http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\04\08\story_8-4-2009_pg3_4
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 opinion: Taliban and traitors -Brian Cloughley The Taliban are traitors to Pakistan. They must be tracked down and brought to justice for their actions. But to imagine their blinkered viciousness might be supported or condoned by the army's most senior officers, whose honour and loyalty are beyond question, is stretching credulity far too far Last July, the New York Times published an article stating that "Stephen R Kappes, the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, accompanied Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff on a secret visit to Islamabad on July 12. This visit was aimed at confronting Pakistan's most senior officials with new information about ties between [the Directorate of Inter Services Intelligence] and militants operating in Pakistan's tribal areas... According to one senior [and, as usual, anonymous] US official, Mr Kappes delivered a very pointed message, declaring that 'Look, we know there's a connection, not just with Haqqani but also with other bad guys and ISI, and we think you could do more and we want you to do more about it'." What ignorant arrogance. Last week, the New York Times carried the story that "American officials say a wing of ISI is providing money and military aid to The Taliban," after Admiral Mullen had declared "there are certainly indications" that this was the case. Then General Petraeus, the US regional commander, "echoed" a statement by Ms Michele Flournoy of the Pentagon who said, "I think ISI is a - or parts of ISI - are certainly a problem to be dealt with." Then the flamboyant Petraeus spoke about "ISI elements" having informed extremists of the locations of US forces in Afghanistan and delivered the somewhat opaque statement that "There are some cases that are indisputable in which that appears to have taken place." On Monday, this newspaper reported that "An unnamed Pakistani official told Newsweek that senior US officials had even shared with their counterparts in Islamabad 'some intelligence indicating that renegade ISI elements helped Mehsud's group train for the December 2007 assassination of Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto'." The international drumbeat continues about ISI's dastardly tricks. There is hardly a westerner (and not a single Indian) who does not believe that ISI is supporting the demented extremists who are determined to wrench Pakistan back to the fifteenth century. But where are the facts? Is there one solid piece of proof that "a wing" of ISI is giving advice, weapons, money and immunity to a loose grouping of sub-human thugs who revel in killing citizens of Pakistan? When questioned about this, those who declare they believe it to be true can say only that senior US officers and officials have stated it to be a fact, so therefore it must be so. The New York Times leads in attacking ISI by printing eye-winking, elbow-nudging hints from senior officials and lavish leaks from countless anonymous briefers - but there are never any hard facts. It is not impossible that there may be some people in ISI (or elsewhere in officialdom, for that matter) who approve of the killers of soldiers and other citizens. But Pakistan and the world in general must have something more substantive on which to judge whether or not the ISI is "a problem to be dealt with" than a silly sideswipe like "we know there's a connection". Just one name will do. Simply name a name. Then the person can be charged with treason and brought to trial. Anonymously sourced American claims and official blarney that "there are certainly indications" are not acceptable as evidence. Consider this: since 2002, the Army and the Frontier Corps have suffered some 1800 killed and four times that number wounded by criminal badmash referred to as the 'Taliban'. Are we really expected to believe that members of the ISI would be permitted to provide these people with "money and military aid" in order to assist them to kill Pakistani soldiers? Before General Kayani was appointed Chief of the Army Staff, he was Director General of ISI. And we are being asked to believe that when he was in that position, he in some fashion allowed his subordinates to provide support for barbaric extremists so that they could kill his own soldiers. Does this make sense? General Ahmed Shuja Pasha was appointed head of ISI last year. He is a trusted confidant of the army chief and, although urbane and charming, like most senior army officers, he is a tough cookie. His loyalty is unquestionable. And we are expected to believe that he tolerates the existence of individuals in his Directorate who act contrary to the interests of his country. We are asked to believe that he accepts or even encourages people whose agenda includes destabilising Pakistan - or that he and his staff are incapable of detecting and dealing with disaffected operatives who support Pakistan's enemies. I say bluntly that this is rubbish. And there are other domestic intelligence agencies operating in Pakistan, not least effective of which is the Directorate of Military Intelligence, always headed by a very sharp major general who is handpicked and totally trusted by the army chief. It has sections all over the NWFP, and there are some extremely professional operators who have many sources among the tribes and in the towns and villages. And we are asked to believe that these members of a proud army either have no knowledge of ISI's alleged operations or that they condone activity by the ISI which results in slaughter of their comrades in uniform. This doesn't compute. As I write this piece, there is news coming in of yet another bombing, no doubt carried out by the moronic savages who so many commentators claim are supported by ISI. These people - the Taliban - are traitors to Pakistan. They must be tracked down and brought to justice for their actions. But to imagine their blinkered viciousness might be supported or condoned by the army's most senior officers, whose honour and loyalty are beyond question, is stretching credulity far too far. Brian Cloughley's book about the Pakistan army, War, Coups and Terror, has just been published by Pen & Sword Books (UK) and is distributed in Pakistan by Saeed Book Bank Home [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
