Deal lets U.S. drones strike bin Laden

[Cheetah786]

The United States has a standing agreement with Pakistan that CIA-operated Predator drones may strike Osama bin Laden's hide-out without prior permission from Islamabad, according to people familiar with the arrangement.

One source said the free hand - an exception in a country politically sensitive to U.S. counterterrorism operations - was granted by President Pervez Musharraf early in the war if the U.S. locates bin Laden in Pakistan's rugged tribal areas, where he is thought to be hiding.

A knowledgeable official disclosed the arrangement to The Washington Times at a time of growing frustration in the Pentagon and in the CIA that bin Laden remains at large seven years into the war and as President Bush's term approaches an end.

That fact has put renewed focus on the Pakistani government's restraints on the U.S. effort to find bin Laden. Pakistan prohibits American military ground forces on its soil, limiting the U.S. presence to scores of CIA officers and paramilitary operators.

Nadeem Kiani, spokesman at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, declined to comment on the purported bin Laden deal but said Pakistan stands ready to move against bin Laden if he is inside the country.

Pakistan allowed the CIA to secretly launch missile-equipped Predators from its soil into Afghanistan during the war to oust the Taliban. It has continued to let the agency fly the unmanned surveillance planes over Pakistan.

But earlier this year, Mr. Musharraf rejected a Bush administration request to allow more CIA personnel into his country. Washington must coordinate planned strikes on militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) where bin Laden is thought to be hiding. Bin Laden as a target is an exception to that rule.

"What I can tell you is that the president has a strong, overarching commitment to make sure that we track down and bring to justice Osama bin Laden and other top members of al Qaeda," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters Monday.


ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS MISSION-READY: A missile-equipped Predator would be dispatched to kill the al Qaeda leader if his location is pinpointed. The drone could be redirected in flight.

The arrangement with Pakistan was confirmed by a second source - a former U.S. intelligence officer who spent time in Afghanistan.

A CIA spokesman declined to comment.

Pakistan's sovereignty has been an issue in the presidential campaign. Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said at one point that he would unleash strikes into Pakistan without Islamabad's approval to hit bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders.

The U.S. has options for sending special operations teams into Pakistan if bin Laden's exact location is determined, but military officials said it would be the Predator, not boots on the ground, that would be dispatched to kill the al Qaeda leader.

This is because a Predator could be airborne - or redirected in flight - in a matter of minutes. In contrast, special operations forces in Afghanistan would have to be assembled, briefed on the mission and then dispatched by helicopter - a time-consuming and risky process.

By not requesting Pakistan's approval first, the U.S. would avoid the risk of breaching operational security. Washington still harbors suspicions about Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence agency (ISI), which helped establish pro-al Qaeda Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

It is one thing to have Pakistan's permission to shoot bin Laden on sight. It is another to find him.

"It's a needle in a haystack," said one intelligence official.

For nearly seven years, since his escape from Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountain region, bin Laden has evaded capture.

The reasons given by intelligence officials: He stopped communicating on radios and telephones to avoid being intercepted by the National Security Agency; he is protected by militant leaders whose tribes have been infiltrated by al Qaeda operatives who impose a no-talk discipline; the CIA has been unable to penetrate this tribal ring of security to find a spy who might disclose his location; and bin Laden moves frequently amid the FATA's vast, rugged terrain.


'NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK': Osama bin Laden has evaded capture for nearly seven years.

"I would say to you in the last seven years there has been a lot of success in terms of finding that second- and third-level al Qaeda guy," Mrs. Perino said. "And we have been able to prevent attacks so far. But one of the things that we're up against is that we have a very determined enemy. They hide in caves, they respect no uniform, they are in a very treacherous geographic area that's very hard to get into."

The NSA installed a network of electronic boxes in the Afghan mountains to absorb communications from the FATA. The chatter has helped the CIA identify militant hide-outs and training bases, but the network has not picked up bin Laden's voice.

The military's chief terrorist hunting unit is Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), a mix of Army Delta Force, Navy SEALs and a special intelligence unit known as Task Force Orange.

An intelligence source said most JSOC assets are committed to Iraq to hunt a list of high-value targets within the al Qaeda in Iraq organization. At one point last year, the JSOC contingent in Afghanistan was down to just 30 SEALs.

The U.S. Special Operations Command, which oversees the JSOC, does not discuss the unit´s numbers.

Washington Times - Deal lets U.S. drones strike bin Laden

 

[Munir]

Would that be much different if he is somewhere else? I think that if you compare this with how furious the US acted in other nations then Bush is a nice fellow. I might not agree with his ideas on certain level about definitions and UN logic but still not the worst possible option for Pakistan. We have seen in better times mr Clinton which marked Pakistan as paria. And how well did Pakistan perform lately? Not very well...

