OPERATION IN SWAT VALLEY

Operation Rah-e-Rast
Second Battle of Swat:

On May 5, the third phase of the operation started as troops stormed the militant-held valley of Swat. The name of this sub-operation of Black Thunderstorm has been referred to as Operation Rah-e-Rast in Urdu . In more than a month of fighting, by June 15, 106 soldiers and 1,040 militants were killed. Militant fighters were holed up in the emerald mines and in the main town of Swat district, Mingora. The mines were secured by the Army by May 7, but the militants were still holding their positions in Mingora and on a strategic hilltop overlooking the town. Meanwhile, on May 7, in Lower Dir, which was previously declared clear of the Taliban by the military, militants overran a paramilitary fort killing three paramilitary soldiers and capturing 10 policemen. On May 10, troops attacked a Taliban training camp at Banai Baba in Shangla district, which is just east from Swat. In the fighting at Banai Baba the military reported killing 150 militants for the loss of two soldiers. At the same time as the fighting in Shangla, some sporadic fighting was still continuing in Lower Dir where, over four days, 109 more militants were killed. Also, further west, in the Mohmand agency, a group of 300 militants attacked a military outpost, in the fighting that ensued 26 militants were killed and 14 soldiers were wounded. On May 12, Pakistani commandos were inserted by helicopters into the Piochar area, a rear-support base for the militants, in the northern part of the Swat valley to conduct search-and-destroy operations.

By May 15, the Army claimed that Buner was finally completely cleared of Taliban forces, however artillery bombardment of Taliban positions in the hills was still ongoing. And it was reported that the Taliban were more dug in and in larger numbers in Buner than the military previously assumed. Meanwhile, the Pakistani military continued with their push up the Swat valley. As the military approached Mingora, the Taliban were digging in for a "bloody urban battle" against the Pakistani army in a hotly disputed city in the north-western part of the country. The Taliban began concentrating forces in Mingora - digging trenches, laying mines and taking positions on rooftops.

Stratfor, a private firm that describes itself as a global intelligence company, mentioned that it is not clear if the Pakistani military is trained and even equipped to go into a situation like that, adding that even the United States military "would have to think twice" about such an offensive. Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas, who is the spokesman for Pakistan's army said the military intends to drive the Taliban out of the contested area, even if the kind of fighting resembles that of the Battle of Stalingrad. He said that the whole resolve of the government and the military is to once and for all finish the Taliban from the Swat valley. The army has about 15,000 troops on the ground and is estimated that there are still over 5,000 Taliban fighters in the area.

On May 17, heavy street fighting started in the towns of Kanju and Matta and the Army was slowly advancing towards Mingora. Also, a few days later fighting started in the area of the Takhtaband bridge for control of this crossing point. On May 20, a key town in Buner was captured by the Army. The Army captured Sultanwas in fighting which, according to the military, killed one soldier and 80 militants, another nine soldiers were wounded.By May 23, Kanju, Matta and the Takhtaband bridge had been secured by the military, but fighting was still going on in Takhtaband itself and the Buner and Dir districts, where nine more militants were killed. Meanwhile, the military was surrounding the main militant base in the Peochar Valley.

Battle for Mingora:

On May 23, the battle for the capital of Swat, Mingora, started. The street fighting was heavy and it was street-to-street and hand-to-hand. Fighters had dug themselves into bunkers built into hotels and government buildings. On the first day of the battle, fighting was mainly in the center of the city, at the central bus terminal and along the main road near the city's primary gateway. By the next day, the military captured several intersections and three squares, including Green Square, which had been known as "Bloody Intersection", because the Taliban were dumping bodies of people who they executed at that location. Intense fighting was going on in the Nawa Kilay neighbourhood and the western suburb of Qambar.

By May 27, the military took control of 70 percent of the city, including the city's airport, and Taliban forces across Swat were in retreat, but fighting was still continuing. At the same time, in continuing battles in Lower Dir and Shangla, three more soldiers and eight militants were killed.

On May 29, the Army cleared Aman Kot and the Technical Institute College on the Mingora-Kokarai road in Mingora. On the same day, the village of Peochar in the Peochar Valley, as well as the town of Bahrain in the north of Swat, had been taken by the military.

On May 30, the Pakistani military had taken back the city of Mingora from the Taliban, calling it a significant victory in its offensive against the Taliban. However, some sporadic fighting was still continuing on the city's outskirts. Also, sporadic fighting was continuing in the rest of Swat and in the Shangla district where on June 2, two soldiers and five militants were killed.
In the battle for Mingora 286 militants were killed.

Alleged capture of Sufi Muhammad and other leaders:

On June 4, it was reported that Sufi Muhammad, the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi or TNSM, was arrested in Amandarra along with other militant leaders. In the coming days there was confusion over this claim since the Taliban themselves said that Muhammad was missing. However, several days later it was confirmed that Muhammad was not captured and was in hiding, while two of his aides were captured by the Army. Those two aides, Muhammad Maulana Alam and Ameer Izzat Khan, were killed when militants attacked the prison transport they were in on June 7. On 26 July 2009, the government confirmed the arrest of Sufi Mohammad for encouraging violence and terrorism.

OPERATION AGAINST TERRORISM IN PAKISTAN

Operation Black Thunderstorm was an operation that commenced on April 26, 2009 conducted by the Pakistani Army, with the aim of retaking Buner, Lower Dir, Swat and Shangla districts from the Taliban after the militants took control of them since the start of the year.

Background:

A temporary ceasefire was called in the Malakand region on Feb 16, 2009. The provincial government agreed to allow the implementation of Sharia in the region once violence had stopped. Muhammad traveled to Swat to discuss peace with Fazlullah and his followers, who agreed to observe the ceasefire. On Feb 24, 2009 Muslim Khan, spokeperson of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) publicly announced that his group would observe an indefinite ceasefire. The ANP sent the bill to President Asif Ali Zardari, who delayed signing it into law until the "the writ of the government been established." Soon after that the militants expanded their territory into other districts and by mid-April they took Buner, Lower Dir and Shangla. With the Taliban takeover the militants came within 60 miles (97 km) of the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad. This raised the alarm among western countries, particularly the United States, that a collapse of the country and a Taliban takeover was playing out. And the government was highly criticized for making peace deals with the militants. Under pressure from Washington, the Pakistani government launched an operation in late April to retake all territory lost in the previous months.

Operation
Attack on Lower Dir:

Operation Toar Tander-I (Black Thunderstorm-I) began in Lower Dir as the Frontier Corps (FC) killed 26 Taliban, including key commanders Maulana Shahid and Qari Quraish.

The operation was launched on April 26, after the Taliban, in violation of the peace agreement, attacked security forces and government officials and closed roads for the movement of government and FC convoys. In some villages, the Taliban had looted shops and tortured villagers to gain their support, adding that a jirga had also been forced to back them.

Officials said the forces were gaining ground against the Taliban and their hideouts in Kalkot, Islam Dara and Hoshyari Dara were targeted. Paramilitary troops and helicopter gunships bombed suspected Taliban bases during the operation. Eight soldiers and around 50 militants were killed in two days of fighting. The operation mostly cleared the Lower Dir district of Taliban forces by April 28. However, the military was still fighting with pockets of militant resistance in the coming weeks.

Attack on Buner:

The second phase of the operation started the same day as fighting in Lower Dir was dying down. The Pakistan Army's push to retake control of Buner, which was only 100 kilometres (62 mi) away from the capital city Islamabad, started. Pakistani SSG commandos swarmed down ropes from helicopters to enter the town of Daggar, which lies in the strategically important Buna valley to the northwest of Islamabad, killing nearly 50 militants . Pakistan Army leaders hoped to trap about 500 militants in between the airdropped troops and a second force that is advancing on the ground towards Taliban positions at the valley's entrance. The fate of 75 police officers taken hostage by the Taliban in Buner the previous night remained unclear. 18 were rescued the next day but the others were still prisoners. The operation in Daggar came on the third day of the Army's offensive to roll back the Taliban advance that had caused concern not just in Islamabad – which is just 65 miles away – but also in Washington. Major General Athar Abbas, a military spokesman, told reporters in Rawalpindi that the Army and Frontier Corps paramilitary units launched the operation in Buner district, building on a several-day offensive in the region. Abbas said an estimated 450 to 500 Taliban are believed active in Buner, many believed to be engaged in "criminal activities."

The US had been repeatedly pressing the Pakistan government to take action, fearful that the militants were gaining too much ground and might even use Buner as a bridgehead for an attack on the capital city.

On May 2, another 10 soldiers were captured in Buner. The military confirmed that some 87 militants and four soldiers had been killed in fighting in the district between April 28 and May 4. The military also stated that its troops were confronted during the fighting with wave attacks of suicide car-bombers. At least 27 suicide bombers were killed in the fighting. By May 5, troops started to push back the Taliban militants in Buner.

Alleged capture of Sufi Muhammad and other leaders:

On June 4, it was reported that Sufi Muhammad, the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi or TNSM, was arrested in Amandarra along with other militant leaders. In the coming days there was confusion over this claim since the Taliban themselves said that Muhammad was missing. However, several days later it was confirmed that Muhammad was not captured and was in hiding, while two of his aides were captured by the Army. Those two aides, Muhammad Maulana Alam and Ameer Izzat Khan, were killed when militants attacked the prison transport they were in on June 7. On 26 July 2009, the government confirmed the arrest of Sufi Mohammad for encouraging violence and terrorism.

