani police have put in a really good piece of work following the recent bombspree...?
but I guess the comentariat here do not find it in their hearts to think of a muslim who doesnt just want money. Or that others may get pissed with being bombed too. Pakistan has experienced a series of bombings that would have had americans stringing people up by the wayside. Imagine 10, 20 london bombings. Is there a joint Pakistani/American *civil* police cooperation project somewhere? FBI?
Any advice on how to
Any advice on how to approach this kind of a big developing story in a cautious and appropriate manner? I want to jump to conclusions now damn it.
Hmmm...I see that the big breaking news for CNN is a killer whale eating a Sea World worker...
Visitor :13pm US has been in
Visitor :13pm
US has been in Pak/AF area for what nine years now. US asking Pak to step it up. In the old leadership, there was a lot of hand shaking and lets be buddies. You stay in your area, I stay in mine. That did not work. Went on and on until the bombings.......that was a flashpoint for the Pak people. Think the US got tired of it and that is when the UAVs popped in the picture.
Could the bombing have been avoided? It is not like the Taliban leaders involved were not known to everyone few years back.
There is history. Pak can use the money. The US aid is a lot to take off the Pak table.
zak: Follow that scenario
zak: Follow that scenario with some evidence? Links, and all that? Or are you speculating?
U. S aid to Pakistan is not
U. S aid to Pakistan is not a new thing.
Zardari, so tainted by
Zardari, so tainted by corruption that his nickname is "Mr Ten Percent" despite his 2008 election on a wave of sympathy over the assassination of his wife ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto, has found a nemesis in Chaudhry.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gY87d_O-gV5D0pH15PhxU...
Then you have the guys in Afgahanistan.....
http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-01-30/taliban-afghanistan-davos.html
I leave the rest of the linkes up to you guys....
Elf...this is for you...and the rest of the hot roders.
http://rt.com/Galleries/autoexotics.html
Vistor :29am was Zak.....I
Vistor :29am was Zak.....I don't need a brick to fall on my head to see pockets are filling.
I would like to try to find a way to get 10% of the AID going into Haiti. Think that cash is already taken. That is going to make a lot of retirements.....
If you get a chance...It is on AM reading list.....read "To Big to Fail". Yeah, I am getting off subject, but there is a common behavior.
It is not DNA, it is learned.
Elf....hope you enjoyed the pics.
Thanks Zak. Can we get hot
Thanks Zak. Can we get hot chicks with guns next time ;-)
Conspiracy theories must be
Conspiracy theories must be flying, no one trusts each other and soon they will start killing each other off like Hammas in Ramallah a couple years ago. Its like the Blood and the Crips going at it.... This is good stuff... We spend less money on manpower / operations and they kill each other off. Hopefully this continues and things will get peaceful, after all the bad guys kill each other off.
Elf.....Chicks with
Elf.....Chicks with guns?....Hummm thought we already did that a few posts ago....
Does not really fit into this post...have to walk that fine edge between Trolldom and Journalism.
Found this today at the BBC. It is a bio of an Israeli woman in the IDF.
Her "Black Jack" is the new Israeli Tavor . Included a historical development piece on the weapon. It is exciting since we are starting to see some development in small arms again. Isreal has gone through many challenges and their approach has evolved into "keep it simple". You can see it in practice in Krav Maga . Is the bullpup (generic term for a "Tavor" design where the breech is pushed back in to the rear as part of the buttstock thus shortening the overall length of the firearm) here to stay? The bullpup design has it's issues as the Brits have found out with the S80. We will see what happens when sand lizards climb into the Tavors and the IDF tries to get them out. In usual Israeli style, they are averaging their bets by fielding both the Tavor and the M16. Not sure if that simplifies their battefield logistics, but it does give them redundancy.
Not to light off an international dispute....I could have just posted this for elf.....for elf's eyes only.
All that schooling .....all those AM blogs.....all that mess.....and now, in the glipse of a video....we know what they are fighting over in the ME!
In an effort to make peace with my readers and stay out of Trollville, I will post this. Sorry no guns, but I bet the guys watching her from the homeland have a few.
Hello?
Hello?
An interesting post to go
An interesting post to go through. Nicely articulated . Find more world political news
.
This is an interesting post.
This is an interesting post. As said above "News of the sweep emerged over the past week, with reports that Pakistani authorities had netted Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the movement’s second in command, as well as Maulavi Abdul Kabir, a prominent commander in charge of insurgent operations in eastern Afghanistan, and Mullah Muhammad Younis." Find more current events news.
An interesting post to go
An interesting post to go through. Nicely articulated . Find more current events news
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