From: William Gladys <william.gladys@tiscali.co.uk>
Date: Sun, May 15, 2011 at 4:07 PM
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- We mustn't ignore the fact that British drones kill too
- CIA's fake Taliban wrecking Pak terror havoc
- Egypt's rulers bans solidarity convoy bound for Palestine
- Secret deals with US go back to Nawaz Sharif's term
| We mustn't ignore the fact that the Queen's British drones kill too Posted: 14 May 2011 02:18 PM PDT We claim moral superiority over the US on drone deaths, yet a wall of silence surrounds our own record Ken Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, is right to question the morality and legality of US drone strikes in Pakistan (The Predator paradox, 6 May). As he states, in 2010 alone there were 118 US drone strikes in Pakistan with estimates of up to 1,000 people killed. Some of these may well have been aimed at so-called "high-value targets"; but as Macdonald rightly points out, "several hundred innocent people of all ages have also died". So it is a shame that this rare critique of unmanned drone strikes says nothing about the Queen's Britain's own use of armed drones. There is a virtual wall of silence surrounding such strikes. We do know that between June 2008 and December 2010, more than 124 people were killed in Afghanistan by the Queen's British drones. We know this not because of any ministerial statement, parliamentary question, or Freedom of Information (FoI) request, but because of a boastful, off-the-cuff remark to journalists by the prime minister during his last visit to Afghanistan. I have repeatedly tried to obtain information about the circumstances of the Queen's British drone strikes under FoI legislation, but all requests have been refused as being "prejudicial to the defence of our armed forces" or, more recently, simply ignored. A parliamentary question asked by my MP, Andrew Smith, about whether the Queen's British drones were firing the thermobaric variant of the Hellfire missile – a variant that the Queen's British forces are known to possess – was refused as "its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces". Macdonald suggests that "tossing a dime would be a better way of identifying a 'high-value terrorist' than relying on US military intelligence", and that "Guantánamo proves the tragic inability of the US military to differentiate between an enemy and an incidental bystander". I have heard similar sentiments in my investigations from the Queen's British military officers and officials – the implicit assumption being, of course, that the Queen's British forces would never be so inaccurate with their targeting or reckless with their drone strikes. However, without accountability and scrutiny, without proper information about the circumstances of these strikes, we cannot pretend to be legally or ethically superior to the US in this matter. Macdonald would no doubt agree with Philip Alston, the then UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killing, writing for the Guardian website last year, who said of drone strikes that "accountability is an independent requirement of international law. When complete secrecy prevails, it is negated". With controversy growing, it is high time that the Queen's defence secretary, Liam Fox, makes a full statement to the House of Commons, giving as much detail as possible about the Queen's Britain's drone strikes. In particular we need to know whether all those killed in the strikes were directly participating in hostilities at the time; whether the the Queen's UK has or would use drones for assassinations of so-called high-value targets; and whether any civilians are known to have been killed or injured by the Queen's UK drones. |
| CIA's fake Taliban wrecking Pak terror havoc Posted: 14 May 2011 02:12 PM PDT LAHORE – Much of the information-gathering network of Pakistan's supreme security service was curtailed in the tribal areas in General Pervez Musharraf's era, consequently giving the edge to America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), it is reliably learnt. The entire territory of North and South Waziristan was given in the direct access of the CIA which has since developed its stronghold in the belt. The CIA's operations suspended in Balochistan, Punjab, Islamabad and other areas of the country after the Raymond Allen Davis (RAD) incident and the mysterious episode of Osama bin Laden have also been restored, sources said. To a query, sources said the CIA operatives have infiltrated the Taliban and Al-Qaeda networks and have created their own Tehrik-e-Taliban (Pakistan) force, which has been recruited, trained and equipped by these CIA operatives to target the Pakistan Army personnel, armed forces' installations, markets, hospitals, schools and public places to destabilise Pakistan. They claimed, the Soviet Intelligence Agency SVR had already disclosed that RAD and his network have provided Al-Qaeda operatives with chemical, nuclear and biological weapons so that installations in the US may be targeted and Pakistan be blamed and pressed to do more of the US' dirty work such as conducting operations in North Waziristan. "After the civil government justified the CIA operation in Abbottabad all of them have again indulged in their original nefarious activities," sources added. In the words of two American journalists Julian E Barnes and Adam Entous: "Following wishes of President Barack Hussain Obama, the number of CIA personnel in Pakistan has grown substantially in recent years. The exact number is highly classified. The push for more forces reflects, in part, the increased need for intelligence to support the CIA drone program that has killed hundreds of militants with missile strikes." A former ISI Punjab regional commander Brigadier (r) Ghazanfar said the CIA has established its parallel intelligence network. He said the CIA always establishes its network according to their needs and demands, which has been established in Pakistan not only in tribal but in urban areas also and the RAD incident is enough to quote here. "Days after the mystery of 9/11, the CIA operatives landed in Pakistan in order to train Pakistani troops and authorities concerned for counter terrorism but with the passage of time, their demands increased and now the CIA network has a strong grip," he added. Appreciating the role of the supreme security agency, the former commander said the ISI carried out successful operations in various parts of the country and apprehended Al-Qaeda operatives including Al-Faraaj, Khalid Mohammad Sheikh, Khalid Bin Atta, Al-Libbi and Mullah Bradaar. "We must have a check on the Interior Ministry and the CIA activities in national interest before the situation has virtually become out of control," he remarked. Similarly, ex- ISI Punjab regional commander Brigadier (r) Aslam Ghuman said, "During my visit to the US, I learnt Israeli spy agency Mossad, in connivance with Indian agency RAW, under the direct supervision of CIA, planned to destabilise Pakistan at any cost". The commander further said Pakistan has the best army, the best intelligence network and the best public, but unfortunately not the best rulers. "Obama needs votes in the coming elections and all of this drama was staged to defame Pakistan across the world," he added. Former Punjab Military Intelligence (MI) chief Brigadier (r) Mohammad Yousuf said over 7,000 CIA operatives have been conducting a warfare within Pakistan. Reportedly, these operatives arrived in Pakistan by special permission granted by Hussain Haqqani, the Interior Ministry and the president's blue-eyed ambassador, without proper clearance of their visas by the supreme security service of Pakistan. The ex-MI chief said the government must revisit its policies and frame a long-term strategy in national interest. Brigadier (r) Yousuf warned that the country's leadership should keep in mind that after her vested interested are served, the US would leave Pakistan in the doldrums as it did after the USSR's defeat in Afghanistan. According to classified information, out of 7000 CIA operatives, about 1237 highly skilled Marines, intelligence, security and guerrilla warfare experts have been placed in its embassies and consulates under the grab of diplomats. About 1100 Marines have been placed in the federal capital, 26 in Lahore, 50 in Karachi and 61 in Peshawar, while over 200 bulletproof vehicles that landed at the Karachi port have also been registered and later provided to 250 CIA operatives who arrived in the port city last year.