AIRBORN WARNING AND CONTROL SYSTEM (AWACS)

The E-3 airborne warning and control system (AWACS) is built by Boeing Defense & Space Group. The role of the E-3 is to carry out airborne surveillance, and command, control and communications (C3) functions for both tactical and air defence forces.
In the USA the aircraft carries the designation E-3 AWACS. The UK designation is E-3 Sentry AEW (airborne early warning) and the French designation is E-3 SDA.
The E-3 entered service in 1977. 32 aircraft are in service with the USAF, seven with the UK Royal Air Force, four with the French Air Force and five with Saudi Arabia.
"The role of the E-3 is to carry out airborne surveillance, and command, control and communications (C3) functions."The Nato airborne early warning force, established in 1980, has a fleet of 17 E-3A aircraft.
The E3 look-down radar has a 360° view of the horizon, and at operating altitudes has a range of more than 320km. The radar can detect and track air and sea targets simultaneously.
In a tactical role, the E-3 can detect and track hostile aircraft operating at low altitudes over any terrain, and can identify and control friendly aircraft in the same airspace. In the strategic defence role, the E-3 provides the means to detect, identify, track and intercept airborne threats.
During the 1990 to 1991 Operation Desert Storm, 845 AWACS sorties were flown and Nato E-3s have also played a major role in the United Nations' enforcement of the no-fly zone over Bosnia and during the Kosovo crisis. AWACS aircraft were also used by the USAF during Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2001 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
The USAF Block 30/35 modernisation programme included the following upgrades: provision of GPS (global positioning system) navigation, enhanced computer memory, installation of a JTIDS (joint tactical distribution system) Class II terminal and ESM (electronic support measures) equipment.
The USAF Block 40/45 upgrade programme includes new open architecture PC-based mission systems, upgraded communications and navigation systems and enhanced electronic support measures. Boeing was awarded the system development and design (SDD) contract for the programme in 2003 and the first flight of the upgraded aircraft was in July 2006. The SDD phase was successfully completed in Sep 2008 and a production contract is expected in 2009. Initial operational capability of five aircraft is scheduled for 2010. Full operational capability of all 32 aircraft in the USAF fleet is scheduled for 2016.
In Jan 2006, Boeing and Lockheed Martin were awarded contracts to conduct technology demonstrations to upgrade the mission systems on the UK Royal Air Force's seven E-3D Sentry AWACS, under the Project Eagle programme. One contractor will be chosen in 2009.
In Sep 2007, Boeing was awarded a contract to upgrade the communications systems of Saudi Arabian fleet of five E-3 AWACS aircraft with Link 16 secure digital datalink. The first was completed in July 2008. In Dec 2007, Saudi Arabia requested the sale of upgraded mission equipment for five aircraft including the Radar System Improvement Program (RSIP) kits.
In Sep 2008, France requested the upgrade of its four aircraft to the Block 40/45 configuration.
E-3 aircraft
The aircraft has four flight crew (two pilots, navigator and flight engineer) and E3B and C aircraft have 18 AWACS officers and crew, the E-3A 13.
"The basic E-3 aircraft is a militarised version of the Boeing707-320B commercial jet airframe."The basic E-3 aircraft is a militarised version of the Boeing 707-320B commercial jet airframe, distinguished by the addition of a large, rotating rotodome containing the main radar, identification friend or foe (IFF) and data-link fighter-control (TADIL-C) antennas.
The layout of the equipment in the fuselage is arranged in bays with areas allocated for communications, signal and data processing, command and control consoles, navigation and target identification systems.
The signal and data processing is carried out on a high-speed powerful IBM 4PiCC-1 computer.
The aircraft is equipped with 14 command and control consoles fitted with high-resolution colour displays supplied by Hazeltine.
In Nov 2006, Northrop Grumman were awarded a contract to provide the AN/AAQ-24 large aircraft infrared countermeasures (LAIRCM) self-protection system for the Nato fleet of 17 E-3A AWACS. The installation is due to be completed by Dec 2009.
Radar
The primary radar housed in the rotodome is the Northrop Grumman AN/APY-1/2 AWACS radar. The radar transmitters, computers and display stations are housed within the fuselage.
The radome scans at six revolutions a minute. When the radar is not operating the radome rotation rate is set at one revolution every four minutes. The radar is multi-mode using powerful interleaving and de-interleaving algorithms.
The main operating modes are: pulse Doppler non-elevation scan (PDNES) for surveillance of airborne targets; pulse Doppler elevation scan (PDES) to determine the target elevation; beyond the horizon pulse radar mode; receive only mode for passive operation; maritime mode which uses very short pulse width for the detection of surface ships; and standby mode.
Boeing, with the electronic sensors and systems division of Northrop Grumman as subcontractor, have carried out an E-3 AWACS radar system improvement programme (RSIP) which upgrades the capability of the AN/APY-1/2 against threats from small radar cross section targets, cruise missiles and electronic countermeasures.
The improvement in sensitivity against small and stealthy targets is being achieved through the installation of a new surveillance radar computer (SRC) to replace the digital Doppler processor and radar correlator, and the translation of the associated software into ADA language. RSIP installation was completed on the Nato (17) and UK (seven) aircraft in 2000 and on the 32 USAF E-3 AWACS in April 2005.
The AN/APX-103 interrrogator, supplied by the Telephonics Corporation, provides both civil and military identification friend or foe (IFF) operation and instantaneously provides a data set on all targets within the radar range. The data includes IFF status, range, azimuth and elevation position and code identification.
"The primary radar housed in the rotodome is the Northrop Grumman AN/APY-1/2 AWACS radar."Engines
The USA and Nato E-3 AWACS aircraft are powered by four Pratt and Whitney TF-33-PW-100/100A turbofan, 21,000lb-thrust jet engines, mounted in pods under the wings. The E-3 AWACS aircraft for Saudi Arabia, UK and France are powered by four CFM International CFM-56-2A-2/3 turbofan engines, developing 24,000lb thrust. The higher power CFM-56 engines allow aircraft operation at higher altitudes, extending the horizon for radar surveillance.
The fuel tanks in the wings have a capacity of 90,500l which give an unrefuelled range of more than 9,250km and a flight endurance of 11 hours. For increased range the aircraft is equipped with an in-flight refuelling probe and receptacle.

SQUADRON OF JF 17

`KAMRA: The first squadron of fighter jet JF 17- Thunder has been inducted in Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fleet on Thursday.
Chief of Air Staff Rao Qamar Suleman was the chief guest of the ceremony held at PAF airbase Kamra.
In his address, Air Chief has congratulated the nation and said it is a historic day for PAF and entire nation.

Indian Institute of Science

Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are jointly developing a recoverable hypersonic missile, actually a reusable space vehicle, which can be used in space as a missile-warhead launcher, a satellite launcher, or even a killer to satellites. This is a technology hitherto unavailable in any other country.

Indian scientists did not unveil the time frame of completing this marvellous project. The space vehicle plus the warhead it carries will be half the size of the current missiles. The warhead carried by the vehicle will hit target over 5,000km away at a speed of 5 Mach. After dropping the weapon, the space carrier can come back to its base like an aircraft. Currently, Indian longest-range missile, Agni III, is able to hit targets 3,500km away.

The vehicle will also be used to economically launch satellites in space. Under the same theory, analysts believe that this vehicle will also be capable of destroying a satellite in space with the warhead it carries, although Indian scientists did not mention any utilization about this.

PAKISTAN'S MISSILES

Ghauri Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM)(Hatf V)
Range: 1,500km (2,500km Hatf-Va), Payload: 700-1,200kgAlthough the 750km range of the Shaheen-I was ample to assure nuclear deterrence against India, being able to threaten New Delhi, and even reach Mumbai from the South Eastern tip of Pakistan, Pakistan wanted a longer ranged missile. The 1,500km (some source 1,400km) ranged Ghuari-I missile could range over most of India from Pakistani territory. This was promptly followed up by an enhanced version capable of firing 2,500km.
The Ghauri family is essentially the North Korean NoDong type and represents the technological safeguard against the more advanced indigenous Shaheen program. Having said that, the Ghauri appears to have got the spotlight relative to its more potent stable mate.
Shaheen II

Range: 2,500km, Payload: 1,000kgAlthough the name implies a close relative of the Shaheen-I, the Shaheen-II is in fact quite different in almost every detail, though most noticeable is the fact that it is much larger being divided into two stages. The fins are also completely different and the TEL is necessarily much longer.
The 2,500km range Shaheen-II is in my estimation the most potent ballistic missile in Pakistani service, being able much quicker to ready and fire than the Ghauri because of its solid-fuel motor.
Babur Cruise Missile (Hatf VII)
Range: 700km, Payload: 300-500kgDeveloped from technology acquired when several US Tomahawk cruise missile enroot to Taliban targets in Afghanistan crashed in Pakistan, the Babur appears to be a very credible cruise missile.
The initial trials version was launched from a single rail trailer mounted launcher that elevated to nearly vertical for firing. This launcher was also displayed at IDEAS06 defense exhibition with a dummy missile.Although it is possible that this design is also used for some in-service units, the folding tail fins of the Bubar prove that it was always intended for compact box or tube launch. The main in-service Bubar unit carries four missiles mounted on an off-road truck chassis similar to those used by Pakistan’s ballistic missiles, although in this case the cab is similar to that of the Chinese M-11. Although it’s not yet clear whether the missile will be fired vertically, I don’t think that is the case after looking at the launcher in more detail. The framework around the box launchers appears to be for some form of hording.