 

[maqsad]

Is this just for Bin Laden or anyone that is labeled "Al Qaida" by some invisible person making these plans? First the US wanted Bin Laden in 2001 so they invaded Afghanistan, then they wanted the Taliban so they kept occupying Afghanistan and now they want Bin Ladin again because they say he is in Pakistan. Of course if they really knew he was in Pakistan they would have to know where he was and they could capture him but somehow they know where he is but not exactly where he is. Right now they can't prove he is even alive but they still say they know where he is. During this strange silly game of hide and seek US special forces are getting closer and closer to pakistani nuclear assets...

 

[mujahideen]

Another agreement which will sell our soverignty. Well at least the PPP is keeping the promise made by Benazir when she said U.S troops will be allowed on Pakistani soil.

 

[Interceptor]

The United States has a standing agreement with Pakistan that CIA-operated Predator drones may strike Osama bin Laden's hide-out without prior permission from Islamabad, according to people familiar with the arrangement.

One source said the free hand - an exception in a country politically sensitive to U.S. counterterrorism operations - was granted by President Pervez Musharraf early in the war if the U.S. locates bin Laden in Pakistan's rugged tribal areas, where he is thought to be hiding.

Pakistan allowed the CIA to secretly launch missile-equipped Predators from its soil into Afghanistan during the war to oust the Taliban. It has continued to let the agency fly the unmanned surveillance planes over Pakistan.

Pakistan's sovereignty has been an issue.....

By not requesting Pakistan's approval first, the U.S. would avoid the risk of breaching operational security. Washington still harbors suspicions about Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence agency (ISI), which helped establish pro-al Qaeda Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

As I suspected there was a secret agreement, which would allow the Predator to operate on Pakistani soil, so that it can kill our soldiers and our people. Musharraf sold Pakistan's sovereignty for the sake of a buck.

The FATA war was carefully planned, the murder of Bugti was just to make the ball role into Baluchistan.

The missing persons were part of the deal, exchange for another buck come buck serve agenda.

Where did all that military aid go, a discussion took place in Parliament about it, just a month ago.

 

[Cheetah786]

Is this just for Bin Laden or anyone that is labeled "Al Qaida" by some invisible person making these plans? First the US wanted Bin Laden in 2001 so they invaded Afghanistan, then they wanted the Taliban so they kept occupying Afghanistan and now they want Bin Ladin again because they say he is in Pakistan. Of course if they really knew he was in Pakistan they would have to know where he was and they could capture him but somehow they know where he is but not exactly where he is. Right now they can't prove he is even alive but they still say they know where he is. During this strange silly game of hide and seek US special forces are getting closer and closer to pakistani nuclear assets...

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — For some Taliban fighters, killing foreign soldiers was nothing more than a steady job that offered cold, hard cash. For Mullah Janan, it was all about hot-blooded revenge.

The bushy-bearded farmer with the towering turban and vacant stare was among former insurgents who spoke with The Canadian Press about why they took up arms against foreigners.

Janan says he has always supported the Taliban politically, with its stern interpretation of Islam and iron-fisted grip on security.

He grew up in Oruzgan province just north of Kandahar, not far from the village where Taliban founder Mullah Omar was born.

He blames a NATO bombing of his village for destroying his life — and for compelling him to fight.

"I lost my wife and children," Janan says, speaking softly and staring blankly across the room.

"Even before this operation, I supported the Taliban. But this was the key point that made me a more committed Talib, and made me declare war against these people."

Janan remained a lowly foot soldier. He says he never dabbled in anything more sophisticated than firing an AK-47 assault rifle at foreign troops.

He replies coyly when asked whether he killed anyone and offers a dismissive shrug when asked whether killing foreigners would have been wrong.

"I might have killed several people," he says with a tight smile. "If two people quarrel with each other or fight, something happens."

Something has been happening around another former Taliban, Mullah Mohammed Zaher, for much of his adult life.

At first glance, Zaher hardly cuts an imposing figure with a squeaky high-pitched voice, expressive eyes, neatly pressed clothing and a delicately trimmed beard.

But those eyes narrow when he is asked what he does for a living — does he have a trade?

After an awkward pause, he's asked again: "Are you a farmer, like Mullah Janan?"

Zaher's eyes light up.

He has understood the question and replies: killing enemies is the only livelihood he's ever had.

"I was very happy when I killed people," he says, a sentimental smile slowly creeping across his face. "That was supposed to be my task and it made me very happy."

There's another twinkle in his eye when asked whether his main goal had been targeting enemy troops or destroying their multimillion-dollar equipment such as tanks.

"I was interested in killing people," he says, smiling again.

Zaher is unemployed now and living with relatives in a crammed house in Kandahar city's District 6.

Until recently, he killed NATO soldiers. Before that, he killed rivals during Afghanistan's civil war in the 1970s, killed Soviets in the 1980s, killed more rivals during another civil war in the 1990s, and then killed enemies of the Taliban regime when he served as a district commander until 2001.

He's upset now.

He says Afghan officials promised him a house and money to leave the insurgency two years ago, but nobody has delivered.

Zaher says he might go back to his old job — fighting as an insurgent — if he can't find steady work within the next year.

He says he was getting paid $500 a month from people within the Pakistani military who also provided him with a motorbike and a rent-free house in Quetta, Pakistan.

