Scott Horton Interviews Eric Margolis

Internationally syndicated columnist Eric Margolis discusses the terrorist safe-haven and failed state of Somalia, U.S. mission creep on the African continent, the questionable legal authority of assassination via airstrike, Afghanistan’s fraudulent election and popular discontent in Pakistan against U.S. influence.

Robert Fisk’s World: Everyone seems to be agreeing with Bin Laden these days

Only Obama, it seems, fails to get the message that we’re losing Afghanistan

Obama and Osama are at last participating in the same narrative. For the US president's critics – indeed, for many critics of the West'smilitary occupation of Afghanistan – are beginning to speak in the same language as Obama's (and their) greatest enemy.

There is a growing suspicion in America that Obama has been socked into the heart of the Afghan darkness by ex-Bushie Robert Gates– once more the Secretary of Defence – and by journalist-adored General David Petraeus whose military "surges" appear to be as successful as the Battle of the Bulge in stemming the insurgent tide in Afghanistan as well as in Iraq.

No wonder Osama bin Laden decided to address "the American people" this week. "You are waging a hopeless and losing war," he said in his 9/11 eighth anniversary audiotape. "The time has come to liberate yourselves from fear and the ideological terrorism of neoconservatives and the Israeli lobby." There was no more talk of Obama as a "house Negro" although it was his "weakness", bin Laden contended, that prevented him from closing down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In any event, Muslim fighters wold wear down the US-led coalition in Afghanistan "like we exhausted the Soviet Union for 10 years until it collapsed". Funny, that. It's exactly what bin Laden told me personally in Afghanistan – four years before 9/11 and the start of America's 2001 adventure south of the Amu Darya river.

Almost on cue this week came those in North America who agree with Obama – albeit they would never associate themselves with the Evil One, let alone dare question Israel's cheerleading for the Iraqi war. "I do not believe we can build a democratic state in Afghanistan," announces Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who chairs the senate intelligence committee. "I believe it will remain a tribal entity." And Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, does not believe "there is a great deal of support for sending more troops to Afghanistan".

Colin Kenny, chair of Canada's senate committee on national security and defence, said this week that "what we hoped to accomplish in Afghanistan has proved to be impossible. We are hurtling towards a Vietnam ending".

Close your eyes and pretend those last words came from the al-Qa'ida cave. Not difficult to believe, is it? Only Obama, it seems, fails to get the message. Afghanistan remains for him the "war of necessity". Send yet more troops, his generals plead. And we are supposed to follow the logic of this nonsense. The Taliban lost in 2001. Then they started winning again. Then we had to preserve Afghan democracy. Then our soldiers had to protect – and die – for a second round of democratic elections. Then they protected – and died – for fraudulent elections. Afghanistan is not Vietnam, Obama assures us. And then the good old German army calls up an air strike – and zaps yet more Afghan civilians.

It is instructive to turn at this moment to the Canadian army, which has in Afghanistan fewer troops than the Brits but who have suffered just as ferociously; their 130th soldier was killed near Kandahar this week. Every three months, the Canadian authorities publish a scorecard on their military "progress" in Afghanistan – a document that is infinitely more honest and detailed than anything put out by thePentagon or the Ministry of Defence – which proves beyond peradventure (as Enoch Powell would have said) that this is Mission Impossible or, as Toronto's National Post put it in an admirable headline three days' ago, "Operation Sleepwalk". The latest report, revealed this week, proves that Kandahar province is becoming more violent, less stable and less secure – and attacks across the country more frequent – than at any time since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. There was an "exceptionally high" frequency of attacks this spring compared with 2008.

There was a 108 per cent increase in roadside bombs. Afghans are reporting that they are less satisfied with education and employment levels, primarily because of poor or non-existent security. Canada is now concentrating only on the security of Kandahar city, abandoning any real attempt to control the province.

Canada's army will be leaving Afghanistan in 2011, but so far only five of the 50 schools in its school-building project have been completed. Just 28 more are "under construction". But of Kandahar province's existing 364 schools, 180 have been forced to close. Of progress in "democratic governance" in Kandahar, the Canadian report states that the capacity of the Afghan government is "chronically weak and undermined by widespread corruption". Of "reconciliation" – whatever that means these days – "the onset of the summer fighting season and the concentration of politicians and activists for the August elections discouraged expectations of noteworthy initiatives...".

Even the primary aim of polio eradication – Ottawa's most favoured civilian project in Afghanistan – has defeated the Canadian International Development Agency, although this admission is cloaked in truly Blair-like (or Brown-like) mendacity. As the Toronto Star revealed in a serious bit of investigative journalism this week, the aim to "eradicate" polio with the help of UN and World Health Organisation money has been quietly changed to the "prevention of transmission" of polio. Instead of measuring the number of children "immunised" against polio, the target was altered to refer only to the number of children "vaccinated". But of course, children have to be vaccinated several times before they are actually immune.