Thunder (Ra’ad ) Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM)(Hatf-VIII)
Range: 350kg, Payload: 300-500kg (est)The Ra’ad is significantly smaller than the Babur, at approximately 5.25m in length, making it much better suited to combat aircraft.Although the Babur could be carried by aircraft it is too large for most in an operational setting. The Hatf-VIII is likely to be carried by Mirage-III fighter bombers on the centerline hardpoint, but cold be carried by F-16s and potentially JF-17s in the future. It’s too large for the PAF’s F-7s and A-5s. The Hatf-VIII is the PAF’s first serious long ranged standoff weapon, giving them reach over most of India, albeit under resistance from Indian forces. It is not clear whether it will carry nuclear warheads – conventional seems more likely – but it may get nuclear warheads simply for political purposes with the Air Force playing their role in Pakistan’s deterrence.

World powerful countries

We definitely know the USA is the world's superpower, its annual military budget alone is more than the rest of the world combined. The rise of other nations such as China, India, Russia in the 21st century however, spark curiosity of what's going on in the next ranks. The rankings below compile the data and information from military databases websites.
The rankings take into account mobilization capability, quality of equipments and weapons, leadership efficiency, availability and quality of military manpower, economy/industrial capability, active military manpower, quality of training, morale, military budget, experience, logistics support, and military readiness.
Army and Air force (Land Power) Combat Rank:

1. USA:

Armed Forces Power: 10000

Population: 308 millions

GDP: $14.27 trillion

Note: World largest military budget
2. China:

Armed Forces Power: 2757

Population: 1.34 billion

GDP: $4.76 trillion

Note: World biggest standing army
3. India:

Armed Forces Power: 2290

Population: 1.18 billion

GDP: $1.24 trillion

Note: World biggest IT hub
4. Israel:

Armed Forces Power: 2098

Population: 7.5 million

GDP: $215.7 billion

Note: World best trained and most sophisticated airforce
5. Russia:

Armed Forces Power: 1726

Population: 142 million

GDP: $1.26 trillion

Note: World largest nuclear warheads stockpile
6. United Kingdom:

Armed Forces Power: 1037

Population: 62 million

GDP: $2.2 trillion

Note: Military treaties all over the world
7. Turkey:

Armed Forces Power: 972

Population: 73 million

GDP: $594 billion

Note: Europe largest army
8. South Korea

Population: 50 million

GDP: $800 billion

Armed Forces Power: 920
9. Pakistan:

Population: 169 million

GDP: $167 billion

Armed Forces Power: 699
10. North Korea:

Armed Forces Power: 688

Population: 24 million

GDP: $28 billion

Note: World highest per capital military spending - 33% national income spend on military

Top Five World’s Special Forces

5 U. S. Army Green Berets


That’s their nickname. Technically they are the United State Army Special Forces, as opposed to the special forces of other countries, many of which also wear green berets.

Typically, the Green Berets are trained to administer “unconventional warfare,” which entails infiltrating a hostile area in anticipation of a large-scale military engagement, and training the local resistance populations to fight back against the enemy. This was done in South Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, among others.

In the event that there is no local resistance to the enemy, the Green Berets infiltrate and soften up the enemy by “neutralizing” as many of its officers as possible. This usually involved sniping and throat cutting.

Training is very extensive and begins with the Army’s assessment of the recruit’s possession of 12 attributes: intelligence, physical fitness, motivation, trustworthiness, accountability, maturity, stability, judgment, decisiveness, teamwork, influence, and communications. 40% of applicants satisfy the Army that they have these attributes.

Final training consists of various endurance courses, carrying heavy backpacks over 40 miles of rugged terrain, with nothing but a live chicken and a knife, day and night. If the recruit can make a fire, he can eat the chicken cooked. He is not given matches or a lighter. He is allowed only a compass and his own hand-drawn map, completed from earlier reconnaissance courses.


4 The Delta Force


The only official United States counter-terrorism unit, dedicated to hostage rescues, counter-insurgency, and general counter-terrorism. They’re full name is 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, managed by the Army. Selection is done according to a physical fitness test: situps, pushups, followed by a 3-mile run, in an undisclosed time limit.

Then an all-night, 18-mile hike over mountainous terrain with a 35 lb backpack and a compass, no map. This finally culminated with a 40-mile hike with a 45 lb backpack, in a shorter time limit.

Then psychologists conduct a grueling battery of mental exams on the recruit to try to break him into confusion. If he passes this, he actually gets to begin Delta Force training, for 6 months. Firearms, heavy weaponry, elite hand-to-hand training.


3 Shayetet 13


The name means “Flotilla 13,” and their official motto is the same as the Israeli military: “Never Again,” in reference to the Holocaust. Their unofficial motto, as they like to joke, is “When the going gets tough, the Jews get pissed.”

They are 1 of the 3 most elite Israeli special forces units, but Shayetet 13 is the unit most similar to the Delta Force. They specialize in hostage rescue and counter-terrorism, and because they live so close to a host of nations that seem bent on eradicating them, they are at all times ready in an instant to travel abroad and kill. They are very secretive, but of their missions publicized, the most notable include Operation Spring of Youth, in which they hunted down members of Black September in Beirut Lebanon and killed them, in revenge for the 1972 Munich massacre.

Apart from their firearms and heavy weapons training, they train extensively in Krav Maga, the national martial art of Israel, to which they endearingly refer as “Jew-jitsu.” It’s philosophy is based on the principle that in a real street fight no quarter will be asked or given. Fight to kill. Groin strikes are quite prevalent.


2 Navy SEALs


You might think there are a lot of them, given the number of action movies dedicated to the plot device of an invincible warrior, but there are only about 2,000 of them. They are the Unites States’s most elite special warfare combatants. They are trained in all the fields in which the other U. S. special forces are trained, but to an even higher degree of competency.

SEAL training lasts over a year, and requires an age of between 17 and 28 years, male, incorrect vision no worse than 20/200 in either eye, and correctable to 20/20, and the physical screening test, which is beyond belief.

500 yd (460 m) swim using breast or combat sidestroke in under 12:30 with a competitive time of under 10:30.

At least 42 push-ups in 2 minutes with a competitive count of 79 or more.

At least 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes with a competitive count of 79 or more.

At least 6 pull-ups from a dead hang (no time limit) with a competitive count of 11 or more.

Run 1.5 mi (2.4 km) in boots and trousers in under 11:30 with a competitive time of 10:20 or less.

Then training begins. Physical conditioning, diving, land warfare, for 24 weeks, then 26 more weeks of SEAL qualification training. Then specialization in whatever fields a SEAL team needs expertise in: anything from sniper to language specialist, rope climbing, diving, jumpmaster, surreptitious entry, dynamic entry (door breacher), etc.


1 British SAS


The Special Air Service is trained to perform equally well in all the fields listed for the SEALs, but is also trained by MI-5 and MI-6 for in-depth counter-espionage, more so than the SEALs. Physical competency must be of equal stature to the SEALs, to the degree that both special forces work closely together when necessary (Iraq and Afghanistan) and have good camaraderie.

They wear a tan beret, just as the U. S. Army Rangers, and both the SAS and SEALs are trained in knife fighting by experts in Apache Indian knife techniques, as well as Sayoc Kali, Krav Maga, Jeet Kune Do, and for the last 3 years or so, the Keysi Fighting Method, made famous by the Chris Nolan “Batman” films.

They have the distinction of being the model on which almost all national commando units are based today, including every other entry on this list.

Pakistan Russia relations

When Islamic Republic of Pakistan came into existence in 1947, Russia was known as the Godless Empire of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics under brutal dictator Joseph Stalin. This inherent difference in ideologies resulted in tensions from the very start, but the refusal of the first prime minister of Pakistan to accept the cordial invitation of the Soviet leadership to visit USSR started the full scale Cold War. The rest, as they say, is history.

Pakistan decided to accept the invitation of United States of America (the head of ‘Free’ Capitalist and Godly world).Pakistan joined anti-communist military pacts and gave its logistic support for Korean War in 1950s.Despite the unwavering loyalty of Pakistani military and landlord elite, USA refused to provide military assistance and spare parts during 1965 Kashmir war with India. The Pakistani dictator of the time was madly in love with USA, titling his ghost written biography, ‘Friends not Masters’.

Pakistani Foreign Minister of the time was a Berkeley educated pragmatist with socialist inclinations. He started the ‘Airline Diplomacy’ with Communist China and made goodwill gestures to Soviet Union(Moscow stopover was added to the schedule of Pakistan Airlines flying to London, when not many capitalists were flying to the communist destinations).Soviets fully understood the strategic importance of Pakistan’s location on the cross roads of South Asia, Middle East and Central Asia. Soviet Union gave limited technical support to Pakistan despite strategic partnership with long term ally (and arch rival of Pakistan) India.

US was accused of yet another betrayal when during the 1971 Bengal war- which dealt a fatal blow to the Federation of Pakistan- it failed to come to the rescue of the encircled Pakistani Army. Pakistan surrendered to India and East Pakistan gained independence as Bangladesh. Soviets were loyal friends to the Republic of India during this fiasco.

The ex-foreign minister became the first democratically elected prime minister of remaining Pakistan, immediately saw the fault lines and set about correcting the diplomatic imbalance between the superpower rivals. Pakistan managed to get a Heavy Industrial Steel Mill from Soviets before the next round of hostilities between USA and USSR, in form of a proxy war in Afghanistan.

The elected prime minister was hanged by yet another dictator, who was the blue-eyed boy of American intelligence agency. Pakistan got billions of dollars and Arab volunteers to fight the infidel Godless Soviets, but that is another story.

Soviet Union needed friends within Pakistan and found them in Pakhtoon Nationalists (loyal to Afghan establishment), Communist, Socialist and even liberal democrats fighting against the dictatorship and the American and Arab domination. The fundamentalist Jamaat Islami volunteers and their Afghan mercenaries under Gulbaddin Hikmatyar were waging America’s dirty war (stinger missiles and Ojhri blasts) with financial support from a Saudi Billionaire Osama Bin-Laden.

