US will start WW3 if war expands to Pakistan : Gen Hamid Gul

[Asian.Century]

Gen. Hamid Gul: US will start WW3 if war expands to Pakistan:

 

[AAtish]

A very to-the-point and precise interview..

 

[Asian.Century]

A very to-the-point and precise interview..

Yup it is, we need to do something about the coming attack. Civilian Force is a must as well as protection.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

If OBL died long ago a natural death, then what is his wives stating that he was there?

 

[Meengla]

As far as knowing various armed factions in Afghanistan and Pakistan I think Gul is near the top in the world. We can't dismiss him. Certainly better than the Peter Bergens who make millions as 'expert' just because he once met OBL.
I have seen very few of Gul's videos. A few things stand out from them:
1) A desperate Pakistan, while going down, will do huge damage to others, starting India.
2) American people are basically 'innocent' and 'very good' people who are not being presented all the facts
3) OBL was already dead years ago. But even if he was killed in the raid OBL had become a 'living dead'. Irrelevant except for the symbolic value.
4) A civil war in Afghanistan is unlikely now because only two factions: Talibans and others.
5) Just like, in late 80s, Pakistan negotiated a face-saving exit for the Soviets. Gul believes this time as well Pakistan will enable that.

Events are fast developing since OBL death.

What would be really interesting to see is what if Zawahari, Ilyas Kashmiri, and other top Al-Qaida operatives are eliminated. You know, there are supposed to be less than 200 real AQ affiliates around. Would that be considered 'victory' by Americans to enable them to go home soon.
Or there REALLY is a New Great Game. In that case, there will be ever shifting positions: Womens' rights, democracy, nation building, military bases.

 

[RazorMC]

There are a lot of voices in the US demanding action against the terrorists supposedly inside Pakistan. Hard to say who is putting it forward out of hatred and who's doing it on behalf of the lobbies.

I personally feel that the US is not too eager to engage in a war with Pakistan directly. War affects the dollar like nothing else.

But I guess concerns of interference in several areas of Pakistan will not go away entirely.

 

[lonedrifter]

Liked his comment
Pakistan can do things in desperation they can’t even imagine...

 

[Kevrai]

USA is already attacking Pakistan......I don't see WW3 happening anytime soon!

 

[Solomon2]

There are a lot of voices in the US demanding action against the terrorists supposedly inside Pakistan. Hard to say who is putting it forward out of hatred and who's doing it on behalf of the lobbies.

How would you class Obama's order sending SEALs to Abbottabad? Hatred? Lobbying?

Or could it just be his sound judgment about what had to be done to do justice?

 

[RazorMC]

How would you class Obama's order sending SEALs to Abbottabad? Hatred? Lobbying?

Or could it just be his sound judgment about what had to be done to do justice?

Getting the most wanted man in the world with a specialized assault team is one thing and proposing to expand the Afghan war into Pakistan is another.
The assault does not inflict civilian casualties while expanding the war into Pakistani borders definitely will, much more than the terror attacks themselves.

Your point of view on this and also on OBL escaping Afghanistan under US/NATO/ISAF watch? No sarcasm intended.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Execution of failed Jalalabad operation

During his time as head of the ISI and the Soviet war in Afghanistan, Gul was blamed for planning and executing the operation to capture Jalalabad from the Afghan army in the spring of 1989. This switch to conventional warfare was seen as a mistake by some mujahideen leaders who considered that the mujahideen did not have the capacity to capture a major city. But the Pakistani army was intent on installing a fundamentalist-dominated government in Afghanistan, with Jalalabad as their provisional capital, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf as Prime Minister, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar as Foreign Minister.

Contrary to Pakistani expectations, this battle proved that the Afghan army could fight without Soviet help, and greatly increased the confidence of government supporters. Conversely, the morale of the mujahideen involved in the attack slumped and many local commanders of Hekmatyar and Sayyaf concluded truces with the government.[6] In the words of Brigadier Mohammad Yousef, an officer of the ISI, "the jihad [meaning the plans for Hekmatyar to be installed as prime minister] never recovered from Jalalabad". As a result of this failure, Hamid Gul was sacked by Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and replaced by Shamsur Rahman Kallu, who pursued a more classical policy of support to the militants fighting Afghanistan.

Hamid Gul - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[TruthSeeker]

God will destroy America, says Hamid Gul

WASHINGTON: “God will destroy the US in Iraq and Afghanistan and wherever it will try to go from there,” General Hamid Gul, identified as “strategic adviser” to the MMA, was quoted saying on Friday.

