A large part of me believes Joe Biden should be president. It is not going to happen, therefore I am left with second choices. In an article written by Reza Aslan he explains in detail why we need a president that comprehends the nuances of the Muslim world and outlines what it will take to alter that part of the world’s opinion of us. He doesn’t mention Biden but he certainly could have.

He Could Care Less About Obama’s Story-Reza Aslan

 

There is much talk about Iraq moving off American’s top issues for the 2008 election. American soldiers are still dying, just not like they were before the surge. Iraqis are still dying, just not like they were before the surge. And that is my good news. Juan Cole explains in his blog Informed Comment the situation away from the surge is not going well at all (click here)

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Supporting Musharraf reminds me of American Foreign Policy during the Cold War. It wasn’t uncommon for the US to support any leader as long as they were anti-communist. The sentiment now is we support leaders as long as they are anti-terrorist. The President of Pakistan took the reigns of power via a military coup. It is always easier to support a pro-US dictator than it is to support an anti-American democratic leader. Look at the US intervention in Guatemala during the Eisenhower administration. One problem we have with General Musharraf is his government was actively supporting the Taliban and thus Al-Qaeda before 9-11 and we know now there are elements in his government that still share pro Al-Qaeda sentiments. Musharraf has changed his tune and has claimed to have “played ball” with the US. The biggest issue we have, however, is Musharraf has many reasons to not track down and kill Osama Bin Laden. Actually he has billions of reasons in the form of US dollars. If Al-Qaeda was neutralized in Pakistan the US would do what they always do. They would turn their attention elsewhere and take their checkbook with them. Musharraf receives billions of dollars in aid, much of it simply disappears into the oblivion of the corrupt Pakistani government infrastructure with little to show for it. The death of Bhutto has shone a nasty little light into the corner of the world where we should be most active. While the nation has been laboring over the Bush war in Iraq, our policy in the eastern recesses of the Middle East has been festering like a bad sore when the wrong medicine is used. It is a shame it took the death of Benazir Bhutto for the nation to reexamine our relationship with Musharraf and Pakistan but it is one that was a long time in coming. Perhaps the surge in Iraq didn’t allow the Iraqi government to get its act together. Rather, it allowed the US public to take a breath and to reassess its lack of attention to the region of the Middle East that brought us September 11.

“I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.”

            George W. Bush     September 14, 2001

More than likely it was Al-Qaeda that murdered Benazir Bhutto. Her death, however, reveals the weakness in our anti-terrorist strategy since 9-11. The venomous sector of Pakistan known as Waziristan has spread into the rest of the country. Al-Qaeda is alive and well there and in some ways that lawless corner of Pakistan has become the new Afghanistan; a haven for the jihadist group and a base from which to foment their extremist philosophy.

It was revealed tonight that Benazir Bhutto’s return to Pakistan was made possible through US diplomatic efforts. The purpose was to continue the Bush strategy of spreading liberal democracy throughout the region. Pakistan’s instability leaves little room for maneuver and led ultimately to the death of the one true champion of liberalism in the country. In chess terms, we led with our queen; a strategy that seldom works and usually forces you to play the game without your most valuable piece.

The strategy is much more flawed than just sending Bhutto into the snake pit. The best course of action would have been to get rid of the snakes first. The invasion of Iraq has been a harmful diversion on the war against Al-Qaeda. Everyone hails the fact that Al-Qaeda is being driven from Iraq but the terrorist organization was not there prior to 2003. Saddam Hussein’s demise and subsequent power vacuum led to a flood of terrorists into Mesopotamia.

The post-9/11 strategy should have been to go after Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Waziristan with not only US forces but also the real coalition of the willing; the vast number of nations who were motivated to eliminate Al-Qaeda in the wake of the series of attacks that occurred in the US, Spain, Indonesia and London. People forget that even Iran was providing assistance in defeating the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan on the basis these two groups were considered a Sunni menace by the Shia state of Iran.

