CIA paid millions of dollars to ISI since 9/11: Report
16 November 2009, 12:24pm IST
LOS ANGELES: The CIA has paid millions of dollars to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) since 9/11, accounting for as much as one-third
of the foreign spy agency's annual budget, says a media report.
The ISI also collected "tens of millions of dollars through a classified CIA programme", which pays for the capture or killing of wanted militants, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday citing current and former US officials.
An intense debate has been triggered within the US government due to "long-standing suspicions that the ISI continues to help Taliban extremists who undermine US efforts in Afghanistan and provide sanctuary to al-Qaida members in Pakistan".
But US officials have continued to make the payments as ISI's assistance is considered critical: "Almost every major terrorist plot this decade has originated in Pakistan's tribal belt, where ISI informant networks are a primary source of intelligence."
The report went on to say that the payments to Pakistan are authorised under a covert programme initially approved by then president Bush and continued under President Obama.
...
CIA officials argue that their own disbursements - particularly the bounties for suspected terrorists - should be considered a bargain.
"They gave us 600 to 700 people captured or dead," a former senior CIA official, who worked with the Pakistanis, was quoted as saying.
"Getting these guys off the street was a good thing, and it was a big savings to (US) taxpayers."
Another US intelligence official said Pakistan had made "decisive contributions to counter-terrorism".
"They have people dying almost every day," the official said. "Sure, their interests don't always match up with ours. But things would be one hell of a lot worse if the government there was hostile to us."
The ISI is a highly compartmentalised intelligence service, with divisions that sometimes seem at odds with one another. Units that work closely with the CIA are walled off from a highly secretive branch that has directed insurgencies in Afghanistan and Kashmir, the Los Angeles Times report said.
"There really are two ISIs," the former CIA operative said.
"On the counter-terrorism side, those guys were in lock-step with us," the former operative said. "And then there was the 'long-beard' side. Those are the ones who created the Taliban and are supporting groups like Haqqani."
The network led by Jalaluddin Haqqani has been accused of carrying out a series of suicide attacks in Afghanistan, including the 2008 bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul.
Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 475 Location: North London
Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:35 pm Post subject: No sense
Does is make any sense to separate the ISI's unit that deals with the CIA, who are interested in Al Qaeda, from the one that deals with extremism? nonsense or what?
Also, Prison Planet has an MBSN story where Hilary Clinton was given a document by Pakistanis detailing CIA involvement in Pakistani terror.
Attacks that have continued across Pakistani towns and cities are being blamed on Tehreek e-Taliban, Pakistan's Taliban. However, the group has issued its first video statement denying involvement in targeting civilians and has blamed external forces for at least two recent blasts. Azam Tariq, a spokesman of the Tehreek e-Taliban, posted the video statement on YouTube on Monday.
The message refers to a bombing at the Islamic University in Islamabad, which the spokesman said was orchestrated to prepare the ground for a military operation in South Waziristan, a stronghold for Pakistan's Taliban fighters. He also said his group had no role in the bomb blast in a Peshawar market that killed at least 100 people as well as an attack in Charsada, a town located in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. Tariq said Taliban attacks never aimed to target civilians, but that the explosions were linked to Blackwater activities in the country.
Blackwater is a private military and security company founded in the United States.
Propaganda war
Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Islamabad, said: "Even when those bomb blasts did happen, the Taliban denied they had anything to do it." He said: "It was surprising to see that it [the video message] came up on the al-Sahab video. That is the Al-Qaeda wing of media publicity."
Blackwater has denied having any contracts in Pakistan.
Hyder added: "There is a growing anger among Pakistanis. If one looks at the type of attacks that have been taking place - indiscriminate attacks the first thing that came out, even reported by local media, was the blaming of Blackwater and other American agencies.
"The public opinion has turned against the Americans. The video that has appeared today would be trying to capitalise on that."
- - -
Taliban: Blackwater to blame for Pakistan attacks
By Daniel Tencer - Raw Story - Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 -- 1:51 pm
The Pakistani arm of the Taliban has denied responsibility for a recent series of terrorist attacks in Pakistan, instead pointing the finger at Xe Services, the security contractor formerly known as Blackwater, as well as the country's own security services.
Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 475 Location: North London
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:31 am Post subject: Blackwater behind
New York Times, http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/taliban-blames-blackwater- for-pakistan-bombings/, are complaining that ‘conspiracy theories’ about the CIA-Pentagon-Blackwater being behind much of the ‘Taliban terrorism’ are widespread in Pakistan. The media report it and many people believe it. Now, an ex-army chief is supporting that view. The Pakistan PM says foreign Arabs are behind it.
(I got this from Wayne Masden.)
http://www.daily.pk/blackwater-involved-in-bhutto-and-hariri-hits-says -former-pakistani-army-chief-12675/
BLACKWATER INVOLVED IN BHUTTO AND HARIRI HITS SAYS FORMER PAKISTANI ARMY CHIEF
WRITTEN BY SARAH KHAN
Local Oct 31, 2009
Pakistan’s former chief of army staff, General Mirza Aslam Beg (ret.), has said the U.S. private security company Blackwater was directly involved in the assassinations of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri...
Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 7:23 pm Post subject: Re: Blackwater behind
insidejob wrote:
http://www.daily.pk/blackwater-involved-in-bhutto-and-hariri-hits-says -former-pakistani-army-chief-12675/
BLACKWATER INVOLVED IN BHUTTO AND HARIRI HITS SAYS FORMER PAKISTANI ARMY CHIEF
WRITTEN BY SARAH KHAN
Local Oct 31, 2009
Pakistan’s former chief of army staff, General Mirza Aslam Beg (ret.), has said the U.S. private security company Blackwater was directly involved in the assassinations of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri...
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