Soviet Union, as a superpower had a formidable industrial and technological base. This enabled free flow of smuggled goods across the porous Pak- Afghan border. The Pushtun tribes started cross-border smuggling (canned food, refrigerators, colour TVs and cars from Russia and guns and narcotics from Afghanistan) to survive in a crumbling economy both sides of the Durand Line (I remember those delicious strawberry and raspberry jams and tinned fish from Russia; other favourites were perfumes and washing powers. As students we loved the English language magazines-5 rupees almost free, propagating the superiority of Soviet countries- for youth).

According to British Pak-Afghan Journalist*

We would be paying a visit to the local black-market. Here, on the Pakistani side of their territory, the tribesmen had made use of their special status to establish a free-trade zone beyond the reach of taxes or the law. It was a Mecca for all that was illicit, immoral or downright deadly. Russian air-conditioners and goods liberated from the homes of high-ranking Soviet officers and smuggled in Bedford trucks across the Afghan border-jostled with Japanese merchandise schlepped up from Karachi. Squelchy black opium tar of local provenance sat coyly beside bottles of Silvikrin shampoo from Europe. Stud chewing-gum (‘delay ejaculation!’) seemed a particular favourite-although I was puzzled as to whether the grizzly grey-eyed tribesmen peering at it from under their turbans had any idea of the lurid claim, in English, on the packet.

I even saw a mug with a cartoon of a pig on it. ‘What is that animal?’ I asked, to tease the shopkeeper. He avoided my eye. ‘It’s a funny kind of elephant,’ he said. In one corner of the market stood a row of hijacked aid-workers’ vehicles, awaiting ransom by their owners. The tribal area is a can-do kind of place. Like Harrods, the market seemed to boast that it could supply you with anything, given enough time and the right money.

*(The Storyteller’s Daughter by Saira Shah-Penguin UK)

The Pashtun and Baluch Nationalists looked for financial support from Soviets to run their political activities, which were restricted due to their unenviable status as outcasts in any test of loyalty to Pakistan. The Urdu/Punjabi speaking Communist and Socialist activists(banned and underground) saw Soviet Union as their old age retirement refuge in case of excessive persecution by the dictator.

Middle class Pakistani intellectuals and academics could dream of foreign educational scholarships for their sons and daughters. Growing up in 1980s in Pakistan, our dreams were of getting a Computer Engineering Degree from Moscow State University. Few of our friends were already in Leningrad State University, girls invariably in Medical School and boys in engineering faculties receiving a princely sum of 100 Roubles per month as stipend (note: Pork was religiously avoided in the dormitory’s free kitchen). Soviet Union was indirectly contributing to the Human Resource development of Pakistan.

Some of these boys and girls are Members of Parliament in current Pakistani government (2009).Hopefully they will revive Pak-Soviet Friendship Society to its glorious past when Poet Laureate Faiz Ahmed Faiz (Lenin Peace Prize 1962) and Ambassador Smirnoff (1984) were its proud patrons. Soviets gave Abdul Sattar Edhi Lenin Peace Prize in 1986 for his philanthropic services in South Asia. Despite being called The Saint Francis of Asia, Edhi is yet to receive an invitation from the King of Sweden and the Nobel Prize Committee. A blind Pakistani boy, who was sponsored by Soviet government for free treatment at an elite Moscow hospital told me, The Russian concept of vegetarian food for Muslims is yogurt and cucumbers.

Jamaat Islami paid a huge amount to one of the Afghani students named Ahmed Shah to write memoirs of his university days, titled Main Ney Russia Mee kya Dekha(What I Saw in Russia),It was a bad attempt of Islamist propaganda against Godless Russia but we still used to enjoy its stories of Russian Vodka and Blond Bomb shells. We have spent many ‘White nights’ in mid June(when sun never sets)on the shores of Baltic in St. Petersburg(old Leningrad).

Then the unthinkable happened, Soviet Union disintegrated as a result of economic collapse due to cold war and bureaucratic corruption. Our dreams lay shattered; students (boys and girls) became street vendors selling leather jackets (made in Sialkot Pakistan) or seasonal fruit pickers on tourist visas in Western Europe, in order to support their studies. Some boys tried to get married into rich oligarch and KGB families in order to survive, Ali Asim(changed his name to Ervin Binyamin ) married an Israeli girl and converted to Judaism for emigration to Israel. Shouaib converted to Ahmedi religion and escaped to Germany and Rashid eloped with his Russian girlfriend to Paris. Some got admissions in Greek Cyprus for their Post- Graduate studies.

The rest of the boys and girls had to face the music of University Grants Commission Pakistan, which refused to recognize their degrees, despite being far superior to those awarded by Pakistani universities. All these shenanigans were due to the political interference from an unsympathetic Pakistan government.

1990s saw the daughter of the hanged prime minister come to power in a popular election. She tried to dispel the misgivings with the Russian (the successor to USSR) government but this détente remained lukewarm due to new fears of rise of fundamentalist Islam in Central Asia and Muslim minorities within Russia.

In last 35 years, none of the Pakistani presidents and prime ministers has been able to establish fruitful and long term relations with the Russian state and people. Current government has half heartedly met the Russian statesmen at multilateral summits but nothing substantial has come out of these interactions so far.

Russian universities, Industrial Complexes and energy sector are still among the best in the world. Pakistani students are being denied the unrestricted research opportunities in Science and Technology in American and European universities. Pakistan can procure Russian technology and expertise at a fraction of the cost as compared to Western Europe. Russia needs Pakistan’s help to combat Islamist terrorism, drug and human trafficking originating from restive Afghanistan and the backwaters of Central Asian Republics. Are Pakistan Military and Establishment ready to bury the coffins of US Cold War and start a new chapter with a resurgent Russia?

PAKISTAN AND INDIAN SPECIAL FORCES

TRAINING:


Pakistan
As with their Indian counterparts, personnel of Pakistan's SSG are airborne-qualified and probably air-assault-qualified. Elements of the SSG are known to be HALO-qualified, and it is likely that they are HAHO-qualified as well. Personnel of the SSG receive training at the following schools: airborne (Peshawar), mountain warfare (Abbottad), combat diver (Karachi), and desert warfare. The SSG trains and exercises with other SF from Great Britain, the United States, Turkey, and Jordan. As for languages, English is widely used in Pakistan, although it is not an official language. It is likely that the SSG possesses linguists fluent in certain western Indian dialects.


India
The personnel of each Para Cdo Bn are airborne-qualified and probably air-assault-qualified as well. Certain detachments of these Bns are also trained in high-altitude high-opening and low-opening (HAHO/HALO) operations. Members of the U.S. Army SF participated in joint HAHO training with the Indians in 1992. Other joint training between the U.S. and Indian SF consisted of underwater training in 1995 and anti-terrorism training in 1997. Para Cdo Bns are trained in desert warfare (10th Bn) and mountain warfare (9th Bn). It is likely that certain elements of India's SF, the 9th Bn in particular, are trained to operate at extremely high altitudes, such as the Siachen Glacier. Little is known about language training within the Indian SF, but it is likely that all SF personnel are capable of at least rudimentary English, one of India's official languages, and that some personnel are trained in Chinese and certain Tibetan and Pakistani dialects.

MISSIONS:


Pakistan
The SSG is capable of carrying out the following missions: counter-terrorism, unconventional warfare, counter-insurgency, security for very important people and places, reconnaissance, raids, and riverine operations. The SSG has been accused by India of supporting and participating in incursions into India's portion of Kashmir. Such activities will continue until the political issues surrounding Kashmir are resolved.

Another role for the SF of both countries would be long-range reconnaissance and possibly direct-action missions against the other country's ballistic missile forces and weapons-of-mass-destruction facilities. The most likely scenario would involve sets of small teams locating such missiles and facilities and reporting their precise coordinates to be used for a preemptive strike. If Pakistan or India develop or purchase smart munitions, another possible role for their SF will be to act as target designators.


India
The Para Cdo Bns are capable of carrying out the following missions: counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, counter-insurgency, security for very important people and places, reconnaissance, raids, peacekeeping, and sabotage. One likely current and future mission would be cross-border reconnaissance and raids into the Pakistani held areas of Kashmir. These missions would be focused against Islamic militants that operate in India but are supplied from and trained in Pakistan.

Mossad And India Target Pakistan

"It is essential that we...strike and crush Pakistanis, enemies of Jews and Zionism, by all disguised and secret plans." -- David Ben Gurion, the first Israeli Prime Minister.

Janes information group, the world's foremost source on intelligence information, reported in July 2001 that "The Indian spy agency RAW and the Israeli spy agency Mossad have created four new agencies to infiltrate Pakistan to target important religious and military personalities, journalists, judges, lawyers and bureaucrats. In addition, bombs would be exploded in trains, railway stations, bridges, bus stations, cinemas, hotels and mosques of rival Islamic sects to incite sectarianism."

Pakistani intelligence agencies also said that RAW had constituted a plan to lure Pakistani men between 20 and 30 years of age to visit India so that they could be entrapped "in cases of fake currency and subversion and then be coerced to spy for India."

This was the high point of cementing an unholy alliance which began much earlier and which continues to tighten its noose around the neck of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia.

It appears that RAW and Mossad -- either singly or jointly, either covertly or overtly -- have been making efforts to penetrate sensitive circles of top echelon in Pakistan.

It cannot be said with certainty but there are some reasons to assume that Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan, wittingly or unwittingly, played in the hands of RAW-Mossad masterminds. She appointed Rehman Malik as chief of the Federal Investigation Agency which then launched a secret war against the Islamists; amounting to a direct attack on the ISI.