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto has left Pakistan more destabilized and, to make matters worse, there is no liberal figure in the country that can replace her. In a state that possess nuclear weapons and where Osama Bin Laden is viewed favorably, a crisis which would lead to the end of the Pervez Musharraf presidency would not only be bad for Pakistan, it would be dangerous for the world.

 

Related Links: Groups out to get her

I’m sure many have seen the following video as they take in movies this holiday season but I thought it was worthy to post it here for those who have not. On this Christmas Day there are many around the world who miss home and the things we take for granted. May the calm of this day find moments with them.

 

 

There are new developments in the CIA interrogation case that involved tapes that were erased in 2003. Presidential candidate Joe Biden of Delaware is demanding a Congressional hearing into the destroyed evidence. The Bush White House, fronted by Attorney General Mukasay, are refusing to turn over early information gathered by the justice department. The White House stance is to allow their own entities to investigate any wrong doing. The fox watching the chicken coop can only lead to satisfied foxes. Can an administration that is so secretive and has been known to stretch the boundaries of the law be trusted to be judge and juror over matters of security? There will surely be a showdown over this situation. Stay tuned.

Related articles:

Bush administration: Back off CIA tape probe

Biden Campaign: Welcomes Edwards’ support for special counsel

Posted by JadedSage

Recently I posted that it is necessary sometimes to treat bad people harshly (in this case Al-Qaeda leaders) to extract valuable intelligence. The most senior member of Al-Qaeda to be apprehended was Abu Zubaydah. Zubaydah was the leading recruiter for the terrorist organization and a member of Osama Bin Laden’s (OBL) inner circle. In fact, he was considered the third highest target after Ayman al-Zawahri and OBL, himself. Zubaydah, according to a book by Ron Suskind entitled the One Percent Doctrine, suffers from mental illness. The book also details the components by which the CIA extracted information from him. On last night’s ABC News, John Kiriakou, a retired CIA operative, spoke about the effectiveness of waterboarding in obtaining important information from Zubaydah; information that would ultimately lead to the capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the principle architect of the attacks on 9-11, in Pakistan. The extended interview with Kiriakou can be seen on ABC News’ website and is a remarkable 10 part series that goes into detail about Zubaydah’s capture, subsequent interrogation and a remarkable glimpse into CIA operations. It is some of the most fascinating TV you will find. Zubaydah’s personality described by the former-CIA agent is much different than the one depicted in Suskind’s book.

This leads us to the two tapes destroyed by the CIA. What were in those tapes? Was the CIA fearful of disclosing the identities of those doing the waterboarding, like they suggest, or was there information disclosed in the tapes that the CIA or government doesn’t want released? What we do know is Abu Zabaydah was waterboarded on one of the tapes. As I researched information on Zubaydah after hearing the ABC News interview I came across a stunning article by a journalist named Gerald Posner. As I read the article I thought, come on, this can’t be true. Is this guy some kind of conspiracy theorist? Who is this guy? I was shocked by his credentials and background. The article entitled, “The CIA’s Destroyed Interrogation Tapes and the Saudi-Pakistani 9/11 Connection” describes how Zubaydah asked the US to call a member of the Saudi royal family which Zubaydah knew from memory, that of Prince Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdul-Aziz, the nephew of King Fahd. Posner also claims Zubaydah detailed elaborate connections between Al-Qaeda and Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. He fingered key figures in the Saudi Royal family and Pakistan military, persons who would later die of mysterious causes.

As I said in an earlier entry I’m dumbfounded the CIA revealed they erased the two tapes or that the two tapes even existed. Despite the likelihood of detailed hearings over waterboarding and the erasing of the tapes, the chances of us rooting out the truth of what was on those tapes is probably slim at best. If what Posner says is valid about the role of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, it leads to the credence we are chasing our tales in the War on Terror.

