Federal Security Service (Russia)

The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) (Russian: ФСБ, Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации; Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the main domestic security service of the Russian Federation and the main successor agency of the Soviet-era Cheka, NKVD and KGB.

The FSB is involved in counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and surveillance. Its headquarters are on Lubyanka Square, downtown Moscow, the same location as the former headquarters of the KGB.

The Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK) was the predecessor of the FSB. A bill calling for the reorganization, expansion and renaming of FSK passed both houses of the Russian parliament and was signed into law on April 3, 1995 by Boris Yeltsin. It was made subordinate to the Ministry of Justice by presidential decree on March 9, 2004. These events marked the creation of the FSB.

Contents
1 Overview
2 History
3 Initial reorganization of the KGB
4 Post-2000
5 Role
6 Counterintelligence
7 Counter-terrorism
8 Anti-corruption and organized crime
9 Border protection
Export control

Overview

Lubyanka, headquarters of the FSBThe FSB is engaged mostly in domestic affairs, while espionage duties were taken over by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (former First Chief Directorate of the KGB). However, the FSB also includes the FAPSI agency, which conducts electronic surveillance abroad. All law enforcement and intelligence agencies in Russia work under the guidance of FSB if needed. For example, the GRU, Spetsnaz and Internal Troops detachments of Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs work together with the FSB in Chechnya.

The FSB is responsible for internal security of the Russian state, counterespionage, and the fight against organized crime, terrorism, and drug smuggling. The FSB is a very large organization that combines functions and powers similar to those exercised by the United States (FBI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Protective Service, the Secret Service, the National Security Agency (NSA), United.State. Customs and Border Protection, United States Coast Guard, and Drug Enforcement Administration. FSB also commands a contingent of Internal Troops, spetsnaz, and an extensive network of civilian informants. The number of FSB personnel and its budget remain state secrets, although the budget was reported to jump nearly 40% in 2006.

History:

During the late 1980s, as the Soviet government and economy were disintegrating, the KGB survived better than most state institutions, suffering far fewer cuts in its personnel and budget. Following the attempted coup of 1991 (in which some KGB units participated) against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the KGB was dismantled and formally ceased to exist from Nov 1991.

In late 1991 the domestic security functions of the KGB were reconstituted as the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK), which was placed under the control of the president. The FSK had been known initially for some time as the Ministry of Security. In 1995, the FSK was renamed and reorganized into the FSB by the Federal Law of April 3, 1995, "On the Organs of the Federal Security Service in the Russian Federation", granting it additional powers, enabling it to enter private homes and to conduct intelligence activities in Russia as well as abroad in cooperation with the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

The FSB reforms were rounded out by decree No. 633, signed by Boris Yeltsin on June 23, 1995. The decree made the tasks of the FSB more specific, giving the FSB substantial rights to conduct cryptographic work, and described the powers of the FSB director. The number of deputy directors was increased to 8: 2 first deputies, 5 deputies responsible for departments and directorates and 1 deputy director heading the Moscow City and Moscow regional directorate. Yeltsin appointed Colonel-General Mikhail Ivanovich Barsukov as the new director of the FSB.

In 1998 Yeltsin appointed as director of the FSB Vladimir Putin, a KGB veteran who would later succeed Yeltsin as federal president. Yeltsin also ordered the FSB to expand its operations against labor unions in Siberia and to crack down on right-wing dissidents. As president, Putin increased the FSB's powers to include countering foreign intelligence operations, fighting organized crime, and suppressing Chechen separatists.

Post-2000:

On June 17, 2000, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree, according to which the FSB was supposed to have a director, a first deputy director and eight other deputy directors, including one stats-secretary and the chiefs of six departments (Economic Security Department, Counterintelligence Department, Organizational and Personnel Service, Department of activity provision, Department for Analysis, Forecasting and Strategic Planning, Department for Protection of the Constitutional System and the Fight against Terrorism). On June 11, 2001, the President introduced one more deputy director position.

According to a decree signed by Putin on March 11, 2003, by July 1 Border Guard Service of Russia had been transferred to FSB while FAPSI, agency of government telecommunications, had been abolished, granting FSB with a major part of its functions.

On Aug 12, 2003 Putin allowed the FSB to have three first deputy directors, including the Chief of the Border Guard Service (Vladimir Pronichev), and specified that a deputy director position must be assumed by the Chief of the Inspection Directorate. On July 11, 2004, the President reorganized FSB again. It was prescribed to have a director, two first deputy directors (Sergei Smirnov and Vladimir Pronichev, one of whom should be the Chief of the Border Guard Service (Pronichev).

On Dec 2, 2005, Putin authorized FSB to have one more deputy director. This position was assumed by Vladimir Bulavin on March 3, 2006.

In the beginning of 2006 the Italian news agency ANSA reported the publication on the FSB website of an offer, open to Russian citizens working as spies for a foreign country, to work as double agents.

In Sep 2006, the FSB was shaken by a major reshuffle, which, combined with some earlier reassignments (most remarkably, those of FSB Deputy Directors Yury Zaostrovtsev and Vladimir Anisimov in 2004 and 2005, respectively), were widely believed to be linked to the Three Whales Corruption Scandal that had slowly unfolded since 2000. Some analysts considered it to be an attempt to undermine FSB Director Nikolay Patrushev's influence, as it was Patrushev's team from the Karelian KGB Directorate of the late 1980s – early 1990s that had suffered most and he had been on vacations during the event.

Counterintelligence:

Then-FSB Director Nikolay Kovalev said in 1996: "There has never been such a number of spies arrested by us since the time when German agents were sent in during the years of World War II." The FSB reported that around 400 foreign intelligence agents were uncovered in 1995 and 1996. In 2006 the FSB reported about 27 foreign intelligence officers and 89 foreign agents whose activities were stopped.

An increasing number of scientists have been accused of espionage and illegal technology exports by FSB during the last decade: researcher Igor Sutyagin, physicist Valentin Danilov, physical chemist Oleg Korobeinichev, academician Oskar Kaibyshev, and physicist Yury Ryzhov. Some other widely covered cases of political prosecution include investigator Mikhail Trepashkin and journalist Vladimir Rakhmankov. All these people are either under arrest or serve long jail sentences.

Ecologist and journalist Alexander Nikitin, who worked with the Bellona Foundation, was accused of espionage. He published material exposing hazards posed by the Russian Navy's nuclear fleet. He was acquitted in 1999 after spending several years in prison (his case was sent for re-investigation 13 times while he remained in prison). Other cases of prosecution are the cases of investigative journalist and ecologist Grigory Pasko, Vladimir Petrenko who described danger posed by military chemical warfare stockpiles, and Nikolay Shchur, chairman of the Snezhinskiy Ecological Fund.

Other arrested people include Viktor Orekhov, a former KGB officer who assisted Soviet dissidents, Vladimir Kazantsev who disclosed illegal purchases of eavesdropping devices from foreign firms, and Vil Mirzayanov who had written that Russia was working on a nerve gas weapon.

Counter-terrorism:

Over the years, FSB and affiliated state security organizations have killed all "presidents" of the self-proclaimed Chechen Republic of Ichkeria including Dzhokhar Dudaev, Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, Aslan Maskhadov, and Abdul-Khalim Saidullaev. Just before his death, Saidullaev claimed that the Russian government "treacherously" killed Maskhadov, after inviting him to "talks" and promising his security "at the highest level."

During the Moscow theater hostage crisis and Beslan school hostage crisis, all hostage takers were killed on the spot by FSB spetsnaz forces. Only one of the suspects, Nur-Pashi Kulayev, survived and was convicted later by the court. It is reported that more than 100 leaders of terrorist groups have been killed during 119 operations on North Caucasus during 2006.

On July 28, 2006 the FSB presented a list of 17 terrorist organizations recognized by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, to Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, which published the list that day. The list had been available previously, but only through individual request. Commenting on the list, Yuri Sapunov, head of anti-terrorism at the FSB, named three main criteria necessary for organizations to be listed.

Anti-corruption and organized crime:

The FSB cooperates with Interpol and other national and international law enforcement agencies. It has provided information on many Russian criminal groups operating in Europe.
Border protection:


The Federal Border Guard Service (FPS) has been part of the FSB since 2003. Russia has 61,000 kilometers of sea and land borders, 7,500 kilometers of which is with Kazakhstan, and 4,000 kilometers with China. One kilometer of border protection costs around 1 million rubles per year. Vladimir Putin called on the FPS to increase the fight against international terrorism and "destroy terrorists like rats".

Export control:

The FSB is engaged in the development of Russia's export control strategy and examines drafts of international agreements related to the transfer of dual-use and military commodities and technologies. Its primary role in the nonproliferation sphere is to collect information to prevent the illegal export of controlled nuclear technology and materials.

RAW Agents Target NATO Forces

There is no doubt that while fighting against the occupying forces, the Taliban have been conducting ambush assaults and suicide attacks on the NATO forces and claim responsibility. Last year, western commanders and high officials have admitted that level of insurgency has increased in Afghanistan.

In fact, Indian intelligence agency, RAW has been availing this golden opportunity of perennial militancy�to target the NATO troops and military installations in Afghanistan. Such acts of sabotage are also being conducted inside Pakistan, which also include attacks on the NATO’s supply-trucks and containers passing through Pakistan.

Question arises in the mind of people as to how RAW can conduct subversive activities against the US-led NATO interest both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The reply is quite clear, which can better be understood by students of international relations.

All the developments in Afghanistan cannot be seen in isolation because they have a co-relationship with Indian other regional designs. India is determined to become a greater power of Asia, and wants to go even to the extent of war with nuclear power like Pakistan and China. In this context, Indian Army chief General Deepak Kapoor vocally said on December 29, 2009 that Indian Army “is now revising its five-year-old doctrine” and is preparing for a “possible two-front war with China and Pakistan.”

No country can ignore its defence, while its enemy has aggressive designs. In response to New Delhi’s open threat, on January 2, Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) Chairman Gen. Tariq Majid stated, “The Indian Army Chief’s statement exhibits a lack of strategic acumen. He further said that such a path could “fix India on a self-destruct mechanism.” A day ago, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani warned that the situation would get out of control in case of any dangerous adventurism of New Delhi.

It is notable that in the recent past, although the US President Obama has announced that he will send an extra 30,000 US troops to fight the war in Afghanistan, yet his revised strategy also includes withdrawal of forces, which will start in July 2011. In this context, on November 15, last year, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton had already revealed, “We’re not interested in staying in Afghanistan” for a long time and set a start date for military withdrawal.

