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* [[CIA: SAD and SOG operations worldwide since 2001]]
 
* [[CIA: SAD and SOG operations worldwide since 2001]]
 
**[[Wikipedia:Drone attacks in Pakistan]]
 
**[[Wikipedia:Drone attacks in Pakistan]]
The following is a list of alleged '''CIA activities in Pakistan'''.  
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The CIA's presence in Pakistan has always ostensibly been about their presence in Afghanistan. Having tricked the Russians into attacking Afghanistan<ref>[http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/BRZ110A.html  The CIA's Intervention in Afghanistan] Interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski,President Jimmy Carter's National Security Adviser "We didn't push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would... That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Soviets into the Afghan trap... The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter, "We now have the opportunity of giving to the Soviet Union its [[Vietnam War]]."</ref><ref>[http://hebdo.nouvelobs.com/hebdo/parution/p19980115/articles/a19460-.html Actualité, Spécial islamisme]</ref><ref>[http://www.counterpunch.org/brzezinski.html No Regrets: Carter, Brzezinski and the Muj]</ref> and the Mujahadeen into attacking the Russians, their training camps in Pakistan and relationship with the Pakistan intelligence forces were fostered to further the Afghan killzone.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=YjEHuDU-L84C&pg=PT112&dq=pakistan+cia&hl=en&ei=yLIVTZWUF5L4swOltuzsCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=pakistan_cia&f=false The Nuclear Jihadist: The True Story of the Man Who Sold the World's Most Dangerous Secrets...and how we could have stopped him by Douglas Frantz, Catherine Collins]</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=l-MCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39&dq=pakistan+cia&hl=en&ei=yLIVTZWUF5L4swOltuzsCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDsQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=pakistan_cia&f=false New York Magazine Mar 27, 1995]</ref>
  
==Pakistan 1965==
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When their targets fled to Pakistan, the next phase began; one that had begun in Iraq years earlier, in 2004. Drone attacks were credited, albeit not specifically, by Bob Woodward in his interview with CBS, as the reason for the success of the Surge in Iraq. They were now used to project military power into Pakistan, without leaving Afghanistan, in much the same way as bombing was used in Cambodia. But it was no longer secret, or even villified.
See [[CIA activities in Vietnam#Vietnam 1965: general non-communist reactions|Vietnam 1965: General Non-Communist Reactions]] for the US assessment of [[Pakistan]]'s reaction to an escalation in Vietnam.
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==Pakistan 1979==
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The Special Activities Division (SAD) is a division of the United States [[Central Intelligence Agency]]'s (CIA) [[National Clandestine Service]] (NCS) responsible for [[covert operation]]s, [[black operation]]s and other "special activities". Special Operations Group (SOG) is the element within SAD responsible for [[paramilitary]] operations.
[[Ramsey Clark]], former [[US Attorney General]] and political critic, has accused the CIA of having played a key role in engineering the regime change from [[Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto]] to [[Zia ul Haq]].<ref name="bhut">{{Cite web
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[[File:Hamid Karzai with American Special Forces.PNG|thumb|right| 400px |[[Hamid Karzai]] with Special Forces and CIA Paramilitary in late 2001]]
| url = http://www.despardes.com/oscartango/120505-ramsey-bhutto.html
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| title = CIA Sent Bhutto to the Gallows
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| first1 = Irsham | last1 = Salim
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}}</ref>  Before his overthrow Bhutto himself accused the US of conspiring against him, although supportive evidence appears undocumented.
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==Pakistan 2002==
 
"[[Abu Zubaydah]], the first of [[Osama bin Laden]]'s henchmen captured by the United States after the" [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], was wounded and feverish from the gunfight in which he had been captured in Pakistan in early spring 2002. when a CIA security team delivered him to a secret safe house in Thailand for interrogation in the early spring of 2002.
 
  
Within days, he "was being subjected to coercive interrogation techniques – he was stripped, held in an icy room and jarred by earsplitting loud music. This was the genesis of practices later adopted by some within the military, and widely used by the CIA in handling prominent terrorism suspects at a series of secret overseas prisons.
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== Afghanistan 1980s ==
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{{main|CIA: SAD and SOG operations from 1975-2002#Afghanistan}}
  