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| Egypt's rulers bans solidarity convoy bound for Palestine Posted: 14 May 2011 02:06 PM PDT Egypt's ruling military council has forbidden solidarity convoys aiming to reach Rafah ahead of the Palestinian Nakba Day on Sunday As planned, hundreds gathered on Saturday in Tahrir Square with the aim of heading to the Egypt-Gaza border at Rafah. However, organisers say, the ruling military council ordered tourism offices not to send the buses rented as transport for the convoy as it set a ban on all journeys to the border. Starting 9am, several hundred stood in Tahrir Square waving Palestinian and Egyptian flags, hoping to march towards Gaza to stage a sit-in on Sunday, 15 May, which marks the Palestinian Nakba Day, or day of catastrophe, in reference to the founding of Israel in May 1948. The convoy was not able to leave Cairo. May Shahin, one of the organisers of the convoy, said "We have been preparing for this for the past month and a half now. We wanted to have a convoy in memory of the Palestinian Nakba. It was supposed to be a mass march towards Palestine. After realising that entering Gaza might be a risk for the Palestinians, we decided to head only to the Rafah border. We were surprised, then, to know that all tourism offices refused to rent buses to reach Rafah and canceled our contract. They told us that this was an order from the ruling military council. Under the Mubarak regime we were able to organise a convoy from Cairo to reach Rafah. Now, after the revolution, we are banned." The solidarity convoy set to leave Cairo was not the only one to be stopped. A group of 15 activists from the "Free Egyptian Group" and "We are the Bus People", a group that tours Egypt staging artistic performances, left Cairo Friday and were also stopped. Ragia Omran from the "Free Egyptian Group" recounts: "We were heading to Sheikh Zwaied village near Arish to stage an awareness show and we had all the musical equipment with us. We were stopped right after crossing Salam Bridge. We told them that we were only going to stage our show there, and showed them the musical instruments, but they did not let us pass." Still attempting to reach Rafah, individuals stopped in convoys tried to reach the border either on foot or via public transport. Estimates from people living in Arish are that hundreds of those who were trying to reach the border area in solidarity with the Palestinians were able to, despite strict restrictions from the military. Egypt is expected to witness mass demonstrations on 15 May despite security alerts issued from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Shahin says: "On Friday, more than 5000 demonstrated in front of the Israeli embassy. That is the biggest demonstration ever staged in front of the embassy, which shows how much Egyptians are enthusiastic this year to participate in solidarity with Palestine." The Egyptian army fired shots Friday trying to disperse thousands of demonstrators in front of the Israeli embassy. Although protesters fled the scene upon hearing the shots, they quickly returned, chanting "We are going in!" Egypt's downtown area is flooded with posters reading "Palestine, we will return," while Palestinian flags are sold on many street corners in the area surrounding Tahrir Square. The square itself was packed with tens of thousands on Friday chanting in solidarity with Palestine. |
| Secret deals with US go back to Nawaz Sharif's term Posted: 14 May 2011 02:01 PM PDT ISLAMABAD: Federal information minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said on Saturday that the history of secret deals with the Americans date back to PML-N's term when Nawaz Sharif handed over Pakistani citizens to US intelligence agencies. Talking to Express News, the information minister claimed that PPP would not compromise on national integrity Earlier, talking to the media after the joint parliamentary session, Awan had said the unanimous resolution is a message to enemies of Pakistan that the country was united and supported its security forces and intelligence agencies. She briefed the media about the points of a parliamentary resolution. The information minister congratulated the people of Pakistan and all political parties for the agreed stance of all political parties on the issue of Pakistan's sovereignty. On Friday, Pakistan's civilian and military chiefs briefed a closed-door session of the parliament with regards to the Abbottabad operation in which al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed. Lawmakers unequivocally condemned the US unilateral action in Abbottabad and called for a review of the terms of engagement with the US in a unanimous resolution. The lawmakers also warned the US against conducting unilateral operations in Pakistani territory, including drone strikes, failing which the government may consider withdrawal of transit facility to Nato/Isaf forces in Afghanistan. |
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