Related Articles:

Confessions of Terrorist

The forgotten story of Abu Zubaydah

Whatever happened to the "I" in CIA? The collapse of the Soviet Union took everyone by surprise. A bunch of yahoos in the Middle East were able to commandeer four jumbo jets and cause mayhem on the East Coast without being detected by the CIA. Intelligence from the CIA justified an invasion of a sovereign nation based on evidence that turned out to be erroneous. A new report comes out that Iran halted their clandestine nuclear program in 2003 despite the fact the Bush administration continued to talk as if the program was ongoing. And now information is disclosed about the Agency erasing interrogation tapes on the premise the tapes may compromise the identity of CIA agents (how you doing Ms. Plame?). What is happening to the integrity of this great nation? Are we destined to be protected by buffoons? If we are indeed waterboarding Al-Qaeda operatives, why the hell would the agency, who deals in secrets, disclose the fact they erased interrogation tapes. I am not naive to think we may be dealing harshly with really bad people but I am disgusted by the notion that the CIA is so incompetent that they are unable to keep it secret.

 

 

 

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NYT: C.I.A. Was Urged to Keep Interrogation Videotapes

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Posted By JadedSage

Afghanistan accounts for 90% of the world’s opium production. So says a recent BBC article. With the Taliban resurgent in the war torn land, the focus of Western nations there is on combat, not on reconstruction or dealing with the rising increase in poppy production. Though illegal drug  use is forbidden in Islam, many farmers see the lucrative trade as the only means to ward off poverty.

Inside an Afghan opium market

By Bilal Sarwary
BBC News, Shaddle Bazaar, eastern Afghanistan

Travelling on Afghanistan’s main Jalalabad to Torkham road, you eventually arrive at Shaddle Bazaar, a market of around 30 shops in the eastern province of Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan.

At first glance, it looks like any other normal market offering everyday goods.

But in reality, this is one of Afghanistan’s biggest opium markets.

Farmers from Nangarhar and other adjacent provinces bring opium to Shaddle to sell. Much of it comes from Nangarhar and Helmand – two of Afghanistan’s biggest opium-producing provinces.

Mud hut shop

Thousands of kilos of opium are bought and sold every day.

Sitting inside the shop tension between the drug dealers is visible – for a few minutes there is hot dispute and shouting over prices and the quality of the opium before the transaction is completed.

There are big scales in the shop, and the assistant weighs the opium on it – Gul Mohammad is busy counting out Pakistani rupees to pay for the opium he has bought from one of his suppliers.

In his mud hut shop he buys hundreds of kilos of opium every day and the smell of it is everywhere.

Outside his shop vehicles come and go – green tea is served constantly for the visitors.

It’s argued that opium can be used for medicinal purposes

But you do not have to study what is going on too closely to notice the unusual – a man carries a big bag full of hundreds of thousands of Afghanis.

The dealers all carry pistols which they say is for their own protection.

Customers enter the shop bringing opium packed secretly, which they refer to by its nickname as maal. They are constantly on the look-out for government informers.

I am repeatedly asked not to take pictures of anyone’s face, nor should I name anyone. The names of those involved in the drugs trade in this piece have been made up to protect their identity.

"We could get killed or arrested," says one of the few people in the shop willing to talk to me.

Europe bound

Some villagers, like 18-year-old Abdullah Jan, have to walk for hours before reaching Shaddle. The tiredness on his face explains it all – if he is stopped by government agents or bandits he would lose money that feeds his family for the entire year.

"I left at four in the morning and got here after four hours. I have brought 10kg of opium from my fields to sell."

After a hard bargain with Gul Mohammad Khan, the opium dealer, he is getting the equivalent of $1,400 – more than he can get for any other crop. He is one of hundreds of people who travel to Shaddle bazaar to sell and buy opium.

From here the opium is taken to the nearby mountains and villages in the border areas to heroin labs set up by local drug dealers, where it is processed into heroin.

Eventually, it will hit the streets of Europe.

The market first began to sell opium openly under the Taleban regime after they permitted the cultivation of poppies.