War against religious extremists could have been a laudable goal but it seemed to target only those elements which could have brought a semblance of moderation to the religious swatch cutting across Pakistan society.

Thus, leaving the field wide open for extremists.

It seems that the Pakistani military was equally dismayed by reports of FIA contacts with the Israeli secret service, the MOSSAD, to investigate Islamist terrorists.

One of the first acts of President Leghari after dismissing Benazir Bhutto on November 5, 1996 was to imprison the Ghulam Asghar, head of FIA, suspended on non-specified corruption charges. Rehman Malik, Addl. Director General FIA, was also arrested.

Whether these actions were triggered as a consequence of plotting by RAW-Mossad planners or whether it was an entirely internal matter, it is difficult to say.

Bhutto s visit to India last year at a time when Pakistan was going through one of the worst crises in its history, and her statements there which aimed to undermine the whole foundation of Pakistan, generate more than a flicker of doubt in analytic minds.

The basic question arises: Who is Benazir Bhutto?

Leaving BB to her own fate, let's return to RAW-Mossad connection.

What is clear right now is that Indian RAW and Israeli Mossad are collaborating extensively to curb the freedom movement of Kashmir and destabilize Pakistan.

The Indian newspaper The Pioneer wrote on March 3, 2001: Fencing of the Indo-Pak border is not enough. To check Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism, top security experts of Israel have suggested that hi-tech gadgets ranging from an electronic barrier system of radars to thermal imaging devices should be immediately installed on India's sensitive international border in [Jammu] & K[ashmir] and Punjab sectors.

The team of experts, including officials of the Mossad, the Israeli Army and the Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), also found shocking loopholes in the security arrangements relating to the much-talked about Samjhauta Express. They advised that instead of Lahore, the train should terminate on the Attari border. Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs said the Israeli experts surveyed the 198 km international border in Jammu and Punjab and reviewed the route of the Samjhauta Express with top officials of the Border Security Force.

Subsequently, former DG of the Border Security Force, E.N. Ram Mohan was appointed as the consultant on border management. Mr. Ram Mohan has recommended that besides radars, aerostate balloons and FLIR equipment be used.

India is keen to purchase surveillance aircraft (UAVs) from Israel to gain intelligence teeth. The UAVs could also help the state police in keeping an eye in naxalite-affected areas of Andhra Pradesh.

For several years, Mossad and Israel's internal intelligence agency, Shinbhet, have utilised unmanned air vehicles to patrol the hypersensitive Gaza border.

Qutbuddin Aziz, former minister in Pakistan embassy in London, wrote an excellent article, titled 'Dangerous Nexus between Israel & India.' It was published by a prominent Pakistani newspaper on April 1, 2001.

Aziz writes: "Top secret details of Indian Home Minister LK Advani's visit to Israel in June 2000, show that the deals he has struck with the Israelis would make India and Israel partners in threatening the Muslim world with diabolic conspiracies to fragment and cripple it as a political force in the world. The details of his meetings with Israel's rulers, particularly the heads of the Israeli Home Ministry and its intelligence agencies, Mossad and Sabak, reveal that the arrangements he has made for joint Indo-Israel espionage operations in key areas of the Muslim world would make the Indian embassies in these Muslim countries the eyes and ears of the worldwide cloak-and-dagger Israeli spy network.

"Under the euphemism of 'counter-terrorism,' India is allowing Israel to establish a huge spy establishment in India which will, inter alia, unearth and monitor 'Islamic fundamentalist' individuals and groups for elimination by extra judicial process or by cold-blooded murder and kidnapping.

"The most important meeting Indian Home Minister Advani had during his three-day Israeli tour on June 13-16 was with the top brass of Israel's intelligence agencies in Tel Aviv. Heading the Israeli team was the powerful chief of Israeli police, Yehuda Wilk, with the heads of the Israeli intelligence agencies, Mossad and Sabak, and military officials dealing with Israel's punitive and espionage operations against Arabs in Israel, Palestine and neighbouring states such as Lebanon and Syria. Senior officials from the Israeli Foreign Office and the defence and home ministries attended this meeting. Israeli experts in bomb detection were also present.

"Mr. Advani's large team included India's highest-level spymasters such as the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Mr. Shayamal Dutta, the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Mr. R. K. Raghvan, the head of the Indian Border Security Force, Mr. E. M. Ram Mohan, Indian Home Ministry's powerful Secretary K. Pande who oversees the work of the infamous Indian spy agency, RAW, and liaises with the Indian Foreign Office in respect of undercover RAW agents working in Indian embassies abroad, and a senior officer of India's military intelligence agency (equivalent of Pakistan's ISI).

"In this top-level meeting in Tel Aviv on June 14, Advani reportedly thanked the Israeli government for its immense help to India in security matters and spoke of the dangers India and Israel face from their common enemies, i.e., Muslim neighbours.

"Advani, it is reported, highly praised the help provided by Mossad and army commando personnel to the Indian army in the war on 'Muslim militants' in Kashmir and against 'Muslim terrorists' such as the 'Memon brothers' of Mumbai in Dubai. Advani said he had, throughout his political career, advocated India's recognition and friendship with Israel and that his party had played a key role in forcing Congress government to have full diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992.

"He lauded the Indo-Israeli cooperation in the military, economic and other fields. Advani recalled that India had voted in favour of a US-sponsored motion in the UN for rescinding a UN resolution that equated Zionism with racism. Mr. Advani explained at length India's security problems in which the danger from Pakistan and Indian Muslims getting Arab money loomed large. Advani gave a long list of the special services in spying and the anti-insurgency devices and spy equipment India urgently needs from Israel to combat 'Muslim terrorism.'

"In the June 14 Tel Aviv meeting, the Israeli Police Chief, Yehuda Wilk, profusely praised India for its friendship with Israel and pledged help to the Indian government in combating 'Muslim terrorism' that poses new threats to Israel and India. The heads of India's intelligence agencies then briefed the Israeli side in the meeting on the ground situation in India in respect of 'Muslim terrorists,' especially in Jammu and Kashmir, and the new dangers coming up for India and Israel because of the Pakistani bomb and the fear that Pakistan may give its nuclear weapons to the anti-Israel Arabs.

"The Indian side showed a keen interest in learning from Israeli security experts how they had run the slice of Lebanon which Israel ruled for 18 years and gave up recently. Some information about the Israeli torture and investigation methods was gathered by the Indian side from the Israelis with regard to dealing with Arab dissidents within Israel and in the Palestinian Authority region.

"The Indians gave the Israelis a long shopping list of spying, torture and surveillance equipment such as electronic fencing of sensitive sites, laser systems, short-range rockets, eagle-eyed long distance snipers, observation blimps, giant shields, night vision device, unmanned aircraft of the MALAT wing of the Israeli Aircraft Industries Limited, special protective dress and gear for security personnel, cross border snopping devices and gadgets, training and deployment of spies and the special gear for them, use of computers and Internet for espionage and disinformation, code-breaking, tailing of enemy agents and their elimination, nuclear espionage, purloining state secrets of hostile countries and pooling them for the good of India and Israel and their mutual friends.

"The Israelis were interested in having access to the secret reports of Indian undercover RAW diplomats from certain Muslim countries of special interest to Israel (especially Pakistan, Libya and Iran). India is apparently willing to grant access to Israeli agents to the Indian Home Ministry's Central Intelligence Processing Unit (CIPU) in New Delhi. This was recently set up under Advani's direction with Israeli and US help. A handpicked RAW officer, trusted by Advani, heads this unit. Israel wants full access to its information data. The Indian government has already allowed access to it by American intelligence agencies now working with the Indian government on so-called anti-terrorist assignments.

Federation of American Scientists website comments on RAW in these words: "RAW has engaged in disinformation campaigns, espionage and sabotage against Pakistan and other neighboring countries. RAW has enjoyed the backing of successive Indian governments in these efforts. Working directly under the Prime Minister, the structure, rank, pay and perks of the Research & Analysis Wing are kept secret from Parliament."

Tarek Fatah, a Turkish scholar settled in Canada, wrote: "Britain's authoritative and respected defense publication, Jane's Terrorism & Security Monitor, reports that Israel and India have formed a military relationship and that Israeli intelligence is active in Occupied Kashmir.


"It says: Israeli intelligence agencies have been intensifying their relations with India's security apparatus and are now understood to be heavily involved in helping New Delhi combat Islamic militants in the disputed province of Kashmir...

Ed Blanche writes in Janes' Security on 14 Aug 2001: "Israeli intelligence agencies have been intensifying their relations with India's security apparatus and are now understood to be heavily involved in helping New Delhi combat Islamic militants in the disputed province of Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state which lies at the core of the conflict with neighbouring Pakistan.

"Israel has several teams now in Kashmir training Indian counter-insurgency forces to fight the dozen separatist guerrilla groups operating in the Indian-controlled sector of the disputed state.

"The exact extent of the involvement in Kashmir by Israel s intelligence agencies is far from clear, but it fits into Israel's increasing focus on events in Central Asia, and as far afield as Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim state, to counteract Islamic fundamentalism, which it perceives as a major threat.

"Shimon Peres, currently Israel's foreign minister, said during a visit to New Delhi in January 2001 (shortly before he took his current post in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition government) that Israel was prepared to co-operate with India to fight terrorism. Weeks earlier, an Israeli counterterrorism team, including military intelligence specialists and senior police commanders, paid a visit to Indian-administered Kashmir and other regions of the country that are grappling with anti-government militants to assess India's security needs.