It is mentionable that during his trip to the USA in 2009, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left no stone unturned in convincing Washington by raising alleged concerns regarding Pakistan and Afghanistan in connection with militancy. In his interview to the Washington Post and Newsweek, Singh remarked that India “wants to resolve all outstanding issues with Pakistan”, while accusing the latter of “sponsoring terrorism.” He called for the US pressure on Islamabad to rein in extremists. He also said that he would encourage the American leadership to stay in Afghanistan. Besides, Singh warned that Afghanistan could fall into a civil war if the United State exited.

On the other side, frustrated in achieving their aims, NATO countries have seriously been considering withdrawal of their troops from Afghanistan in future owing to growing domestic pressure coupled with daily casualties of their personal and rising cost of war. Particularly, America has been bearing huge losses, amounting seven trillion dollars in the total cost of war against terrorism, increase in defence budget and acute financial crisis inside the US homeland.

If US-led NATO forces pull out of Afghanistan, Karzai regime will fall like a house of cards due to the Taliban insurgency. Hence, India has planned to entrap the US permanently in Afghanistan in order to achieve its secret designs against Pakistan and China�in the Indian-held Kashmir by damaging American global and regional interests, and thus wants to get further benefits from the US and other developed countries so as to become a superpower.

Notably, American dependence on Pakistan for war against terrorism and for close economic cooperation with China, and in future, withdrawal of foreign powers from Afghanistan will roll back Indian clandestine agenda which is part of its regional ambition against Islamabad and Beijing.

Sometimes surprises happen in world politics which is an arena of great complications, and states’ shrewd strategies are followed by all unfair means. In this respect, renowned thinker, Morghenthau, while echoing the thoughts of Machiavelli indicates that sometimes rulers have to act upon immoral activities like falsehood, deceit and theft. In this connection, India is determined to obtain its inter-related aims to dominate other regional countries. Particularly, it considers Pakistan an obstacle in its way.

Under the pretext of Talibinisation of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Indian secret agency, RAW with the support of Israeli Mossad has well-established its networks. Particularly, India has been running secret operations against Pakistan from its consulates in Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad, Kandhar and other sensitive parts of the Pak-Afghan border. It has spent millions of dollars in Afghanistan to strengthen its grip. And from there, Indian RAW has been sending well-trained militants along with arms to Pakistan so as to attack the security personnel including western nationals. New Delhi which wants to get strategic depth against Pakistan has not only increased its military troops in the counry, but has also decided to set up cantonments. In this respect, puppet regeme of Hamid Karzai encouraged India in using the Border Roads Organisation in constructing the ring roads by employing Indo-Tibeten police force for security.

Meanwhile, admiting Indian activities in Afghanistan, on Sep 20, NATO commander, Gen. McChrystal in his report on the Afghan war had admitted: “Indian political and economic influence is increasing in Afghanistan including significant development efforts…is likely to exacerbate regional tensions.”

Worried about withdrawal of the US-led allies from Afghanistan, India with the covert support of Indo-Israeli lobbies has already started a propaganda campaign in the west to implicate Islamabad.

Nevertheless, with its ambitious policy including development and acquisition of sophisticated arms from the most developed countries, New Delhi tries to achieve its secret goals, coupled with its size at any cost. For this purpose, RAW has been given a carte blanche to target the US-backed forces in Afghanistan. In this context, with the help of Indian so-called Muslim scholars, RAW has set up a number of secret mudrassas in India from where well-trained agents of RAW are being sent to Afghanistan to join the ranks and files of Taliban�and are conducting various activities such as plantation of roadside bombs, deployment of mines and suicide attacks on NATO’s personnel and installations so as to distort the image of Pakistan in the eyes of America and Europe.

In this context, RAW has also intensified subversive activities in Pakistan where Afghan-like militancy is continuously being supported by RAW agents. This agency has also been given a free hand by New Delhi to attack NATO’s supply vehicles in Pakistan.

While in case of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, sometimes Taliban claims responsibility for their acts of sabotage. But fact of the matter is that in most of the cases, RAW’s technical experts arrange video movies and tapes to show that Taliban have accepted the responsibility in order to conceal the real face of India.

Besides other assaults on NATO troops and bases, on Dec, 2009 a well-planned suicide attack killed seven CIA officers at a highly-protected military base in Afghanistan. In this regard, The Washington post reported, “the suicide attack was one of the deadliest blows ever against the CIA…a bomber managed to penetrate the defences of the ‘forward base’, detonating an explosives belt in a room described as a gym.”

American military officials are worried as to how this base became vulnerable to insurgents’ target. Although the Taliban have claimed responsibility for the incident, yet the authenticity of this message is either not clear or the same is fake. In fact, hired Muslim agents of RAW have conducted this suicide attacks in the guise of the Taliban. Same is also true regarding Pakistan where similar pattern is being adopted by the agents of RAW, who sometimes kill the foreigners including Chinese nationals. Other subversive activities and targeted killings of Pakistanis by RAW in our country are not only to create instability, but also to confuse the massacre of westerners in order to hide the real identity of the Indian agents.

Taliban vs India

In his statement Hakimullah said: "We want an Islamic state, if we get that then we will go to the borders and fight the Indians."

As Pakistan was rocked by bomb blasts, from Lahore to Peshawar to Kohat, Hakimullah Mehsud, the new leader of the Pakistani Taliban, issued a statement threatening to dispatch Islamic militants to India once an Islamic state had been established in Pakistan. In his statement Hakimullah said: "We want an Islamic state, if we get that then we will go to the borders and fight the Indians."
Hakimullah's statement is noteworthy for a variety of reasons. First, included among the volley of blasts that have hit the region in the past fortnight was one that targeted the Indian Embassy in Kabul for the second time. The blast, on October 9, 2009, killed 17 people including a top Indian diplomat and brought attention again to the extent of Indian involvement in Afghanistan.
The blast came days before the Indians completed a electric transmission line from Phul-e-Khumri to Kabul, one of several projects worth $1.6 billion, making India the fifth largest donor to Afghanistan. In addition to the electric transmission line, India has also helped construct the Zaranj-Delaram Highway, which was inaugurated in January of this year. They have also funded a hundred small development projects in rural Afghanistan, designed to provide quick respite to rural populations, and five medical missions that dispense medicines to over 1,000 people a day.
However, as the caustic debate over the Kerry-Lugar Bill has illustrated here in Pakistan, no amount of good deeds and development projects come without the aid grantors expecting geo-strategic advantages. India has constructed several consulates in Afghanistan, including ones in Mazar-e Sharif, Herat, and Kandahar. In the fallout from the second attack on their embassy in Kabul, Indian officials have also re-engaged in the debate over whether India needs to send troops to Afghanistan to take care of its investments. While the consensus in India is still against such drastic action, the Indian government and its allies within the Afghan government have made no bones about pointing their fingers at the ISI as possible perpetrators of the attack.
In turn, of course, Pakistani security agencies, in the aftermath of the bombings in Lahore on Oct 15, 2009, have begun pointing fingers at possible Indian involvement in the attacks, instead of blaming the more obvious Taliban. Lahore Commissioner Khusro Pervez blamed the Indian agency RAW for attacks in different parts of Pakistan. Interior Minister Rehman Malik cautioned that no speculation regarding Indian involvement should be engaged in without evidence.
Indeed, in the world of allegations and counter allegations that defines the India-Pakistan relationship, evidence may be the hardest thing to come by. What cannot be denied, however, is the fact that the Taliban and the Indians are currently engaged in a grotesque competition to be crowned Pakistan's worst enemy. In other words, the choice before Pakistan's security agencies is to pick one of the two on which to focus its limited security resources. As is well known, the United States is pressurising Pakistan to pick the Taliban and go on all out offensive against them in both the tribal areas as well as Afghanistan. Given the merciless targeting of security forces in Lahore and the recent attack on the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, this seems undoubtedly the reasonable option to stem the seemingly irrepressible tide of bombings that is currently plaguing the country.
The argument posited by the Americans, substantiated as it is by the bloodthirstiness of the Taliban is a good one: in the era of terrorism Pakistan should get over its obsessive fear of an Indian takeover and concentrate instead on eliminating the Taliban who pose an urgent and existential threat.
Yet while the argument is convincing from a normative standpoint, its naiveté represents the biggest hole in American strategy toward the region. This was pointed out in General McChrystal's leaked report which clearly states that increasing Indian involvement in Afghanistan a hurdle in getting Pakistan to fight the Taliban. Despite this acknowledgement, the United States refuses to take sides between India and Pakistan, continuing on one hand to maintain a close and amicable relationship with India while also expecting full co-operation from Pakistan on the war on terror.
In turn, Pakistan equally doggedly wants assurances from the United States that if it did indeed eliminate the Taliban from Afghanistan with the help of the United States, some guarantee would be provided against encirclement by India on the majority of its borders.
It is this missing assurance, one that the United States cannot and will not give, that is the root of its crucial failure in both Afghanistan and Pakistan today. The Americans simply continue to hope that the mayhem caused by the Taliban will be so debilitating that Pakistan will forget about its foes on the eastern border and concentrate on the mess to the west.
Pakistanis for better or worse realise that both choices before them are inherently bad ones. They can either choose to unequivocally support the United States against the Taliban even if a pro-Indian government is installed in Kabul, encircling the country on its eastern and western borders by hostile forces. Or, they can wait and hedge their bets that some of the Taliban can be co-opted into some form of pseudo-Islamic state that appeases both their lust for power and their zeal for literalist faith.
With the Americans refusing to take sides in any part of the conflict that doesn't suit their own national interests, little incentive remains for the Pakistanis to construct a strategy that would leave them without options after American withdrawal. Morality and reason aside, it is difficult to trust an ally that refuses to take sides against your enemy and hence the tragic reality that in a contest for most hated enemy, India may still win.


Deep trouble
Taliban militancy and organised violence against the state and society presents the most serious threat to national security.