Gen Gul, known for his colourful language and what many consider “imaginative theories,” went on to declare, “The Muslim world must stand united to confront the US in its so-called war against terror which is in reality a war against Muslims. Let’s destroy America wherever its troops are trapped.” If President Pervez Musharraf concedes President George Bush’s demand to send 15,000 Pakistani peacekeeping soldiers to Iraq, it would amount to “political suicide,” according to The Washington Times.

The report alleges that jihadi organisations are once again actively recruiting in the name of ending US aggression in the two countries where US forces are battling Iraqi and Afghan terrorists. Gen Musharraf is conceding ground to the extremists now crowding the Pakistani government. Anyone who tries to crack down on extremist activities is told to stop, says the report by Arnaud de Borchgrave. According to him, “The latest example came in Balochistan where the governor, Gen Qadir Baluch, a former corps commander in Balochistan, attempted to curtail anti-US demonstrations called by the MMA. The president asked Gen Baloch to back off while Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) negotiated with the MMA. Gen Baloch flew to Islamabad to confer with Gen Musharraf. The president urged him to follow the new rules or resign, which he did.”

They are known locally as new mohajirs. They possess Pakistani identification and are free to conduct business and buy properties all over Balochistan. The MMA, with generous subsidies organised by the ISI, is now free to hold constant rallies and processions against ‘the US, desecrator of Islam’.” He claims to have been told by his “informants in Islamabad and Quetta” that US agents are unable to tell the difference between Balochis, Pathans and Taliban, and that most people are convinced Osama Bin Laden and Mulla Omar, the former Taliban chief, are hiding safely somewhere in Balochistan under the protection of the ISI and its extremist allies in the provincial government. “Hamid Gul’s agenda – which he barely conceals – is to create a deadly nexus between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. Those who know Gen Gul say his objective is to widen the nexus to include Iran, Sudan and Saudi Arabia,” the report adds.

The report alleges that the Pakistani nuclear establishment is, to a large degree, of the fundamentalist persuasion, adding “from these geopolitical building blocks, it is not too much of a stretch to conclude, as the US intelligence community now seems to believe, that Pakistani nuclear know-how has found its way, not only to North Korea, but also to Iran. The CIA has also identified Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria as the leading supporters of the Sunni insurgency against the US military in Iraq. The Saudi government is clearly not involved, the CIA concluded, but Osama’s Saudi followers and members of the Wahhabi clergy, harassed for the first time by the government, have evidently organised desert crossings for volunteer guerrilla fighters.” —Khalid Hasan

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[TruthSeeker]

He has acknowledged being a member of banned militant organization Ummah Tameer-e-Nau.[20] The United States government has included Hamid Gul's name in a list of 4 former ISI officers for inclusion in the list of international terrorists that was sent to UN Secretary General, but China refused.[21]

Gul has been informed by a senior official in Pakistan's Foreign Ministry that he had been placed on a U.S. watch list of global terrorists, along with several others. He was shown a U.S. document that detailed several charges against him, including allegations that he had ties to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.[3]

On December 14, 2008 President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari in an interview with Newsweek described Hamid Gul as a political ideologue of terror.[22]

In July 2010, Wikileaks released over 92,000 documents related to the war in Afghanistan between 2004 and the end of 2009. In those documents Gul was accused of backing Taliban Insurgency against western forces to disrupt the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan.

Hamid Gul - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[RazorMC]

Just to remind that the US was the driving force behind the Mujahideen and Pakistan was a mere partner. A passage from Wikipedia:

...By the spring of 1989, the Afghan government showed no signs of falling apart, and the American and Pakistani supporters of some of the mujahideen decided to hasten its demise. An operation was planned, under the impulsion of U.S. ambassador to Pakistan Robert B. Oakley, and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto, to capture Jalalabad. The Americans and the Pakistanis both wanted a conventional victory, each for their own reasons. The Americans wished to humiliate the Soviets, and send them out of Afghanistan "clinging to their helicopters", and thus avenge the American setback in Vietnam. The Pakistanis were intent on installing a government under Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, with affiliations with Pakistan, with Jalalabad as their provisional capital.[8] The Afghan Interim Government, which they supported, had Gulbuddin Hekmatyar as Prime Minister and Abdul Rasul Sayyaf as Foreign Minister. The central organizer of the offensive on the Pakistani side was Hamid Gul.

Link

 

[RazorMC]

... On December 14, 2008 President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari in an interview with Newsweek described Hamid Gul as a political ideologue of terror....

President Zardari's statement gives Gul more credibility. Incompetent governance combined with a reminder from the past (about US desertion of Pakistan) gives undue importance to people like Zaid Hamid and Gul.