It just wouldn’t be Christmas in the age of terror if we didn’t have a visitation, ostensibly from al-Qaeda, now would it? ‘Tis the season, and all that. Recall Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber,” arrested on December 22, 2001, for trying to blow up American Airlines flight 63, coming into Miami from Paris. As in the current case involving one Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, the explosive used was PETN, also known as pentaerythritol: Reid, like Umar, was subdued by passengers and airline attendants, and, to add yet another touch of déjà vu, Reid’s stunt led to the imposition of the take-off-your-shoes rule at airport security, just as Umar’s midair antics have now inspired the Transportation Safety Authority to inaugurate a spate of new regulations: nothing in your lap, please, and no getting up from your seat for a solid hour before landing.
Musharraf proved excessively compliant from the beginning and this came as a shock even to the Bush Administration, but they realised his limitations in terms of compromises at the tactical level because of the military – which often put a spanner in the US agenda for Pakistan. Hence the constant critique of the Pakistan military and its intelligence outfits – especially once the CIA fell out with the ISI two years ago over whom to target in FATA.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—There is a dangerous pattern connecting the events happening in and around Pakistan today. Unless we can see this larger picture, we will be overwhelmed by the fallout and our detractors like the US will have fulfilled their agenda for this nuclear capable country.
The roots of this US agenda go back to Musharraf’s hasty embrace of the US “war on terror”. What was not realised at the time was the psychological trauma the US had undergone as a result of 9/11, which had led to the bolstering of the already suspicion-tinted view the US had of the Muslim world. Of course, some pliant Muslim leaders were reluctantly embraced as “allies”, but always on a tight leash, but by and large nationalist Muslim leaders and their nations were something the Americans never felt comfortable with. If these nations were also militarily or economically strong, the US felt even more uncomfortable. In this context, Mahathir’s Malaysia, Revolutionary Iran and nuclear Pakistan certainly stood out as irritants in one way or another. So when 9/11 happened, even though it was Saudi citizens who were responsible for the actions, Pakistan was brought centre-stage and the US saw this as the opportunity to cut the country down to size and finally gain control of its nuclear assets.
Zaid Hamid on the events before and after 9/11, the US Objectives and the global security situation since. This program was recorded in 2008 before the violence erupted in Pakistan’s NWFP and Balochistan regions.
Zaid Hamid will be doing an uncensored program on events since 9/11 and the current situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan – exclusively on Waqt News, on Sunday 13th September, at 4:00 pm. Don’t forget to tune in.
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — U.S. troops in Afghanistan donned shorts and laced up sneakers Friday to run in memory of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, as they fight a war that was born on that day but which has seen waning public support.
More than 1,000 service members ran 9.11 kilometers (about 5 1/2 miles) at the main U.S. base to commemorate the anniversary and remember troops who have died in nearly eight-years of fighting.
In an exclusive interview with Foreign Policy Journal, retired Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul responds to charges that he supports terrorism, discusses 9/11 and ulterior motives for the war on Afghanistan, claims that the U.S., Israel, and India are behind efforts to destabilize Pakistan, and charges the U.S. and its allies with responsibility for the lucrative Afghan drug trade.
Retired Lieutenant General Hamid Gul was the Director General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from 1987 to 1989, during which time he worked closely with the CIA to provide support for the mujahedeen fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Though once deemed a close ally of the United States, in more recent years his name has been the subject of considerable controversy. He has been outspoken with the claim that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were an “inside job”. He has been called “the most dangerous man in Pakistan”, and the U.S. government has accused him of supporting the Taliban, even recommending him to the United Nations Security Council for inclusion on the list of international terrorists.
Blackwater – This is the name of one of the world’s largest privately run mercenary armies, who were proclaimed to be above US law a couple of years back. What are Blackwater’s operations? In the outset, we are told they are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan for security checks and to “control the law and order situation”, whereas in reality, this is the very group of secret Crusader forces to which former US President George W. Bush referred to when he said after 9/11 “This is not a war but a crusade…” Continue Reading
Zaid Hamid and Waqt TV explains the Christian world’s brutal assault on Muslims world under the name of Crusades. The program explains how the crusades have started again after 9/11.