Pakistan faces several complex internal security challenges today that require a comprehensive, holistic and national response. Not addressing these challenges immediately, in a serious and consistent fashion, may land the country and its peoples in serious trouble. So what are these challenges; wherein lie their roots; what can be done to tackle them efficiently and effectively?
Taliban militancy and organised violence against the state and society presents the most serious threat to national security. The grimness of this threat lies in its religious roots and radical worldview. The Taliban movement is a variant of political Islamism that has renounced democratic, constitutional and political paths to power and instead believes in the theory and practice of conquest in the image of medieval adventurists. The problem is that the national and international atmosphere today is different. We now live in territorial nation states and bounded political communities.
The Taliban and their allied religious groups reject the territorial state and maintain transnational political and ideological links that spread across the globe. They have a mutual support system, sanctuaries, and common sources of funding and share a common vision and project of terrorising, defeating and replacing the present state structure, which in their view doesn't represent Islam or the 'real' interests of Muslims. Their narrative of historic grievances against the local and global order and critique of the national ruling classes 'naturally' facilitates their political communication with the disempowered, unskilled, and unemployable youth in the socially and economically depressed regions of Pakistan.
Social structures that shape power relations, determine the social significance of individuals and groups and allocate political roles are neither just nor based on prudence and rationality. Dominant groups like the land-owning class, caste and tribal elites and the gadinasheens have monopolised the social and political spaces of value.
They could continue in their privileged positions, without a major challenge, were they to fulfil the role that similar conservative, status quo social groups in other societies have performed; being responsive to society and responsible in their exercise of power while pushing society forward through an emphasis on equity and equality. Even members of the middle class, which play a subordinate role in the dynastic party system, have joined in the rapaciousness of the ruling groups. This doesn't send a message of hope to the disenfranchised youth and disillusioned social classes.
The frustration of these classes has thus proved a fertile ground for the Taliban insurgency and Islamic radicalism.
Our focus on contemporary violence and its optics shouldn't divert our attention from a larger and more complex issue of the sociology of violence; the social conditions that promote and breed violent beliefs and practices.
The second and equally dangerous category of security challenges comes from sectarian groups. Communalism and sectarianism are rooted in the intolerance of difference and diversity of faiths. Much of the religious violence in the subcontinent and its more frequent eruption and persistence in Pakistan is rooted in unarticulated but easily discernable form of religious fascism.
The irrational logic that animates this universal brand is absolute self-righteousness and denial of the religious authenticity of other religious sects within Islam. Unfortunately, theological and philosophical debates around these issues have become politicised; so have the sectarian leaders who use sect and sectarian mobilisation to maintain power within the country and abroad. Sectarian groups live, hide, plan and execute sectarian violence from deep within society.
They work in multiple organisations, and it is the complex web of their relationship with 'ordinary' members of society that makes the security situation so intractable.
Militant ethnic movements in Karachi and Balochistan pose yet another set of internal security challenges. Ethnic feelings are natural and mobilisation of ethnic identity to stake a claim on national power and resources is neither an uncommon strategy, nor out of the fold of normal political discourses or processes.
But this can be done legitimately within the limits of law and the framework of peaceful political struggle. Violence by any ethnic group and any attempt to hold local populations political hostage must provoke a national security response. We have seen much ethnic violence in Karachi in the past and sporadically in Balochistan. Violence, ethnic or religious, starts when there is no room for argument; when the political process is seen as flawed or inadequate.
There are relatively easy remedies for ethnic violence. These remedies lie in the political realm; in understanding the ethnic and cultural pluralism of Pakistani society and devising a political order that accommodates the legitimate aspirations of all social groups.
The elected government at the federal level has not realised the seriousness of militant ethnicity and has failed to bring about constitutional reforms on which there is national consensus to grant greater rights to the provinces.
The lopsided distribution of power and resources between the centre and the provinces must not be allowed to linger on. Federalism is a dynamic process, and must be so especially in conditions of ethnic diversity, where adjusting and balancing the requirements of national cohesion with demands of the units for adequate power and resources is a pressing issue.
Another factor that has greatly multiplied troubles in Pakistan is the thirty-year-long war in Afghanistan, first against the former Soviet Union and now the United States. Contestation between foreign powers, apparently helping to rebuild Afghanistan, and the forces resisting them, has influenced Pakistan's national security in more ways than one. Our role in mobilising religion and nationalism to defeat the Soviets under Washington's cold war strategic outlook is now become the albatross around our neck.
To solve its multiple security threats, Pakistan needs to evolve a long-term strategy of social and political reconstruction; invoking national spirit and solidarity must rest at the centre of such a strategy. The focus must be on political institutions, openness, rule of law, and accountability of the political class.

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (Urdu: تحريک طالبان پاکستان) (Student Movement of Pakistan) is the main Taliban militant umbrella group in Pakistan primarily in conflict with the central government. Among the group's stated objectives are resistance against the Pakistani army, enforcement of sharia and unification against NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Contents
1 History
2 Confusion over death of amir and succession
3 Organizational structure
4 Leaders
5 Spokesmen

History:

The TTP began to form when in 2002 the Pakistani military conducted incursions into the tribal areas to combat foreign militants spilling across the Afghan border. Many of the Pakistani Taliban are veterans of the fighting in Afghanistan, where they supported the fight against foreigners by providing soldiers, training and logistics. While the Pakistani military concentrated on the Afghan Taliban, small militant tribes opposed to the federal government's control began to coordinate closely. In 2004, the groups started negotiations with Islamabad that effectively established their authority in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). By this time, the militants had killed around 200 rival tribal elders in the region and further consolidated control. In December 2007 the group officially formed under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud.

On August 25, 2008 Pakistan banned the group, froze its bank accounts and assets, and barred it from media appearances. The government also announced that bounties would be placed on prominent leaders of the TTP.

In late December 2008 and early January 2009 Mullah Omar sent a delegation, led by former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mullah Abdullah Zakir, to persuade leading members of the TTP to put aside differences and aid the Afghan Taliban in combating the American presence in Afghanistan. Baitullah Mehsud, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulavi Nazir agreed in February and formed the Shura Ittehadul Mujahideen (SIM), also transliterated as Shura Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen and translated into English as the Council of United Mujahedeen. In a written statement circulated in a one-page Urdu-language pamphlet, the three affirmed that they would put aside differences to fight American-led forces. The statement included a declaration of allegiance to both Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden.
Confusion over death of amir and succession
In August 2009 a missile strike from a suspected U.S. drone killed Baitullah Mehsud. The TTP soon held a shura to appoint his successor. Government sources reported that fighting broke out during the shura between Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur-Rehman. While Pakistani news channels reported that Hakimullah had been killed in the shooting, Interior Minister Rehman Malik could not confirm his death. On August 18, Pakistani security officials announced the capture of Maulvi Omar, chief spokesperson of the TTP. Omar, who had denied the death of Baitullah, retracted his previous statements and confirmed the leader's death in the missile strike. He also acknowledged turmoil among TTP leadership following the killing.

After Omar's capture, Maulana Faqir Mohammed announced to the BBC that he would assume temporary leadership of the TTP and that Muslim Khan would serve as primary spokesperson. He also maintained that Baitullah had not been killed but rather was in ill health. Faqir further elaborated that decisions over leadership of the umbrella group would only be made in consultation and consensus with other TTP leaders. "The congregation of Taliban leaders has 32 members and no important decision can be taken without their consultation," he told the BBC.He reported to the AFP that both Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur-Rehman had approved his appointment as temporary leader of the militant group. Neither militant had publicly confirmed Faqir's statement, and analysts cited by Dawn News believed the assumption of leadership actually indicated a power struggle.

Two days later Faqir Mohammed retracted his claims of temporary leadership and said that Hakimullah Mehsud had been selected leader of the TTP. Faqir declared that the 42-member shura had also decided that Azam Tariq would serve as the TTP's primary spokesperson rather than Muslim Khan.

Organizational structure :

In its original form, the TTP had Baitullah Mehsud as its amir and he was followed in the leadership hierarchy by naib amir, or deputy, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and then Faqir Mohammed. The group contained members from all of FATA's seven tribal agencies as well as several districts of the NWFP, including Swat, Bannu, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohistan, Buner and Malakand. 2008 estimates place the total number of operatives between 30,000 and 35,000.

In the aftermath of Baitullah Mehsud's death, the organization demonstrated signs of turmoil among its leading militants. By the end of August 2009, leading members in the TTP had confirmed Hakimullah Mehsud as its second amir.
Leaders:
Current

Hakimullah Mehsud – current amir and former commander in the Khyber, Kurram and Orakzai agencies – South Waziristan
Hafiz Gul Bahadur – North Waziristan
Faqir Mohammed – Bajaur
Maulavi Nazir – South Waziristan (Western half)
Qari Hussain – Lieutenant to Baitullah Mehsud
Omar Khalid – Mohmand Agency
Waliur Rehman Mehsud – South Waziristan
Former

Baitullah Mehsud – South Waziristan – first leader of TTP – deceased August 2009
Qari Zainuddin Mehsud – South Waziristan (Tank) – deceased 23 June 2009
Spokesmen:

Current
Azam Tariq,

Former

Maulvi Omar – close aide to Baitullah Mehsud – arrested on 18 August 2009
Muslim Khan – arrested on 11 September 2009

CIA Triple Agent Bomber Says in Video His Attack Was Revenge

The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA operatives and a Jordanian officer in Afghanistan Dec. 20 said in a video taped before his death that the attack was revenge for the killing of a Pakistani militant leader.

In the video, Hammam Khalil al-Balawi, who blew himself up in a Central Intelligence Agency compound in Khost, said all jihadists who had been sheltered by Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistani leader Baitullah Mehsud had an obligation to strike U.S. targets, according to an e-mailed statement today from Alexandria, Virginia-based IntelCenter, which tracks Islamist videos.

Mehsud was killed last year by a CIA drone strike in the mountains of western Pakistan. The exact date of his death isn’t known. Pakistani authorities blamed him for the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as well as suicide bombings.

Al-Balawi, a Jordanian doctor who wrote virulent anti- Western comments on radical Web sites, was being managed by Jordanian and U.S. intelligence officers who thought he could help them infiltrate al-Qaeda’s leadership, a former U.S. intelligence officer said.

In the video, he sat next to the Pakistani Taliban’s new leader, or emir, Hakimullah Mehsud, IntelCenter said. The video was released today by the Pakistani Taliban, and not by as- Sahab, the media unit of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda, it said.

“The TTP and al-Qaeda have a close relationship and in all likelihood al-Qaeda was involved at some level in the operation,” IntelCenter said. “However, the release of the video with TTP Emir Hakimullah Mehsud firmly places the attack under the TTP banner.”

Khan Research Laboratories (Kahuta)

Kahuta is the site of the Khan Research Laboratories [KRL], Pakistan's main nuclear weapons laboratory as well as an emerging center for long-rnage missile development. The primary Pakistani fissile-material production facility is located at Kahuta, employing gas centrifuge enrichment technology to produce Highly Enriched Uranium [HEU]. This facility is not under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, but according the the governemnt of Pakistan the facility is physically secure and safe.

Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan is a German-educated metallurgist who until 1975 was employed at the URENCO uranium enrichment facility in Almelo, Netherlands. A year after India's 1974 nuclear test, Dr. Khan departed URENCO with blueprints for the uranium centrifuge, and information on URENCO's key suppliers. Dr. Khan initially worked under Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), headed by Munir Ahmad Khan, for a short period. But the pair fell out, and in July 1976, Bhutto gave Dr. Khan autonomous control of the uranium enrichment project, reporting directly to the prime minister's office, which arrangement has continued since. Dr. Khan founded the Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL) on 31 July 1976, with the exclusive task of indigenous development of Uranium Enrichment Plant. Within the next five years the target was achieved. On 01 May 1981 ERL was renamed as Dr. Khan Research Laboratories (KRL). It was enrichment of Uranium in KRL that ultimately led to the successful detonation of Pakistan's first nuclear device on 28 May 1998.

Chinese assistance in the development of gas centrifuges at Kahuta was indicated by the presence of Chinese technicians at the facility in the early 1980s. The uranium enrichment facility began operating in 1984, but suffered serious start up problems. Kahuta began producing HEU in 1986, and Pakistan's fabrication of weapons may have begun soon thereafter, with the HEU hexafluoride being made into uranium metal which was machined into weapon pits. By the late 1980s Pakistan began advertising its nuclear potential by publishing technical articles on centrifuge design, including a 1987 article co-authored by Dr. Khan on balancing sophisticated ultracentrifuge rotors.

Operating at full capacity, Kahuta is estimated to have the potential to produce enough weapon-grade uranium for as many as 3 to 6 weapons each year. But the gas centrifuge plant has been plagued by chronic delays. As of 1984 there were reportedly approximately 1,000 centrifuges operating at the facility. By 1991 about 3000 machines were thought to be operating with a production capacity of 30-50 kg U-235/year, enough for 2-3 implosion weapons a year.


In 1988 the US and Pakistan reached an informal understanding, which according to US officials went into effect in 1993, under which Pakistan agreed to freeze production of bomb-grade HEU indefinitely, and to refrain from enriching uranium to a level above 20% U-235. Prior to the 1998 nuclear tests, the US had reportedly obtained intelligence indicating that Pakistan had stopped production of bomb-grade uranium. However, following the tests Dr. Khan claimed that Pakistan had never stopped making bomb-grade HEU during the 1980s and 1990s, and reportedly US officials said "we don't have enough information" to conclude that Pakistan was not making weapons-grade HEU. As of mid-1998 estimates of Pakistan's HEU inventory ranged between 100 and 500 kilograms. Assuming that Pakistan would need about 20 kilograms for a single weapon, Pakistan's stockpile might be estimated at between 5 and 25 weapons.
In early 1996 it was reported that the Dr. Khan Research Laboratory received 5,000 ring magnets, which can be used in gas centrifuges, from the China National Nuclear Corporation, a subsidiary of the China National Nuclear Corporation, a state-owned corporation. The US intelligence community believed the magnets were for special suspension bearings at the top of the centrifuge rotating cylinders. The shipment was made between late 1994 and mid-1995 and was reportedly worth $70,000. The ring magnets would allow Pakistan to effectively double its capacity to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons production. Pakistan has operated the plant only intermittently, and little information is publicly available concerning annual or total production of weapon-grade uranium at Kahuta.

The Kahuta facility has also been a participant in Pakistan's missile development program. Pakistan operates a ballistic missile research center at Kahuta along with its uranium enrichment operation. KRL has successfully developed and tested Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles based on liquid fuel technology and its associated sub systems. Saudi Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz toured the Kahuta facility in May 1999, possibly in connection with purchases of the Ghauri missiles.

KRL has also undertaken many other defense projects of national importance to enable Pakistan to become self-reliant in various sophisticated weapon systems and to save valuable foreign exchange. These projects include:

Surface-to-Al-Anti-Aircraft Guided Missiles - Anza Mk 1, and Anza Mk-II.
'Baktar Shikan' Anti-Tank Guided Missile Weapon System.
Anti-personnel Mine Sweeping Line Charges.
Anti-Tank Mine Clearing Line Charge-Plofadder-195 AT.
Laser Range Finder.
Laser Threat Sensor
Laser Actuated Target
Laser Aiming Device
Add-On Reactive Armour Kit
Anti-Tank Ammunition-Armour Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discordin Sabot (APFSDS)
Remote Control Mine Exploder (RCME)
Digital Goniometer
Power Conditioners for Weapon Systems for TOW ATGM Weapon System, "Baktar Shikan" Weapon System, "ANZA" Training Missile System
Switched Mode Power Supplies for LAADS Radar, Skyguard Radar, Air Defense Automation System.
Tow Missile Modules

STATE TERRORISM

Even after killing thousands of innocent Kashmiris, destroying the grand Babri Mosque and torturing Indian Muslims in jails after the fall of Babri Mosque, India still calls itself a peace-loving nation, a secular democracy every body else a terrorist state. While presenting a false image abroad as peace loving and “terror victim” nation, India indeed is problem for the neighborhood. India ’s neighbors have been subjected to its hegemony and intimidating behaviour. Now as a terror prone state, India has become a threat to the security of its neighborhoods. Entire South Asia region is insecure now. The moment the Mumbai terror attack commenced, without wasting a single breath, Indian media, its establishment and political leadership, in unison, as if following a printed script, began not only blaming Pakistan for the attack, but started threatening war. Indian media have helped their government to unleash hatred on Pakistanis. By using some self-centered Muslims to write ugly things about Muslims and praise Indianness and Indian greatness, etc, which by itself is vulture culture and vulgar, they tell the West that Muslims are pretty happy in Hindu’s country.

India has been in constant tough not only with US-led terrorist west, but also Israel that kills Muslims in its vicinity. Indian media still harp on the “trained terrorists” from Pakistan as a ploy to bully the Muslims in India , Kashmir, Pakistan and Bangladesh and else where. India , as usual, calls Pakistan , Bangladesh and Nepal as terrorist laboratories to train terrorists against India . Indian terrorism experts repeatedly ask Indian forces to wage a war with Pakistan , just as the Neocons do in Washington pressing for Iranian invasion before Bush leaves the scene from behind.

India very effectively played its part in Mumbai terrorism by comparing it with Sept11 of the United State . By dong so India is sending a message to US-Israel combine that it is a genuine and natural ally they can trust in future joint operations. The western powers want to influence the church by making Islam appear to be a terrorist religion. By terrorizing humanity in the name of terrorism, they want to fix a terrible problem in their own religious community. Sept11 “suspected” are coerced to seek guilty. Something similar to this is what the Indo-US service personnel have in mind to do before closing the file.

Today the globalizing world is geared to accept any thing the anti-Islamic global media say about Islam and Muslims. The terrorism stories they manufacture to feed the developing world just laugh at Muslims make the non-Muslims persecute Muslims, terrorize them and spread all sorts of rumors about them; essentially all this is being done meticulously to insult Muslims and defame Islam. By emulating the US style rhetoric, India has said that all options are on table and military action against Pakistan is not ruled out. In a tactical move, Indian authorities have included in the list of 20, some people wanted by the USA to make a common cause between two strategic partners. Incidentally the list of 20 people is not new. It is the same which India presented in 1993 and 2002. India would continue to press for its demand and Pakistan would not hand over any one till evidence beyond any reasonable doubt of involvement of any Pakistani is presented to it.

Indian media say Taj terrorists are hiding in Pakistan . Indian media generally come to know about what happens to Hindus the world around and who occupies what position and who is harassed where, etc. But what atrocities Indians do in India , Kashmir and else where are not made available to these “innocent” media magnets. Not even what the Indian terror forces do with Kashmiris in Kashmir , men, old and young, women and children. So obviously what India does to Pakistanis in Pakistan does not find any place in Indian media.

Recent debates have exposed the tyrannical state regimes engaged in terrorism activities. The Malegaon blast case has totally tarnished the self importance image of Hindus and now they talk about” terrorism has no religion” from the earlier stand that “Hindus are not terrorists, but only Muslims are so” they revised their position by stating that terrorism has no religion; Encouraged by this official Hindu view, even Muslims write that terrorism has no religion and all terrorists are not Muslims. And the stuff like that makes Indian secularism rather “vibrant” for foreigners. A fear complex terrifies Indian Muslims and that is the fact.

India for a long time enjoyed the global sympathy by spreading false news about Islamic terrorism in India and Hindus being the “victims”. In fact many western columnists shed tears over their anti-Islamic format of writings. Then all of a sudden the world woke to the fact that Hindus are the terrorists in India and around. Slowly many more stunning facts got revealed and it has been proved that the Indian military which essentially functions under the Pentagon is also involved in Indian terrorist activities. Self-styled godman Dayanand Pandey has emerged as one of the key persons in the Malegaon blast case. During his narco analysis test, he had revealed that it was sadhvi Pragya Singh who had allegedly masterminded the Malegaon blasts. He also mentions during the test that he had introduced the sadhvi to Lt Col Purohit who in turn allegedly helped in undertaking the attack. The question now is how did Pandey get in touch with Purohit and what is the association between these two men. During the test conducted on Pandey at Bangalore last week, he goes on to explain as to how he got in touch with Purohit. In a state of trance, Pandey reveals that while working for the Indian Air Force, he got in touch with Purohit who was in the military intelligence at that time. He said both of them came close as they worked in the Marathwada region. However, Pandey was sacked from service due as he had committed some irregularities. Later, he went on to start an ashram. He reveals that that in the ashram, he sheltered several boys. Investigating agencies claim that some of the boys were anti social elements and used to work for Pandey. Joshi is the same man, the sadhvi claims she sold her two-wheeler to. The same two-wheeler was used in the Malegaon blasts, which claimed six lives. Pandey states that he got to know of Pragya after she had taken sanyas. The self-styled godman says this was when the plan was hatched to carry out a strike. According to Pandey, the plan was hatched and each one was assigned a different role. While Pandey coordinated the attack, Sadhvi was in charge of planting the bombs while Purohit took care of assembling the bombs and arranging the explosives, Pandey further revealed to a startled investigating team. Purohit too had revealed during his narco analysis test that he had sought the help of local persons in Malegaon to assemble the bombs. The “material” was brought in from Jammu and later stored in Pune. The rest is already history and Pakistan is beng blamed for the Indian terrorism.

Thus, a combined gang of Hindu religious and military and anti-Islamic militant forces are fully engaged in terrorist activities and the media-cum-intelligence would pass on he bam on Muslims. Finally the judiciary, taking clues form Media reports, pass their own pro-Hindu judgments.