And what do America's Republican hawks – the subject of bin Laden's latest sermon – now say about the Afghan catastrophe? "More troops will not guarantee success in Afghanistan," failed Republican contender and ex-Vietnam vet John McCain told us this week. "But a failure to send them will be a guarantee of failure." How Osama must have chuckled as this preposterous announcement echoed aroundal-Qa'ida's dark cave.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fiskrsquos-world-everyone-seems-to-be-agreeing-with-bin-laden-these-days-1790058.html

Terror-attack survivor becomes student of Islam

Mumbai: Trauma leads American on journey of faith

By SEAN O'SULLIVAN • The News Journal

WILMINGTON-- After surviving a terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, 10 months ago, when armed men targeted westerners in two five-star hotels, Greenville resident Dennis O'Brien did not turn to hate.

Instead, he sought to understand the root faith the people behind the attacks claimed to practice and discovered it had been twisted by the gunmen.

Eventually, he came to embrace it.

On Sunday, standing before a crowd of thousands, following prayers to mark the end of Ramadan, O'Brien, a Catholic, embraced Islam in a testimony of faith called Shahada, where he publically declared that there was only one God and the Prophet Muhammad is his last messenger and servant.

O'Brien, who heads up the education committee of St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Wilmington, said the move was a surprise, even to him.

But said he was at peace with it.

"Today I feel free of sin," he said.

After several months of studies and asking questions of Muslim friends and associates, "I feel comfort in Islam," he said.

O'Brien said he wanted to express solidarity with Muslims, even though extremists who say they practice the faith "tried to kill me."

Pastor John F. McGinley, of St. Anthony's, said Sunday he had not heard of O'Brien's embrace of Islam.

McGinley said he knows O'Brien is inquisitive and has expressed concern about the young men involved in the Mumbai attacks.

He would not say if the declaration of another faith would affect O'Brien's position at the church, noting he had not spoken to him about Sunday's events.

"I think this is part of his journey of faith and we can work with that," McGinley said.

Indeed, while others called it a conversion, O'Brien said he is not abandoning Christianity orCatholicism. He said he would not disgrace his family by disavowing what he was raised to believe and what they believe in.

He said he sees Sunday's declaration as a continuation or extension of his beliefs, noting how elements of Christianity and Judaism are a part of the Islamic faith.

He said he hopes to continue his work with the Catholic Church, even as he plans to regularly attend weekly Muslim prayers.

Asked what he will say when asked about his faith, he said he will now answer that he is "a student of Islam." He said he did not consider himself to be entirely Muslim. "I'm a work in progress," he said.While
most Muslims believe Jesus Christ was a great man and a prophet of God,
they do not believe he was the son of God as Christians do. O'Brien
said he still believes in Christ, that he ascended into heaven and will
return one day.He said he prayed a great deal about the recent move and Saturday was a day of lengthy contemplation.He
said his path to Islam started Nov. 26, 2008, in room 343 of the Taj
Mahal Palace & Tower hotel in Mumbai when he heard gunshots.O'Brien was there with fellow Delawarean C. Rich Diffenderffer, on business.The two later said skipping dessert that night may have saved their lives.Instead of remaining in the restaurant, O'Brien retired to his room and Diffenderffer went to the business center.Minutes later, armed militants stormed the hotel, throwing grenades and spraying bullets.By the end of the 60-hour assault, at least 170 were dead.O'Brien
said he peered out his door at one point and saw three of the attackers
carrying assault rifles, all shouted as they passed.While
O'Brien, a former Marine who served in Vietnam, briefly entertained the
notion of leaving his door open and attempting to disarm any gunman who
tried to enter his room, he decided to bolt his door and push a couch
in front of it.Later,
his room began to fill with smoke and he tried to make a run for it but
was turned back by a wall of fire. He was rescued by firefighters with
a ladder.Diffenderffer, who was on the fifth floor, was rescued with a cherry picker.While
O'Brien cites that night as the start of his journey, he said it was
not until a month later that he seriously started to consider "joining
the Muslim movement" after he read the Koran, the Muslim holy book.That was followed by about six months of study, and questions."I
was brought up Christian and taught when someone attacks you, you have
to love them," he said. "What I discovered as I investigated Islam ...
I became enamored with the faith and the people I met."He credited business partner, Ahmad Amer, a Muslim, with guiding him on his current path.On
Sunday, O'Brien was one of the last to leave the room where prayers had
been held -- the first full Muslim prayer service O'Brien has attended.
He was besieged by well-wishers who shook his hand and welcomed him to
the community.As
he departed, he said he found Islam to be "a community of men who have
integrity and I want to stand with these men of integrity."

