Month: August 2007

The Egyptian Jackal Runs

zawahiri-dajjal.jpgThe Fourth Rail, Little Green Footballs, un-named intel sources, and CNN are all questioning the dissappearance of Al Qaeda and Taliban forces from training camps. They are also pairing that with speculation about Pakistan’s Nuclear forces. Everything they state is factual, but coupling it all together leads to a lot of questions which I will attempt to analyze below.

Update: the Foreign minister from Pakistan has released this statement to counter the worries created by the CNN article:

Speaking to reporters, ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said Pakistan’s nuclear command and control structures were not controlled by any single individual and had been institutionalised and multi-layered to ensure safety and security at multiple levels since 1998.

She said the country’s strategic assets are governed by “strong multi-layered decision making, organisational, administrative and command and control structures”. She said Pakistan, as a nuclear weapons state, had formally instituted an elaborate Nuclear Command and Control mechanism in February 2000 consisting of the National Command Authority (NCA), the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), and the Strategic Forces Command. pr

Just a reminder: Our government is charged with protecting US citizens, to do that our intel agencies sometimes speculate in “worst case scenarios”. The press almost always runs with “worst case” when presented with a spectrum of possibilities because it makes for a better headline and sells more ads.

UPDATE: Missing soldiers held by Taliban

First there are a series of seasonal events, coupled with failed intiatives and Pakistan Army movements that work together to empty the camps:

Continue reading “The Egyptian Jackal Runs”

The Mask Comes Off: Pakistan Update

The Army of Pakistan continues to hunt the mountains for their kidnapped brothers in arms as they pound Al Qaeda and Taliban camps and hideouts in Miranshah. From the Daily Times:

 “In previous months there were several attempts made by miscreants against security forces and we would show patience but it is not the case now.”

Arshad said the military was hunting for 16 paramilitary soldiers who went missing on Thursday morning in South Waziristan.

Arshad said the stepped-up action in the border areas was not in reaction to pressure from Washington. “We know Al Qaeda is present in the region, there are Taliban elements and their local supporters and we are acting against them in our own national interest.”

This is true as Al Qaeda has declared war on Pakistan, and attempted more than twenty assassinations of leaders in the past two years, some successful. They have all their pawns out on the board; but their leaders hide as they always do. You won’t catch Ayman strapping on a suicide vest, nor will Sami Al Haq — instead they send the young — the useful idiots with heads pumped full of vileness. Whose son or daughter is next to die, what people will be without power tomorrow as idiots blow up more power poles? Who will lie in pieces in a gutter next week while the Saudi dogs bark in the hills, and howl in the Wafaqul assembly? Continue reading “The Mask Comes Off: Pakistan Update”

Claw versus Fang

My sister sent me some photos from a friend taken along the Alaskan Pipeline haul road. Here you see a Golden Eagle and an Arctic Fox debating who gets to dine first, click on the thumbnails, the photos are great.

golden-eagle-arilines.jpgclaws-and-fangs.jpgMy sister sent me some photos from a friend taken along the Alaskan Pipeline haul road. Here you see a Golden Eagle and an Arctic Fox debating who gets to dine first, click on the thumbnails, the photos are great.

Emergency Ruled Out: Pakistan Update

FRONTIERS:

The Taliban attacked a village in Darra, killing five Qasimkhel tribesmen in Chargano, and then looting the town (I’ve been telling you that the Taliban are bandits and dacoits at heart all along – they pulled in flatbeds and took appliances.) The battle lasted thirty five hours, and the military did not intervene. A delegation of elders from another village who tried to intervene were chased off with gunfire from the Taliban.

Continue reading “Emergency Ruled Out: Pakistan Update”

Pakistan Update: Tense Week Ahead

Political Update 

Musharraf canceled his trip to the Pak-Afghan Jirga hours before he was to leave, jilting an anxious President Karzai for internal problems. The White House spokesperson stated that President Musharraf had “compelling things” to attend to.

Continue reading “Pakistan Update: Tense Week Ahead”

Sunni Insurgency all but Over: Odierno

In this Pentagon Channel one minute report General Odierno reports that the Baathist sunni insurgency is over, they are now fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq and some Shia militias.

In this Pentagon Channel one minute report General Odierno reports that the Baathist Sunni insurgency is over, our forces are fighting consistently against Al Qaeda in Iraq and some Shia militias.

Pak Army Attacks Camps

the political arm of the jihadi outfits, the MMA, tried to re-direct flames from the Red Mosque adherents in the National Assembly today by accusing the CIA of killing the Chinese Nationals who were slain.

The Pakistan Army has attacked two camps in Waziristan, for the details stop by The Fourth Rail.  They did not use troops but attacked with artillery and helicopter bombardment.

On the political front the Bajaur Jirga broke down yesterday, and both Waziristan’s are boycotting the Pak-Afghan Jirga, along with the MMA. In other words, Musharraf has done what he could to make peace, after the Pak-Afghan jirga I suspect the Army goes fully weapons free in the Frontier. The cross-border Jirga needs to finish since there’s still some chance to gain some tribal allies from it, and if not allies then neutrality.
Meanwhile, the political arm of the jihadi outfits, the MMA, tried to re-direct flames from the Red Mosque adherents in the National Assembly today by accusing the CIA of killing the Chinese Nationals who were slain. The MMA bench applauded, but everyone else was silent. Most Pakistanis know that the Chinese were slain in sympathy and retribution for the Red Mosque.