ISRAEL IS A TERRORIST STATE

Avram Noam Chomsky, 80, is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, political activist, author, and lecturer. He is an Institute Professor emeritus and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Chomsky is well known in the academic and scientific community as the father of modern linguistics. Since the 1960s, he has become known more widely as a political dissident, and a libertarian socialist intellectual.


Following is an excerpt of Professor Chomsky’s interview with Christiana Voniati, who is head of International News Department POLITIS Newspaper, Nicosia, Cyprus.

Voniati: The international public opinion and especially the Muslim world seem to have great expectations from the historic election of Obama. Can we, in your opinion, expect any real change regarding the United State approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

Chomsky: Not much. Quite the contrary: it may be harsher than before. In the case of Gaza, Obama maintained silence, he didn’t say a word. He said well there’s only one president so I can’t talk about it. Of course he was talking about a lot of other things but he chose not to talk about this. His campaign did repeat a statement that he had made while visiting Israel six months earlier -- he had visited Sderot where the rockets hit- and he said “if this where happening to my daughters, I wouldn’t think of any reaction as legitimate”, but he couldn’t say anything about Palestinian children. Now, the attack on Gaza was at time so that it ended right before the inauguration, which is what I expected. I presume that the point was so that they could make sure that Obama didn’t have to say something, so he didn’t. And then he gave his first foreign policy declaration, it was a couple of days later when he appointed George Mitchell as his emissary, and he said nothing about Gaza except that “our paramount interest is preserving the security of Israel”. Palestine apparently doesn’t have any requirement of security. And then in his declaration he said of course we are not going to deal with Hamas -- the elected government the United State immediately, as soon as the government was elected in a free election the United State and Israel with the help of European Union immediately started severely punishing the Palestinian population for voting in the “wrong way” in a free election and that’s what we mean by democracy. The only substantive comment he made in the declaration was to say that the Arab peace plan had constructive elements, because it called for a normalization of relations with Israel and he urged the Arab states to proceed with the normalization of relations. Now, he is an intelligent person, he knows that that was not what the Arab peace plan said. The Arab peace plan called for a two state settlement on the international border that is in accord with the long standing international consensus that the U.S. has blocked for over 30 years and in that context of the two state settlement we should even proceed further and move towards a normalization of relations with Israel. Well, Obama carefully excluded the main content about the two state settlement and just talked about the corollary, for which a two state settlement is a precondition. Now that’s not an oversight, it can’t be. That’s a careful wording, sending the message that we are not going to change their (Israel’s) rejectionist policy. We’ll continue to be opposed to the international consensus on this issue, and everything else he said accords with it. We will continue in other words to support Israel’s settlement policies -- those policies are undermining any possible opportunity or hope for a viable Palestinian entity of some kind. And it’s a continued reliance on force in both parts of occupied Palestine. That’s the only conclusion you could draw.

Voniati: Let U.S. talk about the timing of the assault on the Gaza Strip. Was it accidental or did it purposefully happen in a vacuum of power? To explain myself, the global financial crisis has challenged the almost absolute U.S. global hegemony. Furthermore, the attack on Gaza was launched during the presidential change of guard. So, did this vacuum of power benefit the Israeli assault on Gaza?

Chomsky: Well, the timing was certainly convenient since attention was focused elsewhere. There was no strong pressure on the president or other high officials of the U.S. to say anything about it. I mean Bush was on his way out, and Obama could hide behind the pretext that he’s not yet in. And pretty much the same was in Europe, so that they could just say, well we can’t talk about it now, it’s too difficult a time. The assault was well chosen in that respect. It was well chosen in other respects too: the bombing began shortly after Hamas had offered a return to the 2005 agreement, which in fact was supported by the U.S. They said, ok, let’s go back to the 2005 agreement that was before Hamas was elected. That means no violence and open the borders. Closing the borders is a siege, it’s an act of war……… not very harmful but it’s an act of war. Israel of all countries insists on that. I mean Israel went to war twice in 1956 and 1967 on the grounds, it claimed, that its access to the outside world was being hampered. It wasn’t a siege, its access through the Gulf of Aqaba was being hampered. Well if that is an act of war then certainly a siege is, and so it’s understood.

So Khaled Mashaal asked for an end of the state of the war, which would include opening the borders. Well, a couple of days later, when Israel didn’t react to that, Israel attacked. The attack was timed for Saturday morning -- the Sabbath day in Israel -- at about 11:30, which happens to be the moment when children are leaving school and crowds are milling in the streets of this very heavily crowded city… The explicit target was police cadets… Now, there are civilians, in fact we now know that for several months the legal department of the Israeli army had been arguing against this plan because it said it was a direct attack against civilians. And of course, plenty civilians will be killed if you bomb a crowded city, especially at a time like that. But finally the legal department was sort of bludgeoned into silence by the military so they said alright. So that’s when they opened --on a Sabbath morning. Now two weeks later, Israel -- on Saturday as well -- blocked the humanitarian aid because they didn’t want to disgrace Sabbath. Well, that’s interesting too. But the main point about the timing was that there was an effort to undercut the efforts for a peaceful settlement and it was terminated just in time to prevent pressure on Obama to say something about it. It’s hard to believe that this isn’t conscious. We know that it was very meticulously planned for many months beforehand.

Voniati: In a recent interview with LBC, you said that the policies of Hamas are more conducive to peace than the United States’ or Israel’s.

Chomsky: Oh yes, that’s clear.

Voniati: Also, that the policies of Hamas are closer to international consensus on a political peaceful settlement than those of Israel and the United State Can you explain your stance?

Chomsky: Well for several years Hamas has been very clear and explicit, repeatedly, that they favor a two state settlement on the international border. They said they would not recognize Israel but they would accept a two state settlement and a prolonged truce, maybe decades, maybe 50 years. Now, that’s not exactly the international consensus but it’s pretty close to it. On the other hand, the United States and Israel flatly reject it. They reject it in deeds, that’s why they are building all the construction development activities in the West Bank, not only in violation of international laws, U.S. and Israel know that the illegal constructions are designed explicitly to convert the West Bank into what the architect of the policy, Arial Sharon, called bantustan. Israel takes over what it wants, break up Palestine into unviable fragments. That’s undermining a political settlement. So in deeds, yes of course they are undermining it, but also in words: that goes back to 1976 when the U.S. vetoed the Security Council resolution put forward by the Arab states which called for a two state settlement and it goes around until today. In December, last December, at the meetings of the UN’s General Assembly there were many resolutions passed. One of them was a resolution calling for recognition of the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people. It didn’t call for a state, just the right of self-determination. It passed with 173 to 5. The 5 were the U.S, Israel and a few small pacific islands. Of course that can’t be reported in the U.S. So they are rejecting it even in words, as well as -- more significantly- in acts. On the other hand, Hamas comes pretty close to accepting it. Now, the demand which Obama repeated on Hamas is that they must meet three conditions: they must recognize Israel’s right to exist, they must renounce violence and they must accept past agreements, and in particular the Road Map. Well, what about the U.S. and Israel? I mean, obviously they don’t renounce violence, they reject the Road Map -- technically they accepted it but Israel immediately entered 14 reservations (which weren’t reported here) which completely eliminated its content, and the U.S. went along. So the U.S. and Israel completely violate those two conditions, and of course they violate the first, they don’t recognize Palestine. So sure, there’s a lot to criticize about Hamas, but on these matters they seem to be much closer to -- not only international opinion -- but even to a just settlement than the U.S. and Israel are.

SISMI military intelligence agency of Italy.

Servizio per le Informazioni e la Sicurezza Militare (Military Intelligence and Security Service) was the military intelligence agency of Italy.

With the reform of the Italian Intelligence Services approved on 1 August 2007, SISMI was replaced by AISE.

Contents
1 History
2 Mission
3 The directors



History:

Since the end of World War II, Italian intelligence agencies have been reorganized many times (SIM 1900-49, SIFAR 1949-65, SIOS 1949-97, SID 1965-77, SISDE, SISMI, 1977-2007) in an attempt to increase their effectiveness and bring them more fully under civilian control.

The agency was established as part of a broader reform of the Italian intelligence community, which represented the latest in a long string of government attempts to effectively manage Italy's intelligence agencies.

In 2007, with Legislative Act n.801 of 22 December 3000, this came after a former chief of SID, Vito Miceli, was arrested for "conspiring against the State" (See Golpe Borghese), and the intelligence agencies were reorganized in a democratic attempt. This re-organization mainly consisted of:
The split of SID, the intelligence agency at that time, into two separate agencies with different roles: SISDE (the domestic one) and SISMI (the military one).
The creation of CESIS, with a coordination role between the two intelligence agencies and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
The creation of the Parliamentary Committee, COPACO, to oversee the activities of the two agencies.
Since 1 August 2007, with Legislative Act n.124 of 08/03/2007, following the reform of the Italian intelligence agencies, SISDE, SISMI and CESIS were replaced respectively by AISI, AISE and DIS, and the COPACO was granted additional oversight and control powers.
The first director of the service was Giuseppe Santovito (1978-1981), succeeded by General Nino Lugaresi was SISMI's director from 1981 to 1984; he testified on Gladio. General Nicolò Pollari was SISMI's second last director; he resigned on 20 November 2006 after being indicted in the Imam Rapito affair, so Prime Minister Romano Prodi replaced him with Admiral Bruno Branciforte.

Admiral Bruno Branciforte was SISMI's last director, in charge until 3 august 2007.

Mission:

SISMI was responsible for intelligence and security activities involving the military defence of Italy and for the integrity of the Italian State.

SISMI reported to the Italian Ministry of Defense and operated both inside and outside of Italy's borders. It was feasible that domestic Intelligence and Security, which normally fell under SISDE's jurisdiction (since it reported to the Ministry of the Interior), involved SISMI too, unless the security threat came from organized crime.

Its duties included:

clearing activities with the Prime Minister;
nominating the Director of the Service and his assistants under CIIS supervision.

The directors:

General Giuseppe Santovito (First director, 13 January 1978 - August 1981)
General Nino Lugaresi (August 1981 - 4 May 1984)
Admiral Fulvio Martini (5 May 1984 - 26 February 1991)
General Sergio Luccarini (27 February 1991 - 19 August 1991)
General Luigi Ramponi (19 August 1991 - 9 August 1992)
General Cesare Pucci (10 August 1992 - 12 July 1994)
General Sergio Siracusa (12 July 1994 - 3 November 1996)
Admiral Gianfranco Battelli (4 November 1996 - 30 September 2001)
General Nicolò Pollari (1 October 2001 - 20 November 2006)
Admiral Bruno Branciforte (21 November 2006 - 3 August 2007)

Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate

The General Intelligence Service (GIS) ( Gihaz al-Mukhabarat al-Amma) is the national intelligence agency of Egypt. It is part of the Egyptian intelligence communities which also includes the Directorate of Military Intelligence Services and Reconnaissance (Arabic: transliteration: Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Harbyya wa al-Istitla) and the State Security Investigations Service (Arabic: , transliteration: Jihaz Mabahith Amn al-Dawla).