"Soon after his capture, Zubaydah nearly died of his infected wounds. At one point, he was covertly rushed to a hospital after CIA medical officers warned that he might not survive if he did not receive more extensive medical treatment. According to accounts from five former and current government officials who were briefed on the case, FBI agents – accompanied by intelligence officers – initially questioned him using standard interview techniques. They bathed Zubaydah, changed his bandages, gave him water, urged improved medical care and spoke with him in Arabic and English, languages in which he is fluent.
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During the [[Soviet war in Afghanistan]] in the 1980s, Paramilitary Operations Officers were instrumental in training, equipping and sometimes leading [[Mujaheddin]] forces against the [[Red Army]]. Although the CIA in general and a Texas congressman named [[Charles Wilson (Texas politician)|Charlie Wilson]] in particular, have received most of the attention, the key architect of this strategy was [[Michael G. Vickers]]. Vickers was a young Paramilitary Operations Officer from SAD/SOG.  The CIA's efforts have been given credit for assisting in ending the [[Soviet]] occupation of [[Afghanistan]].<ref name="Crile 2003">{{cite book |first=George |last=Crile |title=Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |year=2003 |isbn=0871138549}}</ref>
  
"To convince him that they knew details of his activities, the agents brought a box of blank audiotapes that they said contained recordings of his phone conversations. As the FBI worked with CIA officers who were present, Zubaydah soon began to provide intelligence insights into Al Qaeda... FBI agents on the scene angrily protested the more aggressive approach, arguing that persuasion rather than coercion had succeeded. But the leaders of the CIA team were convinced that tougher tactics were warranted and said that the methods had been legally approved and authorized.<ref name=IHT2006>{{Cite journal
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SAD paramilitary teams were active in Afghanistan in the 1990s in clandestine operations to locate and kill or capture [[Osama Bin Laden]]. These teams planned several operations, but did not receive the order to execute from President [[Bill Clinton]] because the available intelligence did not guarantee a successful outcome weighed against the extraordinary risk to the SAD/SOG teams that would execute the mission.<ref name=GWC/> These efforts did however build many of the relationships that would prove essential in the 2001 [[U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan]].<ref name=GWC>{{cite book |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=Dc4kRClTViIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=afghanistan+cia&hl=en&ei=srEVTbKrE4_msQPG1_SSCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false |title= Ghost wars: the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001 |author= Steve Coll}}</ref>
| url = http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/10/news/henchman.php
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| journal = International Herald Tribune
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| title = Rift between FBI and CIA over interrogations is unhealed
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| author = Johnston, David
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| date = September 12, 2006
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}}</ref>
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==Pakistan 2005==
 
On May 15, 2005, it was reported that [[MQ-1 Predator|Predator]] [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|drones]] had been used to kill [[Al-Qaeda]] figure [[Haitham al-Yemeni]] in a [[targeted killing]] inside [[Pakistan]].<ref name = "Surv">{{cite journal
 
| first =Dana
 
| last =Priest
 
| authorlink = Dana Priest
 
| coauthors =
 
| year = 2005
 
| month =May 15
 
| title =Surveillance Operation in Pakistan Located and Killed Al Qaeda Official
 
| journal =Washington Post
 
| pages =A25
 
| url =http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/14/AR2005051401121.html
 