He says he fled there from Kandahar in 2003 out of frustration.

As a former Taliban, he says, he faced harassment and extortion from corrupt police, military and government officials under the new government headed by President Hamid Karzai.

Zaher says it was the promise of a house, a living allowance and the ability to live peacefully in Kandahar that lured him into abandoning the insurgency. He complains that the promises have not been kept.

While their reasons for fighting were as vastly different as their rank in the insurgency, Janan and Zaher have one thing in common: ignorance about Canada.

"I know it is a country," Zaher says. "I have never been there. I do not know much about it, except for the name."

It's unlikely that either killed a Canadian soldier. Janan says he fought outside Kandahar, and Zaher says he stopped blowing up NATO convoys in the winter of 2005–06 — around the time Canadians entered Kandahar province in force.

Zaher says he killed many NATO soldiers with the bombs the Pakistanis taught him to build.

At first, he refuses to describe those bombs for fear of revealing too much to the enemy. "Your military will steal my secrets," he says.

He is assured the Canadian military has far superior weaponry and no interest in planting improvised explosive devices around Afghanistan.

Only then does he hesitantly begin explaining how, with $10 worth of plastic jugs, electrical wiring and fertilizer, he can blow up an enemy vehicle.

Around this time, Janan stands up, excuses himself and leaves the room to pray. On his way out the door, he grumbles at a local official that the interview has wasted his entire afternoon.

Zaher is asked why he joined the Taliban in the first place. During a 90-minute interview he mentioned the salary, the motorbike, the free house, the harassment from Afghan officials and even the quality of the curry he was served on a Pakistani military compound.

But why did he join the Taliban in the first place?

"There was a religious component," he says.

"We were fighting for Islam."

TALIBAN LEADER SHEDS HIS TURBAN


KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN—The notorious leader of the Taliban, one of the world's most wanted fugitives, has reportedly had a makeover and been sighted on numerous occasions in Pakistan.

The one-eyed cleric Mullah Omar has significantly changed his appearance since fleeing his native Afghanistan seven years ago, said a former follower.

Mullah Mohammed Zaher said he has met with the reclusive jihadist several times in Quetta, Pakistan. Coupled with the fact that few pictures of him exist, Zaher says it would be difficult to pick Omar out of a crowd.

"He has totally changed his appearance," said Zaher, a self-described commander under the former regime. "He does not look like a Talib any more. He does not even wear a turban."

He said Omar, who has also trimmed his beard and begun wearing sunglasses, has been known to lead Friday prayer services at a mosque in Quetta.

This is one of the reasons Americans think osama is in pakistan.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

INterceptor,

Who was the FATA operation carefully planned by?

Did the CIA and ISI secretly brainwash the Tribesmen to go and fight NATO?

Did they secretly brainwash them into setting off suicide bombs against the SF"s?

The invasion of Afghanistan was planned - everything else was a snowball effect that the GoP tried to respond to.

 

[Cheetah786]

As I suspected there was a secret agreement, which would allow the Predator to operate on Pakistani soil, so that it can kill our soldiers and our people. Musharraf sold Pakistan's sovereignty for the sake of a buck.

The FATA war was carefully planned, the murder of Bugti was just to make the ball role into Baluchistan.

The missing persons were part of the deal, exchange for another buck come buck serve agenda.

Where did all that military aid go, a discussion took place in Parliament about it, just a month ago.

Do you actually believe the stuff you write to protect PPP.Are you totally blind to the realities.
I am sure you are not uneducated but for some reason you sure act like one.BB begged the Americans to give her presidency (no need to deny it not exactly a hidden secret)in exchange she made all sorts of promises and signed contracts.

http://imageshack.usInterceptor This isn't a solution any more.

 

[Interceptor]

]INterceptor,

Who was the FATA operation carefully planned by?

I dont know, I been speculating and reading sources since it happened, nothing is clear as to why we went into FATA, the media was put on censorship for reporting any activities, when they did they were labeled as state haters. Can I not say that someone wanted us to go to war in FATA, was that required AM, who is winning this war, is the current GoP winning this war, who brought the US war to our door step.

Did the CIA and ISI secretly brainwash the Tribesmen to go and fight NATO?

The Tribesmen weren't hating us before the war started they started arming when we attacked and jailed their leaders, these people were neglected from peace talks instead our military did operations to kill their leaders rather than dialogue on differences, keeping them on GoP's side and allowing them to not side with miscreants would have been wiser.

Did they secretly brainwash them into setting off suicide bombs against the SF"s?

Tell me who were they targeting mostly? They were targeting our army the Army headquarters, the high ranking officers, Police, they fell victem to these heinous attacks.

 

[maqsad]

This is one of the reasons Americans think osama is in pakistan.

Ok you showed me some very good reasons why Americans would think that pathans from all walks of life and on both sides of the border are supporting and conducting an insurgency against NATO troops but there isn't the slightest shred of evidence anywhere that Osama is even alive today, let alone that he is known to be active as anything other than an icon for deluded people all over the world to love or to hate depending on their bent.