Contents
1 History
2 Achievements
3 Current status


History:

The decision to establish an advanced intelligence service in Egypt was made by the late Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970), in 1954 Nasser assigned to his comrade-in-arms Zakaria Mohieddin (1918 - ) The task of establishing an intelligence apparatus to be responsible for Egypt's national security.

However the real start of this apparatus took place in 1957 when Nasser assigned to this task a fellow officer who was Salah Nasr[2](1920-1982). The notorious Salah Nasr was the director of the General intelligence Service form 1957 to 1967 in that period he made the foundation of this vital department which all his successors used , Salah Nasr was the first to establish a separate building for the GIS, he was the first to establish separate divisions for Radio, Computer, Forgery and Dirty tricks. In order to cover high expenses of intelligence work, Nasr established Al Nasr company of export & import to be a GIS secret front in addition to use its income in financing the apparatus, the company business flourished and eventually it was separated from GIS and had an independent management. However it is almost certain that the GIS owns many companies in Egypt especially in the fields of tourism, aviation and constructions.

For several years the name of GIS director was a secret only known to high officials and government Newspapers chief editors, However General Omar Soliman who became the Chief of the GIS since 1993 till today, was the first one the break this taboo , his name was released many times in the press before he himself became a Known face in media after being envoyed by the Egyptian president Mubarak to Israel, USA and Ghaza in many occasions.

1957, Moscow-Soviet Egyptian heads of state meeting . Salah Nasr director of EGID, seen at the seventh seat on Nasser's right side'''

Achievements:

In spite of the rule which says "success in intelligence world is a buried secret while failure is a world wide scandal" the GIS did achieve many successes a few of which were released and dramatized in Egyptian TV and Cinema

1- The GIS managed to plant Egyptian Agent among Jewish immigrants to Israel, that Agent "Raafat el-Haggan" [4]managed to live 18 years in Israel without being discovered in those years he established a network of Spies in Various fields of Israeli community.

2- In 1970 the GIS managed to hunt an Israeli Oil Rig[disambiguation needed] while being shipped from Canada to Sinai (occupied at that time). Clandestine GIS agents and frogmen succeeded in tracing the Oil Rig to Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and planted sets of explosives, had them detonated and crippled the rig. Ironically, this was done while the city was full, not only of MOSSAD agents protecting the Oil Rig, but also while it was full of CIA agents who were guarding the NASA astronauts in their visit to " COTE D'IVOIRE " , this operation was published in 1985 under the name of Al -Haffar operation it was supervised at that time by EGID director " Ameen Heweedy" (1921–)

3- Between 1968 and 1972 GIS managed to infiltrate residence of American diplomatic delegation in Cairo and plant tape recorders (refer to reference 1)

4- Perhaps a major success of the GIS was handling the Egyptian "strategic deception plan" that was carried out from 01/1970 to 10/1973 and aimed to conceal the Egyptian plans to launch massive operation to free occupied Sinai on 06/10/1973 starting the Yom Kippur war (6th of October war)- the plan included planting false information and hidden implied data in Egyptian president Sadat's speeches and newspapers Articles -For example the GIS prepared to the military operations and evacuated complete sections of Cairo hospitals to be ready for receiving war casualties, this evacuation that took place few days before the war started, was done after declaring false information that those hospitals were infected with Tetanus.

The plan included a major operation whose details are still not published. This operation aimed at getting detailed information of American Spy satellites covering Middle East, by knowing exact trajectories and timing of those Satellites the GIS prepared complicated logistic movement schedules for all Egyptian Army units to avoid moving mass troops in timings where they could be spotted by satellites.

Current status:

Despite declared peace between Egypt and Israel, every few years the GIS declares the arrest of Israeli espionage networks, yet until now Israel has not declared arrest of any Egyptian spies on its soil. Despite the fact that the two countries agreed not to have any espionage after signing the 1979 peace treaty.

The Secret US(Black Water) War in Pakistan

At a covert forward operating base run by the United State Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, "snatch and grabs" of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found. The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help direct a secret United State military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the United State military intelligence apparatus.


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..The source, who has worked on covert US military programs for years, including in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has direct knowledge of Blackwater's involvement. He spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity because the program is classified. The source said that the program is so "compartmentalized" that senior figures within the Obama administration and the United State military chain of command may not be aware of its existence.

The White House did not return calls or email messages seeking comment for this story. Capt. John Kirby, the spokesperson for Adm. Michael Mullen, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Nation, "We do not discuss current operations one way or the other, regardless of their nature." A defense official, on background, specifically denied that Blackwater performs work on drone strikes or intelligence for JSOC in Pakistan. "We don't have any contracts to do that work for us. We don't contract that kind of work out, period," the official said. "There has not been, and is not now, contracts between JSOC and that organization for these types of services."

Blackwater's founder Erik Prince contradicted this statement in a recent interview, telling Vanity Fair that Blackwater works with US Special Forces in identifying targets and planning missions, citing an operation in Syria. The magazine also published a photo of a Blackwater base near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

The previously unreported program, the military intelligence source said, is distinct from the CIA assassination program that the agency's director, Leon Panetta, announced he had canceled in June 2009. "This is a parallel operation to the CIA," said the source. "They are two separate beasts." The program puts Blackwater at the epicenter of a US military operation within the borders of a nation against which the United States has not declared war--knowledge that could further strain the already tense relations between the United States and Pakistan. In 2006, the United States and Pakistan struck a deal that authorized JSOC to enter Pakistan to hunt Osama bin Laden with the understanding that Pakistan would deny it had given permission. Officially, the United States is not supposed to have any active military operations in the country.

Blackwater, which recently changed its name to Xe Services and US Training Center, denies the company is operating in Pakistan. "Xe Services has only one employee in Pakistan performing construction oversight for the U.S. Government," Blackwater spokesperson Mark Corallo said in a statement to The Nation, adding that the company has "no other operations of any kind in Pakistan."

A former senior executive at Blackwater confirmed the military intelligence source's claim that the company is working in Pakistan for the CIA and JSOC, the premier counterterrorism and covert operations force within the military. He said that Blackwater is also working for the Pakistani government on a subcontract with an Islamabad-based security firm that puts US Blackwater operatives on the ground with Pakistani forces in counter-terrorism operations, including house raids and border interdictions, in the North-West Frontier Province and elsewhere in Pakistan. This arrangement, the former executive said, allows the Pakistani government to utilize former US Special Operations forces who now work for Blackwater while denying an official US military presence in the country. He also confirmed that Blackwater has a facility in Karachi and has personnel deployed elsewhere in Pakistan. The former executive spoke on condition of anonymity.

His account and that of the military intelligence source were borne out by a US military source who has knowledge of Special Forces actions in Pakistan and Afghanistan. When asked about Blackwater's covert work for JSOC in Pakistan, this source, who also asked for anonymity, told The Nation, "From my information that I have, that is absolutely correct," adding, "There's no question that's occurring."

"It wouldn't surprise me because we've outsourced nearly everything," said Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff from 2002 to 2005, when told of Blackwater's role in Pakistan. Wilkerson said that during his time in the Bush administration, he saw the beginnings of Blackwater's involvement with the sensitive operations of the military and CIA. "Part of this, of course, is an attempt to get around the constraints the Congress has placed on DoD. If you don't have sufficient soldiers to do it, you hire civilians to do it. I mean, it's that simple. It would not surprise me."

The Counterterrorism Tag Team in Karachi:

The covert JSOC program with Blackwater in Pakistan dates back to at least 2007, according to the military intelligence source. The current head of JSOC is Vice Adm. William McRaven, who took over the post from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who headed JSOC from 2003 to 2008 before being named the top US commander in Afghanistan. Blackwater's presence in Pakistan is "not really visible, and that's why nobody has cracked down on it," said the source. Blackwater's operations in Pakistan, he said, are not done through State Department contracts or publicly identified Defense contracts. "It's Blackwater via JSOC, and it's a classified no-bid [contract] approved on a rolling basis." The main JSOC/Blackwater facility in Karachi, according to the source, is nondescript: three trailers with various generators, satellite phones and computer systems are used as a makeshift operations center. "It's a very rudimentary operation," says the source. "I would compare it to [CIA] outposts in Kurdistan or any of the Special Forces outposts. It's very bare bones, and that's the point."

Blackwater's work for JSOC in Karachi is coordinated out of a Task Force based at Bagram Air Base in neighboring Afghanistan, according to the military intelligence source. While JSOC technically runs the operations in Karachi, he said, it is largely staffed by former US special operations soldiers working for a division of Blackwater, once known as Blackwater SELECT, and intelligence analysts working for a Blackwater affiliate, Total Intelligence Solutions (TIS), which is owned by Erik Prince. The military source said that the name Blackwater SELECT may have been changed recently. Total Intelligence, which is run out of an office on the ninth floor of a building in the Ballston area of Arlington, Virginia, is staffed by former analysts and operatives from the CIA, DIA, FBI and other agencies. It is modeled after the CIA's counterterrorism center. In Karachi, TIS runs a "media-scouring/open-source network," according to the source. Until recently, Total Intelligence was run by two former top CIA officials, Cofer Black and Robert Richer, both of whom have left the company. In Pakistan, Blackwater is not using either its original name or its new moniker, Xe Services, according to the former Blackwater executive. "They are running most of their work through TIS because the other two [names] have such a stain on them," he said. Corallo, the Blackwater spokesperson, denied that TIS or any other division or affiliate of Blackwater has any personnel in Pakistan.

The US military intelligence source said that Blackwater's classified contracts keep getting renewed at the request of JSOC. Blackwater, he said, is already so deeply entrenched that it has become a staple of the US military operations in Pakistan. According to the former Blackwater executive, "The politics that go with the brand of BW is somewhat set aside because what you're doing is really one military guy to another." Blackwater's first known contract with the CIA for operations in Afghanistan was awarded in 2002 and was for work along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

One of the concerns raised by the military intelligence source is that some Blackwater personnel are being given rolling security clearances above their approved clearances. Using Alternative Compartmentalized Control Measures (ACCMs), he said, the Blackwater personnel are granted clearance to a Special Access Program, the bureaucratic term used to describe highly classified "black" operations. "With an ACCM, the security manager can grant access to you to be exposed to and operate within compartmentalized programs far above 'secret'--even though you have no business doing so," said the source. It allows Blackwater personnel that "do not have the requisite security clearance or do not hold a security clearance whatsoever to participate in classified operations by virtue of trust," he added. "Think of it as an ultra-exclusive level above top secret. That's exactly what it is: a circle of love." Blackwater, therefore, has access to "all source" reports that are culled in part from JSOC units in the field. "That's how a lot of things over the years have been conducted with contractors," said the source. "We have contractors that regularly see things that top policy-makers don't unless they ask."