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090921/LIFE/909210320/1005/LIFE

Pakistan nuclear thefts foiled

By Arnaud de Borchgrave
Is Pakistan's nuclear arsenal theft-proof? Former President Pervez Musharraf and his successor, Asif Ali Zardari, and their army and intelligence chiefs repeatedly have assured both the Bush and Obama administrations that their 80-odd nuclear weapons are as secure as the U.S. arsenal of some 7,000 city busters.
The Pakistanis have separated warheads from delivery systems and stored them in different secret locations throughout the second-largest Muslim country in the world (after Indonesia). The United States has given Pakistan copies of its own blueprint to ensure fool-proof, total safety. Yet Pakistan's secret nuclear-storage sites are known to Islamist extremists and have been attacked at least three times over the last two years, according to two recent reputable reports.
The Baltimore-based Maldon Institute, whose worldwide staff consists mostly of retired intelligence officers, and the Times of India's Washington-based foreign editor Chidanand Rajghatta both report attempted nuclear thefts that have been tracked by Shaun Gregory, a professor at Bradford University in Britain.
The first such attack against the nuclear-missile-storage facility was on Nov. 1, 2007, at Sargodha; the second, by a suicide bomber, occurred Dec. 10, 2007, against Pakistan's nuclear air base at Kamra; and the third, Aug. 20, 2008, and most alarming, was launched by several suicide bombers who blew up key entry points to a nuclear-weapons complex at the Wah Cantonment, long believed to be one of Pakistan's main nuclear-weapons assembly points, where warheads and launchers come together in a national emergency.
Mr. Gregory's research paper was first published in West Point's Counter Terrorism Center Sentinel, and elicited no attention or reaction. Renowned terrorist expert Peter Bergen, one of the very few journalists to interview al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden before Sept. 11, 2001, reviewed Mr. Gregory's paper and was baffled by the lack of reaction from the rest of the media.
While not denying the three incidents, Pakistan has said repeatedly that its nuclear weapons are fully secured and there is no chance of them falling into the hands of Islamist extremists, who have attracted a limited number of officers. During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan (1979-89), Islamist extremism was encouraged by the three powers funding the anti-Soviet insurgents, known as the mujahedeen (whose sons and grandsons are today's Taliban guerrillas).
The fear in those days was communist expansion into Pakistan. And madrassas, Koranic schools for boys only, funded by Saudi Arabia's fundamentalist Wahhabi clergy, were set up along the border as an "ideological barrier" against Moscow's godless state religion.
Since then, the madrassa phenomenon has spread to the entire country, and today's reform movement has touched roughly 250 madrassas out of 12,500. The rest are still producing jobless teenagers who are easily seduced by the jihadi siren song to fight the imperialist apostates from the United States, Israel and India.
Still more worrisome is the number of younger army officers who embraced Islamist extremism in the heady days of the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan (February 1989). When the United States began punishing Pakistan with all manner of sanctions for its secret nuclear-weapons program throughout the 1990s, the young officers, reared in what became a bitterly anti-American environment, are today's one-, two- and three-star generals.
Relations between Pakistan's generals and their U.S. counterparts are now middling to good, but at arm's length. Following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a Pakistani general with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency toured the tribal areas along the Afghan border to tell tribal elders that Pakistan would be next on America's list of Muslim targets.
The American government, this general explained to a tribal chief who is a longtime friend of this reporter, is determined to seize "Islam's" nuclear weapons. This was when Gen. Hamid Gul, a former ISI chief, spread the word that Sept. 11 had been concocted by the CIA and Israel's Mossad to provide a pretext for attacking Muslim countries. Sadly, many well-intentioned Pakistanis still believe to this day what is disinformation designed to manipulate public opinion against the United States.
Mr. Gregory points out that during Pakistan's secret nuclear-weapons buildup in the 1970s (after East Pakistan was conquered by the Indian army in 1971 and turned into Bangladesh) and 1980s (when the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Afghanistan), its principal concern was the risk of India overrunning its nuclear facilities in a blitzkrieg armored offensive if they were located close to the 1,300-kilometer (780-mile)-long border between the two countries. Instead, most of the nuclear-weapons infrastructure was moved to the north and west and to the region around the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi (a military garrison city).
This brought these installations close to where Taliban insurgents were operating, in Pakistan proper, as close as 60 miles to the capital. American and Pakistani perceptions of the growing threat to its nukes narrowed accordingly. Mr. Gregory says the army "conducts a tight selection process drawing almost exclusively on officers from Punjab province who are believed to have fewer links with religious extremism, or with the Pashtun areas" of the Northwest Frontier Province and FATA, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas abutting the Afghan border.
The Times of India and the Maldon Institute reported that Pakistan also operates an analog to the U.S. Personnel Reliability Program (PRP) "that screens individuals for Islamist sympathies, personality problems, drug use, inappropriate external affiliations, and sexual deviancy." Mr. Gregory reckons that in total, between 8,000 and 10,000 individuals from the army's security division and from the ISI Directorate, Military Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau agencies are involved in the security clearance and monitoring of those with nuclear-weapons duties.
Pakistan also uses dummy sites to confuse would-be attackers. Formal command authority is under President Zardari and his Cabinet. But army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani has complete control over the country's nuclear weapons. But Mr. Gregory also says that despite "elaborate safeguards, empirical evidence points to a clear set of weaknesses and vulnerabilities in Pakistan's nuclear safety and security arrangements."
How the thousands employed by the nuclear establishment feel about the United States is not known. The question is not considered relevant, perhaps because U.S. and Pakistani views still differ on the nature of the war in Afghanistan. Taliban was useful after the Soviets left Afghanistan. Many of ISI's senior officers believe it will be useful again after the United States and its NATO allies leave.
Arnaud de Borchgrave is editor at large of The Washington Times and of United Press International.