| accessdate=April 15, 2007
 
}}</ref>
 
  
==Pakistan 2006==
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== Afghanistan 2001 ==
On January 13, 2006, the CIA launched an [[Damadola airstrike|airstrike on Damadola]], a Pakistani village near the Afghan border, where they believed [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]] was located. The airstrike killed a number of civilians but al-Zawahiri apparently was not among them.<ref name = "WP">{{cite journal
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| first =Dafna
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| last =Linzer
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| authorlink =
+
| coauthors =Griff Witte
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| year =2006
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| month =January 14
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| title =U.S. Airstrike Targets Al Qaeda's Zawahiri
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| pages =A09
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| url =http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/13/AR2006011302260.html
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| accessdate=April 22, 2006
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| publisher =[[The Washington Post]]
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}}</ref>  The Pakistani government issued a [http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/01/14/alqaeda.strike/ strong protest] against the US attack, considered a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty. However, several legal experts argue that this cannot be considered an assassination attempt as al-Zawahiri is named as terrorist and an [[enemy combatant]] by the United States, and therefore this [[targeted killing]] is not covered under [[Executive Order 12333]], which banned assassinations.<ref name = "UPI">{{cite journal
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| first =Pamela
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| last =Hess
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| year =2006
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| month =November 8
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| title = Experts: Yemen strike not assassination
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| journal =UPI
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| url =http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20021107-042725-6586r
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| accessdate=April 22, 2006
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}}</ref><ref name = "Bazan">{{cite web
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| author =Elizabeth B. Bazan
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| date =January 4, 2002
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| url =http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RS21037.pdf
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|format=PDF| title =Assassination Ban and E.O. 12333:A Brief Summary
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| publisher = Congressional Research Service
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| accessdate =April 26, 2006
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}}</ref><ref name = "Tom">{{cite web
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| author =Tom O'Connor, Mark Stevens
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| month =November | year =2005
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| url =http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/430/430lect16.htm
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| title =The Handling of Illegal Enemy Combatants
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| accessdate =April 26, 2006
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|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060505021931/http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/430/430lect16.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = May 5, 2006}}</ref><ref name = "parks">{{cite web
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| url =http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/cchrp/Use%20of%20Force/October%202002/Parks_final.pdf
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| title =Memorandum on Executive Order 12333 and Assassination
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| format =PDF
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| accessdate =April 26, 2006
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}}</ref><ref name = "Addicott">{{cite web
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| author =Jeffrey Addicott
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| date =November 7, 2002
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| url =http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forum/forumnew68.php
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| title =The Yemen Attack: Illegal Assassination or Lawful Killing
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| accessdate =April 26, 2006
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}}</ref> However this still remains a violation of sovereignty of Pakistan according to international law.
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==Pakistan 2007==
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In 2001, SAD units were the first U.S. forces to enter Afghanistan.  Their efforts organized the [[Afghan Northern Alliance]] for the subsequent arrival of [[United States Special Operations Command|USSOCOM]] forces. The plan for the invasion of Afghanistan was developed by the CIA, the first time in United States history that such a large scale military operation was planned by the CIA.<ref name=GeoC-C>[http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/cia-confidential/4199/Overview CIA Confidential] National Geographic online</ref>  SAD, U.S. Army Special Forces and the [[Northern Alliance]] combined to overthrow the [[Taliban]] in Afghanistan.<ref name=GWC/><ref>{{cite book |title=First In: An insiders account of how the CIA spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan |first=Gary |last=Schroen |year=2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A personal account by the CIA's field Commander |first=Gary |last=Berntsen |coauthors=Ralph Pezzulla |publisher=Crown |isbn=9780307237408 |year=2005}}</ref><ref name=W2>Woodward, Bob (2002) "Bush at War", Simon & Schuster, Inc.</ref>
A new NIE focused on three years, ''The Terrorist Threat to the US Homeland'', says "Al Qaeda has reorganized to pre-9/11 strength and is preparing for a major US strike has sparked debate among government officials and observers about the Bush administration's foreign policy and counterterrorism efforts." It "indicates that the Islamic terrorist organization's rise has been bolstered by the Iraq war and the failure to counter extremism in Pakistan's tribal areas.
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"... [[Hezbollah]] may become a threat if the US takes action against Iran or seriously threatens or attacks the Islamic organization, the majority of the report focused on the "rejuvenating effect the Iraq war has had on Al Qaeda.
 
  
"Al Qaeda is preparing for a major strike against the US, reports the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE). The terrorist organization has intensified efforts to insert operatives in the US, however, since the 9/11 attacks only a "handful" of senior operatives have been discovered inside the US. The NIE also indicates that Al Qaeda will deploy nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons if they can acquire them."
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== Pakistan 2009 ==
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{{main|Wikipedia:Drone attacks in Pakistan}}
  
:"We assess that al-Qai'da's homeland plotting is likely to continue to focus on prominent political, economic, and infrastructure targets with the goal of producing mass casualties, visually dramatic destruction, significant economic aftershocks, and/or fear among the U.S. population. The group is proficient with conventional small arms and improvised explosive devices, and is innovative in creating new capabilities and overcoming security obstacles.
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SAD/SOG has been very active "on the ground" inside Pakistan targeting al-Qaeda operatives for [[Unmanned Aerial Vehicle]] (UAV) [[Predator UAV|Predator]] strikes and along with USSOCOM elements they have been training Pakistani [[Special Service Group]] Commandos.<ref>Secret U.S. Unit Trains Commandos in Pakistan, Eric Schmit and Jane Perlez, New York Times, February 22, 2009</ref>  Before leaving office, President [[George W. Bush]] authorized SAD's successful killing of eight senior al-Qaeda operatives via targeted air strikes.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2009/01/unleashed-cia-zapped-8-qaeda-l.html | location=New York | work=Daily News | title=Unleashed CIA Zapped 8 Qaeda Lieutenants Since July | date=January 18, 2009}}</ref>  Among those killed were the mastermind of a 2006 plot to detonate explosives aboard planes flying across the Atlantic [[Rashid Rauf]] and the man thought to have planned the [[Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing]] on September 20, 2008 that killed 53 people.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/3500341/British-terror-mastermind-Rashid-Rauf-killed-in-US-missile-strike.html | work=The Daily Telegraph | location=London | title=British terror mastermind Rashid Rauf 'killed in US missile strike' | first=Andrew | last=Alderson | date=November 22, 2008 | accessdate=March 27, 2010}}</ref><ref>[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/16/us-strikes-home-in-on-al-qaeda-kill-8-leaders/ Washington Times]</ref> The CIA Director authorized the continuation of these operations and on January 23, SAD/SOG successfully killed 20 terrorists in a hideout in northwestern Pakistan.  Some experts assess that the CIA Director Leon Panetta has been more aggressive in conducting paramilitary operations in Pakistan than his predecessor.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704130904574644132628157104.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Popular | work=The Wall Street Journal | title=The Meaning of al Qaeda's Double Agent | date=January 7, 2010}}</ref> A Pakistani security official stated that other strikes killed at least 10 insurgents, including five foreign nationals and possibly “a high-value target” such as a senior al-Qaeda or Taliban official.<ref>U.S. missile strikes signal Obama tone: Attacks in Pakistan kill 20 at suspected terror hideouts, By R. Jeffrey Smith, Candace Rondeaux, Joby Warrick Washington Post, Saturday, January 24, 2009</ref>  On February 14, the CIA drone killed 27 taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in a missile strike in south Waziristan, a militant stronghold near the Afghan border where al-Qaeda leaders [[Osama bin Laden]] and [[Ayman al-Zawahri]] were believed to be hiding.<ref>Pakistan: Suspected U.S. Missile Strike Kills 27, Saturday, February 14, 2009 (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,492944,00.html)</ref>
  