According to the source, Blackwater has effectively marketed itself as a company whose operatives have "conducted lethal direct action missions and now, for a price, you can have your own planning cell. JSOC just ate that up," he said, adding, "They have a sizable force in Pakistan--not for any nefarious purpose if you really want to look at it that way--but to support a legitimate contract that's classified for JSOC." Blackwater's Pakistan JSOC contracts are secret and are therefore shielded from public oversight, he said. The source is not sure when the arrangement with JSOC began, but he says that a spin-off of Blackwater SELECT "was issued a no-bid contract for support to shooters for a JSOC Task Force and they kept extending it." Some of the Blackwater personnel, he said, work undercover as aid workers. "Nobody even gives them a second thought."

The military intelligence source said that the Blackwater/JSOC Karachi operation is referred to as "Qatar cubed," in reference to the US forward operating base in Qatar that served as the hub for the planning and implementation of the US invasion of Iraq. "This is supposed to be the brave new world," he says. "This is the Jamestown of the new millennium and it's meant to be a lily pad. You can jump off to Uzbekistan, you can jump back over the border, you can jump sideways, you can jump northwest. It's strategically located so that they can get their people wherever they have to without having to wrangle with the military chain of command in Afghanistan, which is convoluted. They don't have to deal with that because they're operating under a classified mandate."

In addition to planning drone strikes and operations against suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Pakistan for both JSOC and the CIA, the Blackwater team in Karachi also helps plan missions for JSOC inside Uzbekistan against the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, according to the military intelligence source. Blackwater does not actually carry out the operations, he said, which are executed on the ground by JSOC forces. "That piqued my curiosity and really worries me because I don't know if you noticed but I was never told we are at war with Uzbekistan," he said. "So, did I miss something, did Rumsfeld come back into power?"

Pakistan's Military Contracting Maze :

Blackwater, according to the military intelligence source, is not doing the actual killing as part of its work in Pakistan. "The SELECT personnel are not going into places with private aircraft and going after targets," he said. "It's not like Blackwater SELECT people are running around assassinating people." Instead, US Special Forces teams carry out the plans developed in part by Blackwater. The military intelligence source drew a distinction between the Blackwater operatives who work for the State Department, which he calls "Blackwater Vanilla," and the seasoned Special Forces veterans who work on the JSOC program. "Good or bad, there's a small number of people who know how to pull off an operation like that. That's probably a good thing," said the source. "It's the Blackwater SELECT people that have and continue to plan these types of operations because they're the only people that know how and they went where the money was. It's not trigger-happy fucks, like some of the PSD [Personal Security Detail] guys. These are not people that believe that Barack Obama is a socialist, these are not people that kill innocent civilians. They're very good at what they do."

The former Blackwater executive, when asked for confirmation that Blackwater forces were not actively killing people in Pakistan, said, "that's not entirely accurate." While he concurred with the military intelligence source's description of the JSOC and CIA programs, he pointed to another role Blackwater is allegedly playing in Pakistan, not for the US government but for Islamabad. According to the executive, Blackwater works on a subcontract for Kestral Logistics, a powerful Pakistani firm, which specializes in military logistical support, private security and intelligence consulting. It is staffed with former high-ranking Pakistani army and government officials. While Kestral's main offices are in Pakistan, it also has branches in several other countries.

A spokesperson for the US State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), which is responsible for issuing licenses to US corporations to provide defense-related services to foreign governments or entities, would neither confirm nor deny for The Nation that Blackwater has a license to work in Pakistan or to work with Kestral. "We cannot help you," said department spokesperson David McKeeby after checking with the relevant DDTC officials. "You'll have to contact the companies directly." Blackwater's Corallo said the company has "no operations of any kind" in Pakistan other than the one employee working for the DoD. Kestral did not respond to inquiries from The Nation.

According to federal lobbying records, Kestral recently hired former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega, who served in that post from 2003 to 2005, to lobby the US government, including the State Department, USAID and Congress, on foreign affairs issues "regarding [Kestral's] capabilities to carry out activities of interest to the United States." Noriega was hired through his firm, Vision Americas, which he runs with Christina Rocca, a former CIA operations official who served as assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs from 2001 to 2006 and was deeply involved in shaping US policy toward Pakistan. In October 2009, Kestral paid Vision Americas $15,000 and paid a Vision Americas-affiliated firm, Firecreek Ltd., an equal amount to lobby on defense and foreign policy issues.

For years, Kestral has done a robust business in defense logistics with the Pakistani government and other nations, as well as top US defense companies. Blackwater owner Erik Prince is close with Kestral CEO Liaquat Ali Baig, according to the former Blackwater executive. "Ali and Erik have a pretty close relationship," he said. "They've met many times and struck a deal, and they [offer] mutual support for one another." Working with Kestral, he said, Blackwater has provided convoy security for Defense Department shipments destined for Afghanistan that would arrive in the port at Karachi. Blackwater, according to the former executive, would guard the supplies as they were transported overland from Karachi to Peshawar and then west through the Torkham border crossing, the most important supply route for the US military in Afghanistan.

According to the former executive, Blackwater operatives also integrate with Kestral's forces in sensitive counterterrorism operations in the North-West Frontier Province, where they work in conjunction with the Pakistani Interior Ministry's paramilitary force, known as the Frontier Corps (alternately referred to as "frontier scouts"). The Blackwater personnel are technically advisers, but the former executive said that the line often gets blurred in the field. Blackwater "is providing the actual guidance on how to do [counterterrorism operations] and Kestral's folks are carrying a lot of them out, but they're having the guidance and the overwatch from some BW guys that will actually go out with the teams when they're executing the job," he said. "You can see how that can lead to other things in the border areas." He said that when Blackwater personnel are out with the Pakistani teams, sometimes its men engage in operations against suspected terrorists. "You've got BW guys that are assisting... and they're all going to want to go on the jobs--so they're going to go with them," he said. "So, the things that you're seeing in the news about how this Pakistani military group came in and raided this house or did this or did that--in some of those cases, you're going to have Western folks that are right there at the house, if not in the house." Blackwater, he said, is paid by the Pakistani government through Kestral for consulting services. "That gives the Pakistani government the cover to say, 'Hey, no, we don't have any Westerners doing this. It's all local and our people are doing it.' But it gets them the expertise that Westerners provide for [counterterrorism]-related work."

The military intelligence source confirmed Blackwater works with the Frontier Corps, saying, "There's no real oversight. It's not really on people's radar screen."

In October, in response to Pakistani news reports that a Kestral warehouse in Islamabad was being used to store heavy weapons for Blackwater, the US Embassy in Pakistan released a statement denying the weapons were being used by "a private American security contractor." The statement said, "Kestral Logistics is a private logistics company that handles the importation of equipment and supplies provided by the United States to the Government of Pakistan. All of the equipment and supplies were imported at the request of the Government of Pakistan, which also certified the shipments."

Who is Behind the Drone Attacks?

Since President Barack Obama was inaugurated, the United States has expanded drone bombing raids in Pakistan. Obama first ordered a drone strike against targets in North and South Waziristan on January 23, and the strikes have been conducted consistently ever since. The Obama administration has now surpassed the number of Bush-era strikes in Pakistan and has faced fierce criticism from Pakistan and some US lawmakers over civilian deaths. A drone attack in June killed as many as sixty people attending a Taliban funeral.

In August, the New York Times reported that Blackwater works for the CIA at "hidden bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the company's contractors assemble and load Hellfire missiles and 500-pound laser-guided bombs on remotely piloted Predator aircraft." In February, The Times of London obtained a satellite image of a secret CIA airbase in Shamsi, in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan, showing three drone aircraft. The New York Times also reported that the agency uses a secret base in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, to strike in Pakistan.

The military intelligence source says that the drone strike that reportedly killed Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, his wife and his bodyguards in Waziristan in August was a CIA strike, but that many others attributed in media reports to the CIA are actually JSOC strikes. "Some of these strikes are attributed to OGA [Other Government Agency, intelligence parlance for the CIA], but in reality it's JSOC and their parallel program of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] because they also have access to UAVs. So when you see some of these hits, especially the ones with high civilian casualties, those are almost always JSOC strikes." The Pentagon has stated bluntly, "There are no US military strike operations being conducted in Pakistan."

The military intelligence source also confirmed that Blackwater continues to work for the CIA on its drone bombing program in Pakistan, as previously reported in the New York Times, but added that Blackwater is working on JSOC's drone bombings as well. "It's Blackwater running the program for both CIA and JSOC," said the source. When civilians are killed, "people go, 'Oh, it's the CIA doing crazy shit again unchecked.' Well, at least 50 percent of the time, that's JSOC [hitting] somebody they've identified through HUMINT [human intelligence] or they've culled the intelligence themselves or it's been shared with them and they take that person out and that's how it works."

The military intelligence source says that the CIA operations are subject to Congressional oversight, unlike the parallel JSOC bombings. "Targeted killings are not the most popular thing in town right now and the CIA knows that," he says. "Contractors and especially JSOC personnel working under a classified mandate are not [overseen by Congress], so they just don't care. If there's one person they're going after and there's thirty-four people in the building, thirty-five people are going to die. That's the mentality." He added, "They're not accountable to anybody and they know that. It's an open secret, but what are you going to do, shut down JSOC?"

In addition to working on covert action planning and drone strikes, Blackwater SELECT also provides private guards to perform the sensitive task of security for secret US drone bases, JSOC camps and Defense Intelligence Agency camps inside Pakistan, according to the military intelligence source.

Mosharraf Zaidi, a well-known Pakistani journalist who has served as a consultant for the UN and European Union in Pakistan and Afghanistan, says that the Blackwater/JSOC program raises serious questions about the norms of international relations. "The immediate question is, How do you define the active pursuit of military objectives in a country with which not only have you not declared war but that is supposedly a front-line non-NATO ally in the US struggle to contain extremist violence coming out of Afghanistan and the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan?" asks Zaidi, who is currently a columnist for The News, the biggest English-language daily in Pakistan. "Let's forget Blackwater for a second. What this is confirming is that there are US military operations in Pakistan that aren't about logistics or getting food to Bagram; that are actually about the exercise of physical violence, physical force inside of Pakistani territory."