Mohammed is most popular name for baby boys in London

Mohammed is now the most common name for

baby boys born in London and three other English regions,

official Government figures have shown.

By Rebecca Lefort and Ben Leapman

The Islamic name overtook traditional choices like Jack, Thomas and Daniel to become the number one name in the West Midlands,Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North West, as well as in the capital, in 2008.

The figures emerged in a detailed regional breakdown of figures published last week by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

t is the first time that the Muslim name has been shown to the top choice for parents in any part of the UK. In previous years no regional figures were disclosed, only nationwide totals.

When various spellings of the Islamic prophet are added together - including Muhammad, Mohammad, Mohamed and Muhammed - the name is now more than twice as popular in London as the capital's second-ranked boys name, Daniel. There were 1,828 baby boys given the name Mohammed, including varients, in 2008, compared with only 844 who were called Daniel.

London is not the first European capital to see Mohammed become the number one name for baby boys. In Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Oslo the name has already gained the top slot.

The way in which the true figures emerged, days after the official publication, will fuel claims that Government statisticians tried to play down the increasing popularity of the Muslim name. The official announcement by the ONS, which does not take varient spellings into account, states that Mohammed was only the third most popular name in London.

In the West Midlands, 1,399 baby boys were given the name Mohammed last year, including varient spellings, almost twice as many as the next most popular name, Jack, with 768.

In the North West 1,337 boys were named Mohammed, including varients, beating Jack into second place with 1,154. And in Yorkshire and the Humber there were 1,255 babies registered with the name Mohammed, including varients, with Jack again second with 854.

Throughout England and Wales Mohammed, including its varient spellings, was the third most popular name, with 6,591 newborns given the religious name, behind Jack with 8,007 and Oliver with 7,413.

Nationwide the most popular name for baby girls was Olivia, with 5,317 given the name, followed by 4,924 named Ruby and 4,874 called Emily.

In recent years the ONS has refused to divulge regional lists of popular baby names. It is likely that Mohammed has been the most popular choice in the capital for a number of years already, but it has never been demonstrated conclusively until now.

Experts believe that internationally around 15 million people are called Mohammed, making it the most popular male name in the world.

Murtaza Shibli of the Muslim Council of Britain said he was not surprised to find Mohammed had become the most popular boys name in parts of the country.

"People choose it because of their love of the prophet Mohammed, and they believe the name will bring happiness and abundance," he said.

"Also because of its meaning - the praised one. Also there is a belief that if you do name your children Mohammed they will follow the good example of the prophet.

"There are so many spellings because it is an Arabic name and there are different ways of translating it into English."

Other ONS data from its July to September 2008 Labour Force Survey shows the Muslim population is growing 10 times faster than the rest of the population. Last year more than 2.4 million people identified themselves as Muslims, according to the survey's findings, up more than 500,000 in four years. In the same period the number of Christians fell by more than 2 million, to 42.6 million.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6194354/Mohammed-is-most-popular-name-for-baby-boys-in-London.html

US proposes nuclear resolution at UN

By EDITH M. LEDERER

The United States circulated a draft U.N. resolution Friday calling for stepped up efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons which it hopes will be adopted by world leaders at a meeting later this month chaired by President Barack Obama.

The draft, obtained by The Associated Press, does not mention any country by name but it reaffirms previous Security Council resolutions that imposed sanctions on Iran and North Korea for their nuclear activities. It does not call for any new sanctions.

Another provision apparently aimed at Iran and North Korea, "deplores" the current major challenges to nuclear nonproliferation that the council has determined to be threats to international peace and security. It "demands that the parties concerned comply fully with their obligations under the relevant Security Council resolutions."

The United States, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, chose nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament as the topic for a high-level council meeting to be held Sept. 24 on the sidelines of the annual ministerial meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.

The draft resolution was circulated Friday to the 14 other council members, and council experts immediately began discussions.

A diplomat familiar with the negotiations said the five veto-wielding council nations — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — agreed on most provisions before the draft was circulated, but China objected to including the resolutions related to North Korea. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations have been conducted behind closed doors.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said earlier this month that the U.S. considers nonproliferation and disarmament major challenges of the 21st century, citing Obama's April 5 speech in the Czech Republic, in which he pledged to eventually eliminate nuclear weapons.