After the fall of the Taleban in 2001, the market has been raided several times but it has re-opened again and again.

In recent months, Afghanistan’s elite anti-drug force has raided the bazaar with the help of foreign forces in the country – they made arrests and seized opium and heroin in large quantities. But they did not succeed in closing down the bazaar indefinitely.

Last year, Afghanistan’s poppy production reached record levels.

The US state department’s annual report on narcotics said the flourishing drugs trade was undermining the fight against the Taleban.

Powerful mafia

It warned of a possible increase in heroin overdoses in Europe and the Middle East as a result.

Poppy production rose 25% in 2006, a figure US Assistant Secretary of State Ann Patterson described as alarming. Four years after the US and its British allies began combating poppy production, Afghanistan still accounts for 90% of the world’s opium trade.

The authorities are trying to eradicate opium crops

The US has recently given the Afghan government more than $10bn in assistance, but most of the money will be spent on security rather than encouraging alternative sources of income.

For 45-year-old Gul Mohammad Khan being a opium trader is his way of surviving.

"If we had roads, clinics, factories and if there were job opportunities I would not do what I am doing now," he said.

For the past 10 years Mr Mohammad has seen many regimes and local officials come and go. His shop has been raided many times but he has never been arrested.

Inside, I am shown various qualities of opium and other raw material that are used to make heroin. Current prices are anywhere from 10,000 Afghanis ($201) for a kilo of dry opium – that is the best quality – to around 5,500 Afghanis ($110) for wet opium.

Target traffickers

According to officials, the mafia is powerful and strong.

"They are so strong that we sometimes find ourselves outnumbered fighting them," says Gen Daud Daud, the deputy minister of interior in charge of counter narcotics.

"In these mountains of Achin district and other border villages they have everything from heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and of course better vehicles and more money than we do."

Haji Deen Gul – who is selling 20kg of opium – is critical of the Afghan government and the international community for targeting the farmers. Instead he wants the traffickers to be targeted.

"They should target the ones who are selling the heroin to Western countries. I sell my opium to feed my family and from my heroin they can even make medicine. When I have water and roads provided to me, I will stop growing poppies."

Before I leave Gul Mohammad Khan’s shop, he tells me selling opium is not ideally the trade he wants to be in.

"I don’t want my children to be in this trade and I hope that some day the world will help us. Only then can we stop the opium trade."

Names of those mentioned in the article have been changed to protect their identities.

BBC Online

Reading this reminds me of an old Rush song called Passage to Bangkok:

Our first stop is in Bogota
To check Colombian fields
The natives smile and pass along
A sample of their yield
Sweet Jamaican pipe dreams
Golden Acapulco nights
Then Morocco, and the East,
Fly by morning light
We’re on the train to Bangkok
Aboard the Thailand Express
We’ll hit the stops along the way
We only stop for the best
Wreathed in smoke in Lebanon
We burn the midnight oil
The fragrance of Afghanistan
Rewards a long day’s toil
Pulling into Katmandu
Smoke rings fill the air
Perfumed by a Nepal night
The Express gets you there
We’re on the train to Bangkok
Aboard the Thailand Express
We’ll hit the stops along the way
We only stop for the best
We’re on the train to Bangkok
Aboard the Thailand Express
We’ll hit the stops along the way
We only stop for the best
Yes,We’re on the train to Bangkok
Aboard the Thailand Express
We’ll hit the stops along the way
We only stop for the best

Related Story: NATO stages Afghan offensive

Posted by JadedSage

Lost in all the discussion about the war in Iraq is the fact that the architect of 9-11-01 is still out there. In fact Osama Bin Laden has released a new tape warning Europe not to support US efforts in the Middle East. Arno Herwerth drives a rather over-the-top van and reminds everyone who passes him that Osama is still at large. The state of New York wants their license plates back that say “Getosama”. They deem them offensive. Personally, I deem offensive the fact that the government would rather nation build in Iraq than track down and kill the villain that killed 3000 Americans.

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