If there is still any doubt as to the real intentions of Israel, then please see this statement issued by David Ben Gurion, the first Israeli Prime Minister. His words, as printed in the Jewish Chronicle, 9 August 1967, leave nothing to imagination:

"The world Zionist movement should not be neglectful of the dangers of Pakistan to it. And Pakistan now should be its first target, for this ideological State is a threat to our existence. And Pakistan, the whole of it, hates the Jews and loves the Arabs.

"This lover of the Arabs is more dangerous to us than the Arabs themselves. For that matter, it is most essential for the world Zionism that it should now take immediate steps against Pakistan.

"Whereas the inhabitants of the Indian peninsula are Hindus whose hearts have been full of hatred towards Muslims, therefore, India is the most important base for us to work therefrom against Pakistan.

"It is essential that we exploit this base and strike and crush Pakistanis, enemies of Jews and Zionism, by all disguised and secret plans.

Ministry of Intelligence (Iran)

History:

Information on the ministry is often difficult to obtain. The organization was intended to replace SAVAK, Iran's intelligence agency during the rule of the Shah, but it is unclear how much continuity there is between the two organizations—while their role is similar, their underlying ideology is radically different. It is suspected that the new government was initially eager to purge SAVAK elements from the new organization, but that pragmatism eventually prevailed, with many experienced SAVAK personnel being retained in their roles. Former SAVAK staff are believed to have been important in the ministry's infiltration of left-wing dissident groups and of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party.

The formation of the ministry was proposed by Saeed Hajjarian to the government of Mir-Hossein Mousavi and then the parliament. There were debates about which branch of the state should oversee the new institution, and the other options apart from the presidency were the Judiciary system, the Supreme Leader, and Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Finally, the government could get the approval of Ayatollah Khomeini to make it a ministry, but a restriction was added to the requirements of the minister, needing him to be a doctor of Islam.

The ministry was finally founded on August 18, 1984, abandoning many small intelligence agencies that were formed in different governmental organizations. The five ministers since the founding of the ministry, have been Mohammad Reyshahri (under Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi), Ali Fallahian (under President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani), Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi (under President Mohammad Khatami, resigned after a year), Ali Younessi (under President Khatami, until Aug 24, 2005),Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejehei (under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, from Aug 24, 2005 to August 24, 2009) and Heyder Moslehi (under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, from Aug 29, 2009)

Russian Air Force

History:

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union into its fifteen constituent republics in December 1991, the aircraft and personnel of the Soviet Air Force - the VVS were divided among the newly independent states. General Pyotr Deynekin, the former deputy commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Forces, became the first commander of the new organisation on 24 Aug 1991. Russia received the majority of the most modern fighters and 65% of the manpower. The major commands of the former Soviet VVS - the Long Range Aviation, Military Transport Aviation and Frontal Aviation were renamed, with few changes, Russian VVS commands. However, many regiments, aircraft, and personnel were claimed by the republics they were based in, forming the core of the new republics' air forces. Some aircraft in Belarus and Ukraine (such as Tu-160s) were returned to Russia, sometimes in return for debt reductions, as well as a long range aviation division based at Dolon in Kazakhstan.

During the 1990s, the financial stringency felt throughout the armed forces made its mark on the Air Forces as well. Pilots and other personnel could sometimes not get their wages for months, and on occasion resorted to desperate measures: four MiG-31 pilots at Yelizovo in the Far East went on hunger strike in 1996 to demand back pay which was several months overdue, and the problem was only resolved by diverting unit monies intended for other tasks. As a result of the cutbacks, infrastructure became degraded as well, and in 1998, 40% of military airfields needed repair. The situation only began to improve after Putin took power and military budgets were greatly increased.

The VVS participated in the First Chechen War (1994–1996) and the Second Chechen War (1999–2002). These campaigns also presented significant difficulties for the VVS including the terrain, lack of significant fixed targets and insurgents armed with Stinger and Strela-2M surface-to-air missiles.

The former Soviet Air Defence Force remained independent for several years under Russian control, only merging with the Air Forces in 1998. The decree merging the two forces was issued by President Boris Yeltsin on 16 July 1997. During 1998 altogether 580 units and formations were disbanded, 134 reorganized, and over 600 given a new jurisdiction. The redistribution of forces affected 95% of aircraft, 98% of helicopters, 93% of anti-aircraft missile complexes, 95 % of the equipment of radiotechnical troops, 100% of anti-aircraft missiles and over 60% of aviation armament. More than 600,000 tons of material changed location and 3500 aircraft changed airfields. Military Transport Aviation planes took more than 40,000 families to new residence areas.

The number of servicemen in the Air Force was reduced to about 185 000 from the former combined number of 318,000. 123,500 positions were abolished, including almost 1000 colonel positions. The resignation of 3000 other servicemen included 46 generals of which 15 were colonel generals. On 29 Dec 1998 Colonel General Anatoliy Kornukov, a former Air Defence Forces officer and new commander-in-chief of the merged force, succeeding Deynekin, reported to the Russian defence minister that the task had 'in principle been achieved'. General Kornukov established the new headquarters of the force in Zarya, near Balashikha, 20 km north of the centre of Moscow, in the former PVO central command post, where the CIS common air defence system is directed from.

General Kornukov was succeeded by General Vladimir Mikhaylov in 2002.

In Dec 2003 the aviation assets of the Army—mostly helicopters—were transferred to the VVS, following the shooting down of a Mi-26 helicopter in Chechniya on Aug 19, 2002, that claimed 19 lives. The former Army Aviation was in its previous form intended for the direct support of the Ground Forces, by providing their tactical air support, conducting tactical aerial reconnaissance, transporting airborne troops, providing fire support of their actions, electronic warfare, setting of minefield barriers and other tasks. The former Army Aviation is now managed by the Chief of the Department of Army Aviation, who in mid 2007 was Lieutenant General Anatoly Surtsukov.


Current state:

Fly-over by aircraft of the Russian Air Force at the Victory Day parade in Moscow in May 2008.
Medium emblem of the Russian Air ForceIn Oct 2004 the disbandment was announced of the 200th and 444th Bomber Aviation Regiments with Tupolev Tu-22M3, of the 28th, 159th, 790th, and 941st Fighter Aviation Regiments, of the 302nd and 959th Regiments equipped with Sukhoi Su-24, and of the 187th and 461st Assault Aviation Regiments with the Sukhoi Su-25. These disbandments did not go ahead.

The VVS continues to suffer from a lack of resources for pilot training. In the 1990s Russian pilots achieved approximately 10% of the flight hours of the United States Air Force. The 2007 edition of the IISS Military Balance listed pilots of tactical aviation flying 20–25 hours a year, 61st Air Army pilots (former Military Transport Aviation), 60 hours a year, and Army Aviation under VVS control 55 hours a year.

During the 1990s the Sukhoi design bureau designed a replacement bomber aircraft, the T-60S, which now is being developed into the PAK DA. A further abortive design project was the MiG 1.42, which is now being developed into the Mikoyan LMFS . Currently, a fifth-generation fighter jet is being developed by a consortium of companies, including Mikoyan, Yakovlev and spearheaded by Sukhoi. The program has been named Perspektivnyy Aviatsionnyy Kompleks Frontovoy Aviatsii - PAK FA, which means Future Air Complex for Tactical Air Forces. It is intended to replace the MiG-29 and Su-27 in the Russian Air Force. General Colonel Alexander Zelin said on Aug 8, 2007 that Russia will soon start construction of a prototype fifth-generation fighter plane. "At present, we have completed the development of technical documentation for the fifth-generation fighter and passed it to the production plant, which will start construction in the near future," Colonel General Zelin said.


Armed Forces of the
Russian Federation
Services (Vid)
Russian Air Force
Russian Ground Forces
Russian Navy
Independent troops
Strategic Rocket Forces
Russian Space Forces
Russian Airborne Troops
Other troops
Naval Infantry
Naval Aviation
Missiles and Artillery Agency
Ranks of the Russian Military
Air Force ranks and insignia
Army ranks and insignia
Navy ranks and insignia
History of the Russian Military
Military History of Russia
History of Russian military ranks
Military ranks of the Soviet Union

The Air Force commander also said that Russia would deploy advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with flight range of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles) and flight duration of up to 12 hours by 2011. The UAVs of both fixed- and rotary-wing types will perform a variety of tasks, including reconnaissance, attack, retransmission of radio signals and target designation, the general said.

Russia's air forces have 650 dedicated fighter jets in service, mainly of the Sukhoi and MiG variety. The most numerous type of aircraft is the MiG-31. The 291 MiG-29s have fallen into disrepair however and many of them suffer rust damage. 200 of these aircraft have been rated unsafe to fly. However the Russia Defense Ministry has already stated that it will upgrade and modify all Mig-29s that are obsolete making them combat ready by 2012 when new aircraft such as the PAKFA are scheduled to enter service.

The 16th Air Army will soon receive two regiments of the advanced Su-34 Fullback fighter-bombers in the near future. General Belevitch said the 16th Air Army would also receive MiG-29SM Fulcrum fighters to replace outdated MiG-29s and modernized Su-25 Frogfoot close support aircraft, which showed outstanding performance during operations in Afghanistan, Chechnya and other "hot spots."

Russia resumed the Soviet-era practice of sending its bomber aircraft on long-range flights at a permanent basis in July and Aug 2007, after a 15-year unilateral suspension due to fuel costs and other economic difficulties after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Patrols towards the North Pole, the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean were reinstated, bringing the planes often close to NATO territory, most recently flying over the Irish Sea, between the UK and Ireland.

General Mikhailov was succeed by General Colonel Aleksandr Zelin in 2007. In 2008 the Air Force lost between 4 and 7 aircraft to Georgian anti-aircraft fire during the 2008 South Ossetian War.