In the Prague speech, Obama also called for the slashing of U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, adoption of the treaty banning all nuclear tests, and negotiations on a new treaty that "verifiably" ends the production of fissile materials used to make atomic weapons.

The draft resolution welcomes the U.S.-Russia negotiations, calls on all countries to refrain from conducting nuclear tests and join the test ban treaty, and urges the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva to negotiate a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices "as soon as possible."

In its opening paragraph, the draft states that the Security Council is committed "to seek a safer world for all and to create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons" in accordance with the goals of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The treaty, known as the NPT, requires signatory nations not to pursue nuclear weapons in exchange for a commitment by the five nuclear powers to move toward nuclear disarmament. States without nuclear weapons are guaranteed access to peaceful nuclear technology to produce nuclear power.

It calls on all countries that are parties to the treaty to comply fully with their obligations and cooperate so that next year's review conference can strengthen the NPT.

The draft calls on all countries that are not parties to join the treaty "to achieve its universality at an early date, and in any case to adhere to its terms."

The major countries that are not members are India and Pakistan, which have conducted nuclear tests, and Israel which is believed to have a nuclear arsenal.

In an apparent reference to North Korea, which withdrew from the NPT, the draft says the council will address "without delay any state's notice of withdrawal from the NPT" and it notes that the issue will be discussed at the review conference.

The draft also calls on all countries to step up cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and adopt its additional protocol, which allows the U.N. nuclear watchdog to conduct inspections of suspect nuclear material and sites anytime and anywhere.

It also emphasizes that any issue of non-compliance with the NPT must be brought to the attention of the Security Council "which will determine if that situation constitutes a threat to international peace and security."

Pakistan outsources part of terror war to militia

By CHRIS BRUMMITT and Associated Press reporter Zarar Khan

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – They wear their hair and beards long,Taliban style, and support attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. Yet the fighters are tolerated and — many believe — backed by Pakistan because they share a common enemy: the country's most deadly terror network.

Pro-government militias like this one on the border of the country's lawless tribal regions are an important plank in the campaign against the Pakistani Taliban following the slaying of its chief, Baitullah Mehshud, in a CIA missile strike last month.

They know the enemy and the terrain, need no motivation and their willingness to fight means fewer army casualties. And with the Pakistani Taliban ranks said to be in disarray following the death of their leader, some of their fighters could be persuaded to change sides and join them.

But critics say Pakistan risks creating a monster by linking up with them and other militias. While tribal feuding ensures they are enemies of Baitullah's men for now, they are cut from the same militant cloth he was. Any alliance with the state could be temporary, and one day authorities could find themselves fighting their former proxies.

The United States, which gives millions of dollars in civilian and military aid to Pakistan each year, will be particularly concerned with the militia in Dera Ismail Khan because it still espouses militant Islam. The group's logo proclaims the need for war in the name of God. The confusion is apparently reflected in the name that some in the town have given the group: "the government Taliban."

Fighters from the Abdullah Mehsud militia met The Associated Press at their headquarters in the city, just outside the Taliban stronghold of Waziristan. On the banks of the River Indus, the town has a large police and military presence.

Abdullah — who was killed by security forces two years ago — and Baitullah are not related. They come from different subtribes of the Mehsud, the major clan in Waziristan.

The fighters operate openly in the city. Toting automatic weapons, they travel the streets in battered pickups and keep a makeshift prison in their headquarters, located in a side street about half a mile (one kilometer) from the town center. They claim to have killed or executed 70 of Baitullah's men over the last year.

"(Baitullah) Mehsud's fighters are killing the common men," said Baz Mohammed, a top commander flanked by heavily armed fighters.

Last July, a Baitullah loyalist assassinated the group's former leader, Qari Zainuddin, as he slept in a room in the headquarters. Mohammed was shot four times in the leg in the attack and now walks with crutches. The attack left two bullet holes in the wall of the room.

"Yes, we will take revenge," Mohammed said. "If we don't, what is the point of our group?"

Hours after visiting the headquarters, an Associated Press reporting team was detained by the army for 12 hours at a hotel and its members had their cell phones seized. It was released on condition it left the town and returned to the capital immediately. No formal reason was given for the detention, but a military official inIslamabad later said local authorities — who are on the lookout for foreign terrorists — were concerned about the team's identities.

Mohammed and others said they supported attacks inside Afghanistan, but that attacking the Baitullah group was their priority goal at the moment. U.S. officials say militants based on the Pakistani side of the border are to blame for much of the violence plaguing Afghanistan eight years after the American-led invasion.

"Where people are suffering from oppression, we have to fight. That is God's order," Mohammed said.

They declined to answer when asked whether foreign al-Qaida militants should be given sanctuary in the tribal regions — another major concern of the West, which fears the area remains an international terrorist hub.

