Pakistani Reports Capture of Taliban Inner Circle

Richard · 02-23-2010, 07:29

And so it goes...

Richard

Quote:

Pakistani Reports Capture of Taliban Inner Circle
Pir Zubair Shah and Dexter Filkins, NYT, 22 Feb 2010

In another blow to the Taliban senior leadership, Pakistani authorities have captured Mullah Abdul Kabir, a member of the group’s inner circle and a leading military commander against American forces in eastern Afghanistan, according to a Pakistani intelligence official.

American officials in the region and in Washington said they had received some indications of Mullah Kabir’s detention but that they could not confirm it.

Mullah Kabir was detained several days ago in Nawshera, in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province, the Pakistani official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Mullah Kabir is a member of the Quetta Shura, the small group of leaders who direct the Taliban’s operations and who report to Mullah Muhammad Omar, the group’s founder. The group is named for the Pakistani city where many of the Taliban’s leaders are thought to be hiding.

(cont'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/wo...ef=global-home

MackallResident · 02-23-2010, 11:17

Well, the past week has sort of shown progress- at least by what the media is telling us!

rubberneck · 02-23-2010, 15:20

The Pakistani's have suddenly gone on a hot streak. I wonder what the real story is. They couldn't "find" these guys for the better part of a decade and now all of a sudden they can't swing a dead cat without hitting a high ranking Taliban official in the head.

Richard · 02-23-2010, 15:28

Personally - I think the ISI always knew where these guys were and were finally forced to do something when we found out where they were because we were about to do something about it with or without the ISI's participation.

YMMV - and so it goes...

Richard's $.02

rubberneck · 02-23-2010, 15:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard

Personally - I think the ISI always knew where these guys were and were finally forced to do something when we found out where they were because we were about to do something about it with or without the ISI's participation.

YMMV - and so it goes...

Richard's $.02

I assumed that they knew they were there all along and just couldn't be bothered to do anything about it. I guess I was just wondering aloud if we used the carrot or the stick to get them to finally act.

G · 02-23-2010, 17:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard

Personally - I think the ISI always knew where these guys were and were finally forced to do something when we found out where they were because we were about to do something about it with or without the ISI's participation.

YMMV - and so it goes...

Richard's $.02

Hmmm.......maybe the fact that various ISI buildings got bombed in the last year had something to do with it. As the UK learned, giving the jihadists the freedom to recruit, plan etc as long as they "don't attack anyone on my patch" never works. Eventually you get bitten on the bum too.

G

KLB · 02-23-2010, 17:19

We do seem to be making a lot of progress now and I think Pakistan gets some of the credit. But we've also been in country long enough now to have gained an ever-increasing intelligence foothold. Let me float something a Pakistani taxi driver in DC told me a few years ago - NOT my opinion but an interesting perspective from a Pakistani. He said he believed that the U.S. Military generally knew where the Taliban leadership and OBL were, but they wouldn't apprehend them because the justification for the War on Terror would be over. Again, not my opinion, but an interesting view from a Pakistani.

My nephew has been in Afghanistan for six months now, and we haven't heard a word from him in the last five, so I'm guessing he's on the move. But considering the new "resource" commitment and the job the Marines are doing in Marjah, it looks like we're turning a corner now, even if we coulduv shoulduv turned it sooner. Politics being what they are.....

**The Reaper** · 02-23-2010, 18:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by KLB

Let me float something a Pakistani taxi driver in DC told me a few years ago - NOT my opinion but an interesting perspective from a Pakistani. He said he believed that the U.S. Military generally knew where the Taliban leadership and OBL were, but they wouldn't apprehend them because the justification for the War on Terror would be over. Again, not my opinion, but an interesting view from a Pakistani.

Bullshit.

And you can quote me on that.

TR

Richard · 02-23-2010, 20:32

Quote:

Bullshit.

And you can quote me on that.

TR

Ditto - for both statements.

Richard

jbour13 · 02-23-2010, 20:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by KLB

We do seem to be making a lot of progress now and I think Pakistan gets some of the credit. But we've also been in country long enough now to have gained an ever-increasing intelligence foothold. Let me float something a Pakistani taxi driver in DC told me a few years ago - NOT my opinion but an interesting perspective from a Pakistani. He said he believed that the U.S. Military generally knew where the Taliban leadership and OBL were, but they wouldn't apprehend them because the justification for the War on Terror would be over. Again, not my opinion, but an interesting view from a Pakistani.

My nephew has been in Afghanistan for six months now, and we haven't heard a word from him in the last five, so I'm guessing he's on the move. But considering the new "resource" commitment and the job the Marines are doing in Marjah, it looks like we're turning a corner now, even if we coulduv shoulduv turned it sooner. Politics being what they are.....

Hence the reason he's a taxi driver.

I can come up with wazoo shit too not resembling anything to do with facts and based only on my wildest dreams.

And I'll Quote TR

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Bullshit.

.........................

TR

Utah Bob · 02-23-2010, 22:50

Well, Pakistani taxi drivers in America are free to believe whatever they want. No matter how crazy.

KLB · 02-23-2010, 23:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Bullshit.

And you can quote me on that.

TR

Like I said, … NOT my opinion, but definitely one shared by many people in other parts of the world - although I do I believe that Pakistan probably knows more than they’ve been willing to share. The typical Pakistani probably believes the current alliance with the United States is wholly conditioned on cooperation in the War on Terror. Their primary rival, India, is half-way through a 10 ten year strategic defense pact with the United States, which has to be somewhat unsettling to them. Why should Pakistan go out of their way to help dismantle the Taliban or locate OBL – if it could mean the end of being a close ally with Washington; when Washington has already committed to the long term strategic defense of India, Pakistan’s primary rival? I think Secretary of State Clinton was probably right a couple of months ago when she said it’s “hard to believe that no one in Islamabad knows where the al-Qaeda leaders are hiding and couldn’t get them if they really wanted to.” (USA Today – Dec 12, 2009.)