Warfare.ru indicates that in early 2009 the Air Force went through a major restructuring, in which air armies were succeeded by commands, and most air regiments becoming airbases. However, Combat Aircraft, in a piece by Stefan Buttner in its August-Sept 2009 issue, presented the order of battle as being substantially unchanged, similar to the listing below. Thus whether a reorganisation is yet to take place or has taken place remains unclear. Aviation Week reports that the reorganisation will be complete by years end and will see a 40 percent reduction in aircrew numbers.

On 5 June 2009, Russian Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov said of the Russian Air Force that "They can run bombing missions only in daytime with the sun shining, but they miss their targets anyway". Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov said that Russia's long-range bombers would be upgraded in 2009 with the aim of being able to hit within 20 meters of their targets.

Russia has officially Signed a Contract for 48 Su-35BM, 4 Su-30M2 and 12 Su-27SM's on August 18th at the MAKS-2009 air show.

Royal Air Force (RAF)

Mission

The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MoD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed: to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government’s foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security."

The RAF's own mission statement reads as thus, to provide (paraphrase) "An agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission."

The above statement goes hand in hand with the RAF's definition of air power, the concept that guides the RAF strategy. Air Power is defined as: "The ability to project military force in air or space by or from a platform or missile operating above the surface of the earth. Air platforms are defined as any aircraft, helicopter or unmanned air vehicle." Although the RAF is the principal British air power arm, the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and the British Army's Army Air Corps also deliver air power which is integrated into the maritime and land environments respectively.


History of the Royal Air Force

Distinctive shape of the Spitfire which played a part in the Battle of Britain.While the British were not the first to make use of heavier-than-air military aircraft, the RAF is the world's oldest independent air force. It was founded on 1 April 1918, during the First World War, by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. After the war, the service was drastically cut and its inter-war years were relatively quiet, with the RAF taking responsibility for the control of Iraq and executing a number of minor actions in other parts of the British Empire.

The RAF underwent rapid expansion prior to and during the Second World War. Under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of Dec 1939, the air forces of British Commonwealth countries trained and formed "Article XV squadrons" for service with RAF formations. Many individual personnel from these countries, and exiles from occupied Europe, also served with RAF squadrons.

In the Battle of Britain, in the late summer of 1940, the RAF (supplemented by Polish, Czechoslovakian and other multinational pilots and ground personnel) defended the skies over Britain against the German Luftwaffe, helping foil Hitler's plans for an invasion of the United Kingdom, and prompting Prime Minister Winston Churchill to say in the House of Commons on 20 August, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few".


The Avro Vulcan was a strategic bomber used during the Cold War to carry conventional and nuclear bombs.The largest RAF effort during the war was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany by Bomber Command. While RAF bombing of Germany began almost immediately upon the outbreak of war, under the leadership of Air Chief Marshal Harris, these attacks became increasingly devastating from 1942 onward as new technology and greater numbers of superior aircraft became available. The RAF adopted night-time area bombing on German cities such as Hamburg and Dresden, and developed precision bombing techniques for specific operations, such as the "Dambusters" raid by No. 617 Squadron, or the Amiens prison raid known as Operation Jericho.

During the Cold War years the main role of the RAF was the defence of the continent of Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union, including holding the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent for a number of years. After the Cold War, the RAF was involved in several large scale operations, including the Gulf War, the Kosovo War, operations in Afghanistan, the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent war.

The RAF celebrated its 90th birthday with a flypast of the Red Arrows and four Typhoons over many RAF Stations and Central London on 1 April 2008.

General Intelligence Presidency

The Re'asat Al Istikhbarat Al A'amah or the General Intelligence Presidency, GIP is the pre-eminent intelligence agency of the government of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The GIP is one of the security apparatuses in Saudi Arabia, it is an administrative entity that has a specific organizational structure, and holds a set of clear strategies and goals that endeavors to achieve in accordance with firm principles and values which conform, in essence and content, to the unwavering fundamentals on which Saudi Arabia stands.

Contents:

1 History
2 GIP Mission
3 GIP Values & Principles




History:

The important role of intelligence had been recognized by King Abdulaziz Al-Saud who had used it in his unification of Saudi Arabia. His interest in modern communication increasingly grew until he set up the first radio communications system In Saudi Arabia, something which played an effective role in determining many historical events that took place in the Kingdom.

As the political, international, regional, and local conditions improved, and in response to the needs of the period, as well as in recognition of the importance of the political, religious, and economical stage the Kingdom was witnessing, the Kingdom started an intelligence service, and opened the first office of it's intelligence agency in 1955 under the name of Al-Mabahith Al-Aammah.

During the reign of King Saud bin Abdulaziz, the General Intelligence was separated from the General Directorate of Mabahith (Investigations). Intelligence was established officially as an independent security service with the issuing of the Royal decree number 11 in 1957 that ordered the setting up of a special department under the title of Maslahat Al-Istikhbarat Al-Aammah or (The General Intelligence Department). During this period two branches of the Presidency were set up locally, the western branch in Jeddah, and eastern one in Dhahran.

The Presidency was expanded under King Faisal bin Abdulaziz, with the opening of offices abroad and the opening of more local branches in all areas of the Kingdom, as well as the expansion of the activities and missions which the Presidency carried out.

The Presidency witnessed the issuing of its basic law under King Khaled bin Abdulaziz in 1982, by Royal decree number m-5, dated 19 Dec, 1982, which set out its responsibilities, duties, and the limits of its activities. Also, many departments affiliated with the Presidency were set up and organized such as the General Department for Operations, the General Department for Administrative and Financial affairs, the General Department for Training and Planning, and the General Department for Technical Affairs. Along with the National Research Center, and the Center for Media and International Communications (previously Center for Translation and Media). These developments came in response to the ever increasing needs of the Presidency and the expansion of its activities.

In 1997, the Office for External Communications was annexed by the Presidency after it had been part of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. Its name was also changed to the General Department for External Communications, and it was strengthened with the addition of high-tech equipment and intelligence specialists in radio surveillance. This period saw the expansion of the activities of the Presidency abroad with the establishment and development of more offices in other countries, and through more effort to organize its work.

During the reign of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz a specialized committee for administrative development was set up. The Higher Committee for Development was set up and was chaired by the President of the General Intelligence Presidency; its membership consisted of the heads of the various departments of the Presidency. And during the tenure of King Fahd, the administrative structuring of the Information Center was approved.

Muqran bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud was appointed as president of the General Intelligence Presidency by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in October 2005.



GIP Mission:

The main mission of the Presidency is to make every effort to “provide strategic intelligence, contribute to achieve national security, and provide timely information to the authorities, so that they can take rapid and appropriate actions,” in accordance with the basic charter on which the General Intelligence Presidency was founded.

To bring about this mission, the Presidency runs strategic and counter intelligence operations needed to maintain national security, plans the activities of national intelligence services, coordinates their activities that relate to collecting and producing intelligence, and carries out studies and research as dictated by national security, then presents these to decision makers in order to draw up internal and external policies built on sound and accurate information. The Presidency also establishes mutual relations with the security services of other brotherly and friendly countries.

GIP Values & Principles:

The GIP in its work starts from a group of certain constants of the nature of its activity.

1. Full obligation of the Islamic Sharia (Islamic Law). 2. Not harming the country and the citizen interests. 3. Full obligation of the official trends and attitudes of the Country. 4. Take the initiative. 5. Working with sense of mature security. 6. Full obligation of confidentiality 7. Keen on maintaining discipline. 8. Being away from personal tendencies and fancies 9. Full obligation of Continuous progress. 10. Full obligation of institutional approach in the work. 11. Focus on quality not quantity. 12. Applying the principle of reward and punishment

World Intelligence Agency

Intelligence agencies can provide the following services for their national governments.

provide analysis in areas relevant to national security;
give early warning of impending crises;
serve national and international crisis management by helping to discern the intentions of current or potential opponents;
inform national defense planning and military operations;
protect secrets, both of their own sources and activities, and those of other state agencies; and
may act covertly to influence the outcome of events in favor of national interests
Intelligence agencies are also involved in defensive activities such as counter-espionage or counter-terrorism.

There is a distinction between "security intelligence" and "foreign intelligence". Security intelligence pertains to national security threats . Foreign intelligence involves information collection relating to the political, or economic activities of foreign states.

Some agencies are accused of being involved in assassination, arms sales, coups d'état, and the placement of misinformation (propaganda) as well as other covert operations, in order to support their own or their governments' interests.