One fighter, Abdullah Haq, said he used to belong to the Pakistani Taliban but left last year in a disagreement over attacks on targets inside Pakistan. On his cell phone, he keeps pictures of captured Baitullah men — including two bound and gagged prisoners he said the group had executed last week after taking them to the tribal regions.

Rooting out deeply entrenched militants from the border regions is a massive task for Pakistan's stretched military, which has tried and failed to defeat the insurgents in Waziristan before. It has been accused in the past of being soft on militants who concentrate their energies on the Afghan side of the border, allowing it to direct resources at those posing a direct threat to Islamabad.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas denied the military had any links with the Abdullah militia and another pro-government group led by Turkistan Bhitani in the nearby town of Tank. Abbas referred questions to the civil administration in the area, whose officials did not make themselves available for telephone interviews.

Still, Abbas acknowledged the fighters were useful in the battle against the Pakistani Taliban, which has carried out scores of attacks across the country over the last 2 1/2 years that have triggered international fears over the safety of Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

"If you have to fight the big devil, you welcome anyone in that fight," Abbas said.

Observers say there is little doubt the militias have received or continue to receive support from security agencies, either cash, weapons or logistics. In August, army gunships were deployed to repel a Pakistani Taliban attack on the stronghold of Bhitani, intelligence officers said at the time.

"We have the full support of the government side," said Mohammed, who declined to elaborate on the exact nature of their relationship. "We have a free hand to attack Mehsud's men in this area."

Tribal armies have sprung up in other areas of the northwest, including the Swat Valley, where a military offensive has largely succeeded in driving out the Taliban. But militias there consist mostly of villagers with aging weapons and little battle experience.

In harnessing tribes to fight one another, Pakistan is following the tradition of the region's past British colonial rulers, who bought the loyalties of the tribes in an attempt to pacify the northwest. The armies have drawn comparisons with government-backed militias in Iraq that have been credited with helping beat back the insurgency there.

Mohammed claimed his militia has between 3,000 and 4,000 men, spread out over Waziristan and bordering regions. Even if accurate, that is much less than the approximately 15,000 men the Pakistani Taliban are believed to have in the area.

But he said more of Baitullah's men were joining him now that their leader was dead, a claim that could not be verified but one that analysts said was plausible.

"With their leadership in disarray, the military might well be able to get more tribals on their side," said Shuja Nawaz, a Pakistani military expert at the U.S.-based Atlantic Council.

Exploiting existing divisions between militants in Waziristan is especially important because the military has said it will not launch a large-scale ground offensive there yet out of fears it could unite the insurgents. The army is carrying out targeted air strikes and maintaining a blockade of the region that it says is weakening the enemy, while the United States is pressing ahead with missile strikes like the one that killed Baitullah.

But questions remain about the unity of the groups lined up against the Taliban. Mohammed spoke in scathing terms of Bhitani and said he would not cooperate with him.

Mohammed and the leader of a related militia, Baba Waziristan, said they planned a major offensive after the end of the Islamic fasting month next weekend. Baba said he was working to unite all three in the fight against Baitullah.

"God willing, this task would be accomplished after Ramadan and we will create a big force," Baba said in a telephone interview. "We will use all available tools to eliminate those who are bombing our mosques, attacking public places and killing innocent people."

Syed Fayaz Hussani Bukhari, a respected member of the Shia Muslim community in Dera Ismail Khan, said he feared Pakistani sponsorship of the militia could mean problems in the future.

"This group has been created for a special purpose. Once that has been achieved, what will they do?" he said, explaining he feared the government had given up its authority over the region.