BrassTacks presents another bitter-facts series exposing threats to Pakistan and deliberate ignorance of current government. Zaid Hamid exposes the covert war which CIA is waging against Pakistan, as he explains the current domestic scenario of Pakistan and the threats to our nationals security that we face due to CIA covert ops and US policies.
In latest episode of the series, cutting edge analysis of the current scenario are presented by Zaid Hamid. This episode was aired on 5th July 2009.
US to consult India closely in fight against extremism
The alliance of the enemies – US-India nexus would be a declaration of war against Pakistan and if he add Mr. Zardari to the scene, it is a total disaster.
US must be treated as a hostile State if it takes India as an adviser on Pakistan’s national security. This PPP government do not have the character to defend Pakistan. It is time for a regime change in Islamabad also, this time at the hands of patriots.
According to a report, the United States assured India on Wednesday that it would consult New Delhi ‘very closely’ in the fight against extremism in South Asia.
Why is Mr. Zardari so eager to build ties with India at the expense of Pakistan? These are my sentiments in response to last week’s op-ed in Pakistani newspapers written by Mr. Asif Ali Zardari to commemorate Ms. Benazir Bhutto’s birthday. I am a young Pakistani woman residing in Canada. And, needless to say, I am not impressed.
In an interview to India’s PTI news agency, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake, however, described Pakistan and Afghanistan as America’s “strategic priority” because of the militancy that threatened to destabilize both the countries [Read more of this repot by Dawn]
Continuing on question of “Why Mr. Zardari eager to build ties?” – he has shamelessly confessed (in his article published on 20 June 2009 in daily Jang newspaper) that the events of 9/11, the attacks on Indian Parliament and Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Hotel were somehow linked to Pakistan. The fact that even the Indians couldn’t come up with evidence to their allegations [they are battling with multiple separatist and freedom-fighting groups inside India] exposes Mr. Zardari’s slave mindset and how he is beholden to his masters.
He is more eager to build a strong relationship between India and Pakistan then between him and people of Pakistan. He is forgetting that it is India who has failed to maintain the neighborly relationship not even with Pakistan but also its other neighbors like China, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Over the decades, the steadfast, stubborn, and indefatigable resilience of the Pakistani nation has baffled the Russians, and the Indians.
For all their satellite technology, electronic equipment, highly advanced aircrafts, neither NATO nor the USA has been able to hold any substantial part of Afghanistan. Despite multiple drone attacks on Pakistani territory, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been unable to decimate the will of the Pakistani Pakhtuns, who give the West a good run for their enemy.
When “they” talk about the defeat of US and NATO in Afghanistan they are simply repeating the rhetoric of the Russians. When they talk about “Pakistan being the most dangerous place on earth” they are actually saying that they are scared of the Pakistanis.
Pakistan is not about to explode. and the militants are not going to take power tomorrow.
President Obama is also ratcheting up the rhetoric and activity in Pakistan. There’s a significant increase in ground forces, Predator drones and air attacks. In his announcement on March 27th, President Obama referred to the border region of Afghanistan/Pakistan as, “the most dangerous place in the world….This is not simply an American problem – far from it. It is, instead, an international security challenge of the highest order. Terrorist attacks in London and Bali were tied to al-Qaida and its allies in Pakistan, as were attacks in North Africa and the Middle East, in Islamabad and Kabul. If there is a major attack on an Asian, European, or African city, it, too, is likely to have ties to al-Qaida’s leadership in Pakistan. The safety of people around the world is at stake.
President Obama and his advisors should learn from history, some ancient some modern, and not repeat it. This is a region of the world that has never been defeated militarily. It is where empires go to die. The Greeks, Indians, Persians, Mongolians, British, and Russians have tried to hold Afghanistan but never succeeded.