1 List of major intelligence agencies (by country)



List of major intelligence agencies (by country)
Main article: List of intelligence agencies
Australia

Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS)
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO)
Bangladesh

Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI)
National Security Intelligence (NSI)
Belgium

Staatsveiligheid / Sûreté de l'État (SV/SE) – State Security Service
Brazil

Agência Brasileira de Inteligência (ABIN) – Brazilian Intelligence Agency
Canada

Canadian Security Intelligence Service / Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité (CSIS/SCRS)
Communications Security Establishment (CSE)
China

Ministry of State Security (MSS)
Chile

Agencia Nacional de Inteligencia (ANI) – National Intelligence Agency
Colombia

Agencia Central de Intelligencia (ACI) Central Intelligence Agency (of Colombia)
Cuba

Dirección General de Inteligencia (DGI) General Directorate of Intelligence
Czech Republic

Bezpečnostní informační služba (BIS) – Security Information Service
Úřad pro zahraniční styky a informace (ÚZSI) – Office for Foreign Relations and Information
Vojenské zpravodajství (VZ) – Military Intelligence
Denmark

Politiets Efterretningstjeneste (PET) – Danish Security and Intelligence Service
Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste (FE) – Danish Defence Intelligence Service
Egypt

Al-Mukhabarat al-'Ammah – Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate
Mabahith Amn al-Dawla al-'Ulya – State Security Investigation Bureau
Finland

Suojelupoliisi (Supo) – Protection Police
France

Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE) – General Directorate of External Security
Direction Centrale du Renseignement Intérieur (DCRI) – Central Directorate of Interior Intelligence
Germany

Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) – Federal Intelligence Service
Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV) – Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Militärischer Abschirmdienst (MAD) – Military Counterintelligence Agency
Greece

Ethniki Ypiresia Pliroforion (NIS) – Hellenic National Intelligence Service
India

National Investigation Agency (NIA)
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
Intelligence Bureau (IB)
Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)
Ireland

G2 Army Intelligence (G2)
National Surveillance Unit (Garda) (NSU)
Israel

ha-Mossad le-Modiin u-le-Tafkidim Myukhadim (Mossad) – Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations
Shirut Bitahon Klali (ISA) – Israel Security Agency
Italy

Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Interna (AISI) – Agency for Internal Information and Security
Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Esterna (AISE) – Agency for External Information and Security
Mexico

Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional (CISEN) – National Security and Investigation Center
Agencia Federal de Investigacion (AFI) – Federal Investigation Agency
Netherlands

Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst (AIVD) – General Intelligence and Security Service
New Zealand

New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS)
Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB)
Pakistan

Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
Military Intelligence (MI)
Intelligence Bureau (IB)
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)
Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
Philippines

National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA)
Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP)
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
Philippine National Police - Intelligence Group (PNP-IG)
Bureau of Customs - Intelligence Group (BOC-IG)
Poland

Agencja Wywiadu (AW) – Foreign Intelligence Agency
Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego (ABW) – Internal Security Agency
Służba Wywiadu Wojskowego (SWW) – Military Intelligence Service
Służba Kontrwywiadu Wojskowego (SKW) – Military Counterintelligence Service
Russian Federation

Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti (FSB) – Federal Security Service
Glavnoye Razvedyvatelnoye Upravlenie Genshtaba (GRU) – Main Intelligence Directorate of General Staff
Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki (SVR) – Foreign Intelligence Service
Saudi Arabia

Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah – General Intelligence Directorate
Singapore

Security and Intelligence Division (SID)
Internal Security Department (ISD)
Slovakia

Slovenská informačná služba (SIS) – Slovak Information Service
Vojenská spravodajská služba (VSS) – Military Intelligence Service
South Africa

National Intelligence Agency (NIA)
Spain

Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (CNI) – National Intelligence Centre
Sweden

Kontoret för särskild inhämtning (KSI) – Office for Special Acquisition
Underrättelsekontoret (UNDK) – Intelligence Office
Turkey

Milli İstihbarat Teşkilatı (MİT) – National Intelligence Organization
Ukraine

Holovne Upravlinnya Rozvidky (HUR) – Central Intelligence Directorate
Sluzhba Bezpeky Ukrayiny (SBU) – Security Service of Ukraine
Sluzhba Zovnishnioyi Rozvidky Ukrayiny (SZR or SZRU) – Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine
United Kingdom

Secret Intelligence Service (SIS or MI6)
Security Service (colloquially MI5)
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)
United States

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
National Security Agency (NSA)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Khad Afghanistan

Khadamat-e Etela'at-e Dawlati (English: "State Information Agency"), almost always known by its acronym KHAD (or KhAD), is the main security agency and intelligence agency of Afghanistan, and also served as the secret police during the Soviet occupation. Successor to AGSA (Department for Safeguarding the Interests of Afghanistan) and KAM, KHAD was nominally part of the Afghan state, but it was firmly under the control of the Soviet KGB until 1989. In January 1986 its status was upgraded and it was thereafter officially known as the "Ministry of State Security"(Wizarat-i Amaniyyat-i Dawlati, or WAD).

After the Dec 1979 Soviet invasion, KAM was renamed and came under the control of the KGB. This was an agency specifically created for the suppression of the Democratic Republic's internal opponents. However, KHAD has continued to operate after the fall of the Soviet backed government in 1992 and acted as the intelligence arm of the United Front or "Northern Alliance" during the Civil war in Afghanistan (1996–2001).
Organization
Little is known of its internal organization, but KHAD's system of informers and operatives extended into virtually every aspect of Afghan life, especially in the government-controlled urban areas. Aside from its secret police work, KHAD supervised ideological education at schools and colleges, ran a special school for war orphans, and recruited young men for the militia.

Its importance to Moscow was reflected in the fact that it was chiefly responsible for the training of a new generation of Afghans who could be loyal to the Soviet Union. Another important area was work with tribes and ethnic minorities. KHAD collaborated with the Ministry of Nationalities and Tribal Affairs to foster support for the regime in the countryside. KHAD also directed its attention to Afghanistan's Hindu and Sikh religious minorities

KHAD was also responsible for co-opting religious leaders. It funded an official body known as the Religious Affairs Directorate and recruited pro-regime ulama and mosque attendants to spy on worshipers.

Some sources give 60 percent of the PDPA party membership as belonging to the armed forces, Sarandoy, or KHAD.

Political factions
KHAD also had a political role that was clearly unintended by the Soviets. It was initially headed by Mohammad Najibullah, until he became President of Afghanistan in 1986. Najibullah and other high officials were Parchamis. As head of the KHAD apparatus, Najibullah was also extremely powerful.

Consequently, KHAD evolved into a Parchami stronghold, equally zealous in the suppression of enemies of the revolution. Thus, KHAD was zealous in suppressing Khalqis in the government and in the armed forces.

There was a bitter rivalry between Najibullah and Sayed Muhammad Gulabzoi. Gulabzoi, a Khalq sympathizer, was Minister of the Interior and commander of Sarandoy ("Defenders of the Revolution"), the national gendarmerie. Gulabzoi was one of the few prominent Khalqis remaining in office in a Parcham-dominated regime.

In late 1985, Najibullah was promoted to be a secretary on the PDPA Central Committee; in this capacity he may be able to exercise party authority over all security organs, including those attached to the Khalq-dominated defense and interior ministries. It was assumed to be a reward for the efficiency and ruthlessness of the secret police, which was in sharp contrast to the performance of the poorly trained and demoralized armed forces.

Involvement in the civil war
In the mid-1980s, KHAD enjoyed a formidable measure of autonomy in relation to other Afghan state institutions.

KHAD reportedly had some success in penetrating the leadership councils of several resistance groups, most of which were headquartered in Pakistan. By the mid-1980s KHAD had gained a fearsome reputation as the eyes, ears, and scourge of the regime. Its influence was pervasive and its methods lawless. KHAD's activities reached beyond the borders of Afghanistan to neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

On Jan 29, 1981 its headquarters in Kabul were attacked and destroyed by mujahideen troops.

After establishment of Karzai government in 2001, KHAD was reestablished and Gen. Arif of the Northern Alliance became its chief. KHAD was directly controlled by the defense minister Mohammed Fahim, who previously controlled it from 1992 until the Taliban took Kabul in 1996. There are some complains that KHAD was used as a tool against opponents by the Northern Alliance.

Human rights abuses
KHAD was also accused of human rights abuses in the mid-1980s. These included the use of torture, the use of predetermined "show trials" to dispose of political prisoners, and widespread arbitrary arrest and detention. Secret trials and the execution of prisoners without trial were also common.

It was especially active and aggressive in the urban centers, especially in Kabul. Organizations such as Amnesty International continued to publish detailed reports of KHAD's use of torture and of inhumane conditions in the country's prisons and jails.

KHAD also operated eight detention centers in the capital, which were located at KHAD headquarters, at the Ministry of the Interior headquarters, and at a location known as the Central Interrogation Office. The most notorious of the Communist-run detention centers was Pul-e-Charkhi prison, where 27,000 political prisoners were murdered. Recently mass graves of executed prisoners have been uncovered dating back to the Soviet era.

On 29th Feb 2000, when The Netherlands had no diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a disputed report on the involvement of the KHAD in the human rights abuses, partly based on secret sources, allegedly biased political sycophants from the side of the Taliban and the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. Some of its conclusions were already published in the Dutch press before the official publication of the full report . This report, quoted frequently in the cases of Afghan asylum seekers to support the exclusion ground of article 1F of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in the national refugee policy of the Netherlands, was also published in an English translation on 26th April 2001 . In 2008 another report on this matter was published by the UNHCR. In this report some conclusions of the Dutch report were contested .

On Oct 14, 2005, the District Court in the Hague convicted two high-ranking KhAD officers who sought asylum in the Netherlands in the 1990s. Hesamuddin Hesam and Habibullah Jalalzoy were found guilty of complicity to torture and violations of the laws and customs of war, committed in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Hesam was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. He was the head of the military intelligence service, the KhAD-e-Nezamy and deputy minister of the Ministry of State Security (WAD). Jalalzoy was the head of the unit investigations and interrogations within the military intelligence of the KhAD. He was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment . On Jan 29, 2007, the Dutch appeal court upheld the sentences . The judgements were confirmed by the Dutch Supreme Court on July 10, 2008 . On June 25, 2007, the District Court in the Hague acquitted another senior KhAD officer. General Abdullah Faqirzada was one of the deputy heads of the KhAD-e-Nezamy from 1980 until 1987. Although the court held it plausible that Faqirzada was closely involved with the human rights abuses in the military branche of the KhAD, it concluded there was no evidence for his individual involvement nor his command responsibility for the specific crimes the charge was based upon . On July 16, 2009, the Dutch appeal court upheld the acquittal .