China Starts Backing India's North-East Rebels

By Subir Bhaumik

For several months, this has been matter of intense speculation. As India developed its "strategic relationship" with the USA, it upset China so much that our northern neighbour started planning revenge action. After all, China feels the US is using India to encircle it strategically. There has been some stray reports of ULFA leaders meeting Chinese intelligence officials since the beginning of 2008 - but they were never confirmed. Now confirmation has been received of two meetings that ULFA commander in chief Paresh Barua, Manipur PLA chairman Irengbam Bhorot and All Tripura Tiger Force chairman Ranjit Debbarma had with senior Chinese military intelligence officials this year. Following which some guerrilla fighters of ULFAand PLA have left for China 's Yunnan province for training.
Paresh Barua, ULFA C-in-C first flew to Kumming in Yunnan province from Dhaka and had two meetings with Chinese Military intelligence officials between 13-17 February this year. Then he flew into Beijing from Bangkok on 23rd May and was in the Chinese capital for four days. On both occasions, he was received by one Colonel of the Second Department of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army General Staff ( that is the Military Intelligence Directorate) who introduced himself as Xiu Rongji (but could well be pseudonym). During his trip to Beijing, Barua was taken to The "Second Department" head office, which is located at No. 21, North Andeli Street, Beijing, The place is heavily guarded but has no signboards.
Barua was accompanied by Irengbam Bhorot, chairman of PLA (Manipur). The chief of Chinese Military Intelligence Department, one Lieutenant General Guangkhai gave them audience on two occassions. The Chinese general encouraged the Northeastern rebel leaders to regroup and step up recruitment and not be weighed down by current losses and setbacks; he also promised to train new recruits and provide latest weaponry. He told the Northeastern rebel leaders that India will never do justice to the smaller nationalities because they were never Indians but were colonised by the British and handed over to India after 1947. He also denounced India as an “US lackey” and said it is no longer an independent country.
General Guangkhai’s argument sounds similar to the one in the controversial article of the websitewww.chinaiiss.org , which is the website of the the Institute for International Strategic Studies that is the research wing of the Second Department. This research institute is no independent think tank but its job is to produce for military intelligence an internal classified publication MOVEMENTS OF FOREIGN ARMIES [WAI JUN DONGTAI]. This is published every 10 days and transmitted to units at the division level.
Following the parleys between the Northeastern rebel leaders , a total of 78 ULFA and PLA rebels have left for China in three batches in June 2009 – some flew into Kumming via Nepal and Bangladesh using false passports while a group of 36 started a trek from Khonsa around 8-10 June to reachYunnan via North Kachin Hills of Burma. These rebels are now undergoing indoctrination (brain washing) before they are put to rigorous guerrilla warfare training. The ATTF may send a smaller batch of recruits later for training in the next few months. The toughest of the guerrillas went through the Khonsa-Kachin route because they have been tasked to explore a viable land route to ensure the safe return of the trained rebels and also a safe route to bring in large consignments of weapons.
These rebels are housed in a huge sprawling camp in Tinsum county of Yunnan province - not far from the quarters of the former leaders of Burmese Communist Party, who were settled by the Chinese in that area after the BCP broke up due to factional infighting and China stopped helping them after it developed direct state-to-state relations with Burma's military regime.
It is anybody’s guess what kind of training these rebels are receiving from China but general intelligence assessment suggests they would receive extensive training in (a) guerrilla warfare (b) explosives (c)espionage (d) select assassination (e) computer and electronics communication, Though these rebels will primarily operate against Indian security forces in the Northeast, some of them may be used by the Chinese to attack important Tibetan exile leaders in Indian territory. They may do this in coordination with already-infiltrated Chinese agents operating in India.