So Senator Kerry has come to do the usual doublespeak to the Pakistani people through its already confused leadership! Like the other US leaders before him, his understanding of Pakistan ran skin deep at best as he tried to justify the drones by declaring that terrorism existed in Pakistan before these attacks. Oh what a revelation Senator; but we all know qualitative difference between the pre- and post-9/11 status of terrorism in Pakistan. And, while some elitist part time residents and drawing room analysts (the very group that they seem to decry) of the capital may see drones as merely red herrings, the fact is that drones have killed almost 900 innocent Pakistanis between 2006 and 2009 and only 10 Al Qaeda targets.
Read this remarkable expose by a renowned American journalist as he paints a picture of our ally, the United States, waging two wars: one against the enemies of its occupation of Afghanistan, and another covert war against Pakistan that involves a lot of psyops backed by sponsored terrorism. Chamberlin writes, ‘“Al Qaida” is an invention of the Bush/Cheney cabal. It never existed before 1999-2000. The bin Laden group, which has been dubbed “al Qaida” is a CIA fabrication, used as a conflict generator/force multiplier. The incident that began Bush’s terror war was also a manufactured event.’
Occupation of Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11 provided a godsend opportunity to India and Israel to give practical shape to its nefarious plan of disarming Pakistan. From 2002 onwards RAW, Mossad with the active collaboration of CIA and FBI have been undertaking subversive activities inside Pakistan from Kabul to weaken all the protective bunds around nuclear assets and hijack it at an opportune time without having to wage a war. The godfather USA helped its chief operators by winning over Gen Musharraf and opening up western border for undertaking clandestine operations in the selected regions. The trio then set about weakening Pakistan’s state institutions through a wilful and well orchestrated propaganda campaign.
India has always used propaganda warfare as an instrument to achieve its ends. The vilification campaign was intensified from 2005 onwards and it gained momentum in 2008 onwards. The targets chosen were the army and the ISI since the plotters knew that without sufficiently enfeebling these two institutions it would not be possible for them to achieve their objectives.
Since 11th September 2001, in particular, hardly a day has passed when the western leaders, their media and some of their counterparts in the Muslim world have not talked about the so-called ‘war on terror’. Terrorism is an abstraction. In the past, countries have waged wars against other countries, nations, tribes and peoples but war against an abstraction is something new and remains undefined.
Film lyricist Javed Akhtar and his actor wife Shabana Azmi were usually known for questioning the ‘official account’ on any number of burning issues. But after Mumbai, even they find themselves aligned with the official theory on what happened in Mumbai and how. Ironically for them Minorities Affairs Minister Abdul Rehman Antulay, known otherwise as the system’s man, has become the cheerleader of the people who have heaps of questions to ask about Mumbai. Mr Akhtar (and the pliant media) believes Mr Antulay should resign for raising doubts about the way the head of Mumbai’s Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) Hemant Karkare was killed during the Mumbai attacks. But the liberals and ordinary people, including a good many Muslims, are applauding Mr Antulay for asking the questions that are needed at worst of times in any democracy.
December 19, 2008 (LPAC)–The British-Pakistani terrorist who was tried and convicted for the kidnapping and murder of reporter Daniel Pearl, was identified as an MI-6 agent in 2006 by the then-President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf.
The Mumbai attacks have been dubbed ‘India’s 9/11′, and there are calls for a 9/11-style response, including an attack on Pakistan. Instead, the country must fight terrorism with justice, or face civil war.
November isn’t September, 2008 isn’t 2001, Pakistan isn’t Afghanistan and India isn’t America. So perhaps we should reclaim our tragedy and pick through the debris with our own brains and our own broken hearts so that we can arrive at our own conclusions.
The Mumbai attacks are only the most recent of a spate of terrorist attacks on Indian towns and cities this year. Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Guwahati, Jaipur and Malegaon have all seen serial bomb blasts in which hundreds of ordinary people have been killed and wounded. If the police are right about the people they have arrested as suspects, both Hindu and Muslim, all Indian nationals, it obviously indicates that something’s going very badly wrong in this country.
The Mumbai attacks have been dubbed ‘India’s 9/11′, and there are calls for a 9/11-style response, including an attack on Pakistan. Instead, the country must fight terrorism with justice, or face civil war.