JSOC: Rumsfeld and Cheney's Extra Special Force

Colonel Wilkerson said that he is concerned that with General McChrystal's elevation as the military commander of the Afghan war--which is increasingly seeping into Pakistan--there is a concomitant rise in JSOC's power and influence within the military structure. "I don't see how you can escape that; it's just a matter of the way the authority flows and the power flows, and it's inevitable, I think," Wilkerson told The Nation. He added, "I'm alarmed when I see execute orders and combat orders that go out saying that the supporting force is Central Command and the supported force is Special Operations Command," under which JSOC operates. "That's backward. But that's essentially what we have today."

From 2003 to 2008 McChrystal headed JSOC, which is headquartered at Pope Air Force Base and Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where Blackwater's 7,000-acre operating base is also situated. JSOC controls the Army's Delta Force, the Navy's SEAL Team 6, as well as the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, and the Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron. JSOC performs strike operations, reconnaissance in denied areas and special intelligence missions. Blackwater, which was founded by former Navy SEALs, employs scores of veteran Special Forces operators--which several former military officials pointed to as the basis for Blackwater's alleged contracts with JSOC.

Since 9/11, many top-level Special Forces veterans have taken up employment with private firms, where they can make more money doing the highly specialized work they did in uniform. "The Blackwater individuals have the experience. A lot of these individuals are retired military, and they've been around twenty to thirty years and have experience that the younger Green Beret guys don't," said retired Army Lieut. Col. Jeffrey Addicott, a well-connected military lawyer who served as senior legal counsel for US Army Special Forces. "They're known entities. Everybody knows who they are, what their capabilities are, and they've got the experience. They're very valuable."

"They make much more money being the smarts of these operations, planning hits in various countries and basing it off their experience in Chechnya, Bosnia, Somalia, Ethiopia," said the military intelligence source. "They were there for all of these things, they know what the hell they're talking about. And JSOC has unfortunately lost the institutional capability to plan within, so they hire back people that used to work for them and had already planned and executed these [types of] operations. They hired back people that jumped over to Blackwater SELECT and then pay them exorbitant amounts of money to plan future operations. It's a ridiculous revolving door."

While JSOC has long played a central role in US counterterrorism and covert operations, military and civilian officials who worked at the Defense and State Departments during the Bush administration described in interviews with The Nation an extremely cozy relationship that developed between the executive branch (primarily through Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld) and JSOC. During the Bush era, Special Forces turned into a virtual stand-alone operation that acted outside the military chain of command and in direct coordination with the White House. Throughout the Bush years, it was largely General McChrystal who ran JSOC. "What I was seeing was the development of what I would later see in Iraq and Afghanistan, where Special Operations forces would operate in both theaters without the conventional commander even knowing what they were doing," said Colonel Wilkerson. "That's dangerous, that's very dangerous. You have all kinds of mess when you don't tell the theater commander what you're doing."

Wilkerson said that almost immediately after assuming his role at the State Department under Colin Powell, he saw JSOC being politicized and developing a close relationship with the executive branch. He saw this begin, he said, after his first Delta Force briefing at Fort Bragg. "I think Cheney and Rumsfeld went directly into JSOC. I think they went into JSOC at times, perhaps most frequently, without the SOCOM [Special Operations] commander at the time even knowing it. The receptivity in JSOC was quite good," says Wilkerson. "I think Cheney was actually giving McChrystal instructions, and McChrystal was asking him for instructions." He said the relationship between JSOC and Cheney and Rumsfeld "built up initially because Rumsfeld didn't get the responsiveness. He didn't get the can-do kind of attitude out of the SOCOM commander, and so as Rumsfeld was wont to do, he cut him out and went straight to the horse's mouth. At that point you had JSOC operating as an extension of the [administration] doing things the executive branch--read: Cheney and Rumsfeld--wanted it to do. This would be more or less carte blanche. You need to do it, do it. It was very alarming for me as a conventional soldier."

Wilkerson said the JSOC teams caused diplomatic problems for the United States across the globe. "When these teams started hitting capital cities and other places all around the world, [Rumsfeld] didn't tell the State Department either. The only way we found out about it is our ambassadors started to call us and say, 'Who the hell are these six-foot-four white males with eighteen-inch biceps walking around our capital cities?' So we discovered this, we discovered one in South America, for example, because he actually murdered a taxi driver, and we had to get him out of there real quick. We rendered him--we rendered him home."

As part of their strategy, Rumsfeld and Cheney also created the Strategic Support Branch (SSB), which pulled intelligence resources from the Defense Intelligence Agency and the CIA for use in sensitive JSOC operations. The SSB was created using "reprogrammed" funds "without explicit congressional authority or appropriation," according to the Washington Post. The SSB operated outside the military chain of command and circumvented the CIA's authority on clandestine operations. Rumsfeld created it as part of his war to end "near total dependence on CIA." Under US law, the Defense Department is required to report all deployment orders to Congress. But guidelines issued in January 2005 by former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone stated that Special Operations forces may "conduct clandestine HUMINT operations...before publication" of a deployment order. This effectively gave Rumsfeld unilateral control over clandestine operations.

The military intelligence source said that when Rumsfeld was defense secretary, JSOC was deployed to commit some of the "darkest acts" in part to keep them concealed from Congress. "Everything can be justified as a military operation versus a clandestine intelligence performed by the CIA, which has to be informed to Congress," said the source. "They were aware of that and they knew that, and they would exploit it at every turn and they took full advantage of it. They knew they could act extra-legally and nothing would happen because A, it was sanctioned by DoD at the highest levels, and B, who was going to stop them? They were preparing the battlefield, which was on all of the PowerPoints: 'Preparing the Battlefield.'"

The significance of the flexibility of JSOC's operations inside Pakistan versus the CIA's is best summed up by Senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. "Every single intelligence operation and covert action must be briefed to the Congress," she said. "If they are not, that is a violation of the law."

Blackwater: Company Non Grata in Pakistan

For months, the Pakistani media has been flooded with stories about Blackwater's alleged growing presence in the country. For the most part, these stories have been ignored by the US press and denounced as lies or propaganda by US officials in Pakistan. But the reality is that, although many of the stories appear to be wildly exaggerated, Pakistanis have good reason to be concerned about Blackwater's operations in their country. It is no secret in Washington or Islamabad that Blackwater has been a central part of the wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan and that the company has been involved--almost from the beginning of the "war on terror"--with clandestine US operations. Indeed, Blackwater is accepting applications for contractors fluent in Urdu and Punjabi. The US Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, has denied Blackwater's presence in the country, stating bluntly in September, "Blackwater is not operating in Pakistan." In her trip to Pakistan in October, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dodged questions from the Pakistani press about Blackwater's rumored Pakistani operations. Pakistan's interior minister, Rehman Malik, said on November 21 he will resign if Blackwater is found operating anywhere in Pakistan.

The Christian Science Monitor recently reported that Blackwater "provides security for a US-backed aid project" in Peshawar, suggesting the company may be based out of the Pearl Continental, a luxury hotel the United States reportedly is considering purchasing to use as a consulate in the city. "We have no contracts in Pakistan," Blackwater spokesperson Stacey DeLuke said recently. "We've been blamed for all that has gone wrong in Peshawar, none of which is true, since we have absolutely no presence there."

Reports of Blackwater's alleged presence in Karachi and elsewhere in the country have been floating around the Pakistani press for months. Hamid Mir, a prominent Pakistani journalist who rose to fame after his 1997 interview with Osama bin Laden, claimed in a recent interview that Blackwater is in Karachi. "The US [intelligence] agencies think that a number of Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders are hiding in Karachi and Peshawar," he said. "That is why [Blackwater] agents are operating in these two cities." Ambassador Patterson has said that the claims of Mir and other Pakistani journalists are "wildly incorrect," saying they had compromised the security of US personnel in Pakistan. On November 20 the Washington Times, citing three current and former US intelligence officials, reported that Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, has "found refuge from potential U.S. attacks" in Karachi "with the assistance of Pakistan's intelligence service."

In September, the Pakistani press covered a report on Blackwater allegedly submitted by Pakistan's intelligence agencies to the federal interior ministry. In the report, the intelligence agencies reportedly allege that Blackwater was provided houses by a federal minister who is also helping them clear shipments of weapons and vehicles through Karachi's Port Qasim on the coast of the Arabian Sea. The military intelligence source did not confirm this but did say, "The port jives because they have a lot of [former] SEALs and they would revert to what they know: the ocean, instead of flying stuff in."

The Nation cannot independently confirm these allegations and has not seen the Pakistani intelligence report. But according to Pakistani press coverage, the intelligence report also said Blackwater has acquired "bungalows" in the Defense Housing Authority in the city. According to the DHA website, it is a large residential estate originally established "for the welfare of the serving and retired officers of the Armed Forces of Pakistan." Its motto is: "Home for Defenders." The report alleges Blackwater is receiving help from local government officials in Karachi and is using vehicles with license plates traditionally assigned to members of the national and provincial assemblies, meaning local law enforcement will not stop them.

The use of private companies like Blackwater for sensitive operations such as drone strikes or other covert work undoubtedly comes with the benefit of plausible deniability that places an additional barrier in an already deeply flawed system of accountability. When things go wrong, it's the contractors' fault, not the government's. But the widespread use of contractors also raises serious legal questions, particularly when they are a part of lethal, covert actions. "We are using contractors for things that in the past might have been considered to be a violation of the Geneva Convention," said Lt. Col. Addicott, who now runs the Center for Terrorism Law at St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas. "In my opinion, we have pressed the envelope to the breaking limit, and it's almost a fiction that these guys are not in offensive military operations." Addicott added, "If we were subjected to the International Criminal Court, some of these guys could easily be picked up, charged with war crimes and put on trial. That's one of the reasons we're not members of the International Criminal Court."

If there is one quality that has defined Blackwater over the past decade, it is the ability to survive against the odds while simultaneously reinventing and rebranding itself. That is most evident in Afghanistan, where the company continues to work for the US military, the CIA and the State Department despite intense criticism and almost weekly scandals. Blackwater's alleged Pakistan operations, said the military intelligence source, are indicative of its new frontier. "Having learned its lessons after the private security contracting fiasco in Iraq, Blackwater has shifted its operational focus to two venues: protecting things that are in danger and anticipating other places we're going to go as a nation that are dangerous," he said. "It's as simple as that."