Break-Up India Article Was Part Of Chinese Military Spywar

Almost coinciding with the 13th round of Sino-Indian border talks (New Delhi, 7-8 August, 2009), an article (in Chinese language) hasappeared in China captioned `If China takes a little action, theso-called Great Indian Federation can be broken up. It was written byone Zhong Guo Zhan and Lue Gang and it appeared on the website of China's International Institute for Strategic Studies, that is www.iiss.cn . The article has now been removed after furious Indianprotests, but not before the article was reproduced in several otherstrategic and military websites of the country. It targetted the domestic Chinese audience but was also meant to sent strong signals to India - if you get too close to the US and become part of its anti-China designs, China can create huge problems for India.
There are hardly any think tank in China that is not linked to some government branch or the other. Independent think tanks dont exist in China. So let us see where the IISS, whose website ran that "splitIndia" article that created such a flutter in India, is placed in the Chinese hierarchy. All available information suggests that it is partof the Second (Intelligence) Department of the PLA General Staff Headquarters. The second department is responsible for collecting military information and it runs the scores of Chinese military attaches at Chinese embassies abroad as well as several clandestine special agents sent to foreign countries to collect military information. It also produces the analysis of information publicly published in foreign countries.The Second Department oversees military human intelligence (HUMINT) collection, widely exploits open source materials, fuses HUMINT, signals intelligence (SIGINT), and imagery intelligence data, and disseminates finished intelligence products to the CMC and other consumers. Preliminary fusion is carried out by the Second Department’s Analysis Bureau which mans the National Watch Center, thefocal point for national-level indications and warning. In-depth analysis is carried out by regional bureaus.Although traditionally the Second Department of the General Staff Department was responsible for military intelligence, it is beginning to increasingly focus on scientific and technological intelligence in the military field, following the example of Russian agencies instepping up the work of collecting scientific and technological information from the West.The research institute under the Second Department of the General Staff Headquarters is publicly known as the Institute for International Strategic Studies; its internal classified publication MOVEMENTS OF FOREIGN ARMIES [WAI JUN DONGTAI] is published every 10 days and transmitted to units at the division level. The Second Department of the PLA General Staff is headed by a very aggresive officer, Lt General Xiong Guangkhai. So when a research institute under such an officer talks of breaking up India, there is no way Delhi could wish it away. Let us see the salient points that the controversial article made.According to the article, if India today relies on any thing forunity, it is the Hindu religion. The partition of the country wasbased on religion. Stating that today nation states are the main current in the world, it has said that India could only be termed now as a 'Hindu Religious state'. Adding that Hinduism is a decadent religion as it allows caste exploitation and is unhelpful to the country's modernization, it described the Indian government as one in a dilemma with regard to eradication of the caste system as it realizes that the process to do away with castes may shake the foundation of the consciousness of the Indian nation.The writer has argued that in view of the above, China in its own interest and the progress of whole Asia, should join forces with different nationalities like Assamese, Tamils, and Kashmiris and support the latter in establishing independent nation-states of their own, out of India. In particular, the ULFA in Assam, a territory neighboring China, can be helped by China so that Assam realizes its national independence.The article has also felt that for Bangladesh, the biggest threat is from India, which wants to develop a great Indian Federation extending from Afghanistan to Myanmar. India is also targeting China with support to Vietnam's efforts to occupy Nansha (Spratly) group of islands in South China Sea. Hence the need for China's consolidation of its alliance with Bangladesh, a country with which the US and Japanare also improving their relations to counter China. It has pointed out that China can give political support to Bangladesh enabling the latter to encourage ethnic Bengalis in India to get rid of Indian control and unite with Bangladesh as one Bengali nation; if the same is not possible, creation of at least another free Bengali nation state as a friendly neighbour of Bangladesh, would be desirable, forthe purpose of weakening India's expansion and threat aimed at forminga 'unified South Asia'.
The punch line in the article has been that to split India, China canbring into its fold countries like Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, support ULFA in attaining its goal for Assam's independence, back aspirations of Indian nationalities like Tamils and Nagas, encourage Bangladesh to give a push to the independence of West Bengal and lastly recover the 90,000 sq km. territory in Southern Tibet.Wishing for India`s break-up into 20-30 nation-states like in Europe, the article has concluded by saying that if the consciousness of nationalities in India could be aroused, social reforms in South Asiacan be achieved, the caste system can be eradicated and the region can march along the road of prosperity. The Chinese article in question has outraged readers in India after it was summarised by a well known China expert D S Rajan.
The External Affairs Ministry has also protested but without much impact. It has generally been seen that China is speaking in two voices - its diplomatic interlocutors have always shown understanding during their dealings with their Indian counterparts, but its selected media under its military set up is pouring venom on India in their reporting.
There is no doubt that the IISS article was part of China's psychological war against India. For some time, China has been very upset with India's growing strategic relationship with the US. I would say this is China's way of telling India not to go too far with the US.
We saw this kind of warnings appearing in the select Chinese media for about a year or two, warning India to "stop backing the Tibetan counter-revolutionaries" or face the consequences. Then came thet hunderous punch of 1962.
So if you see a smoke rise from China, be sure the fire is not toolong in coming.
။ Photos : BBC News, AP, Sikkim News, Wu Qiang (Xinhua)

( Subir Bhaumik is the BBC's East India Correspondent and a known military intelligence observer )

Posted by ။ BBC Journalist Subir Bhowmik, at 4:35 AM
4 comments:

Kranti Bharat said...
I think Chinese think-tanks are fools. It is very much easier to split India than they think, because today’s India is very much fragile than pre-independence era, at that time British rulers had divided Indian society into two parts i.e. Hindu & Muslim but post-independence era, present rulers have divided Indian society into many parts i.e. Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, ST, SC, OBC, General, Creamy layer OBC, Men, Women the list is endless.
If British can take advantage of divide & rule policy & rule India for 200 years, when the Indian society was divided only into two parts, so Chinese can think how many years they/anyone can rule India when its society have been divided so badly. I think today most of the Indian people have become highly indifferent towards who rule them, so even Chinese can rule us an already divided society & I hope Chinese would be not as poor ruler as our present ruler are !!......

August 29, 2009 5:29 AM
Satya Ranjan said...
A policy of peace talks while strengthening defense in all spheres is needed. No panic or anger but firm determination that 62 should not repeated.

Satya Ranjan Ghosh
Tilak Nagar, Delhi - 110018

August 29, 2009 8:14 AM
Amitesh said...
Sir,
This is another example to prove that China has not left it's expansionist agenda and is again turning the screws on India. This is an open secret and must not come as a surprise to any Indian but the surprising point is: We are still a weak and submissive nation. We are not prepared politicaly nor militarily. We are unable to handle Bangladesh (which we created) and even Nepal. Then how can we handle the monster called China. Today they are asking for Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, tomorrow they will ask for West Bengal, Bihar, UP etc. Then what will we do ?

August 30, 2009 9:47 AM
Raj Kohli said...
China must be rolling in the past glory of 1962. Times are different now. Tomorrow's enemies, today's friends: high time that China realized and joined the club. After all, we live in the world of vested interests. .

Raj Kumar Kohli
Copenhagen, Denmark
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/raj-kohli/13/624/ba8

September 3, 2009 5:19 AM