:"We assess that al-Qai'da will continue to try to acquire and employ chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear material in attacks and would not hesitate to use them if it develops what it deems is sufficient capability.<ref name=CSM2007-07-19>{{Cite journal
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[[File:MQ-9 Reaper in flight (2007).jpg||right|thumb|MQ-9 Reaper]]
| url = http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0718/p99s01-duts.html
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In a National Public Radio (NPR) report dated February 3, 2008, a senior official stated that al-Qaeda has been "decimated" by SAD/SOG's air and ground operations.  This senior U.S. counter-terrorism official goes on to say, "The enemy is really, really struggling. These attacks have produced the broadest, deepest and most rapid reduction in al-Qaida senior leadership that we've seen in several years."<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100160836 U.S. Officials: Al-Qaida Leadership Cadre 'Decimated' by Tom Gjelten, February 14, 2008]</ref>  President Obama's CIA Director [[Leon Panetta]] stated that SAD/SOG's efforts in Pakistan have been "the most effective weapon" against senior al-Qaeda leadership.<ref>CIA Pakistan Campaign is Working Director Say, [[Mark Mazzetti]] and Helene Cooper, New York Times, February 26, 2009, A15</ref><ref>[http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/us_world/Panetta_warns_against_politicization.html?extpar=polit Panetta warns against politicization] NBC NY</ref>
| journal = Christian Science Monitor
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| title = National Intelligence Estimate: Al Qaeda stronger and a threat to US homeland;Report points to war in Iraq and Pakistan's tribal areas as allowing Al Qaeda to regroup.
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| author = Peter, Tom A.
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| date = July 19, 2007
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}}</ref>
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==Pakistan 2008==
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These covert attacks have increased significantly under President Obama, with as many at 50 al-Qaeda militants being killed in the month of May 2009 alone.<ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090516/ts_nm/us_pakistan_missile Yahoo "US Pakistan Missile"]</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/world/asia/17pstan.html | work=The New York Times | title=25 Militants Are Killed in Attack in Pakistan | date=May 17, 2009 | accessdate=March 27, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/23/AR2010042303346.html | work=The Washington Post | title=Leon Panetta gets the CIA back on its feet | first=David | last=Ignatius | date=April 25, 2010}}</ref> In June 2009, sixty Taliban fighters were killed while at a funeral to bury fighters that had been killed in previous CIA attacks.<ref>Airstrikes Kill Dozens of Insurgents, Joby Warrick, Washington Post, June 24, 2009</ref>  On July 22, 2009, [[National Public Radio]] reported that U.S. officials believe [[Saad bin Laden]], a son of Osama bin Laden, was killed by a CIA strike in Pakistan. Saad bin Laden spent years under house arrest in Iran before traveling last year to Pakistan, according to former National Intelligence Director [[Mike McConnell]].  It's believed he was killed sometime this year.  A senior U.S. counter-terrorism said U.S. intelligence agencies are "80 to 85 percent" certain that Saad bin Laden is dead.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106903109 Bin Laden Son Reported Killed In Pakistan] Mary Louise Kelly, NPR.org 22 July 09</ref>
  
[[Operation Cannonball]], an American Central Intelligence Agency was disclosed in 2008.<ref name='NY Times Qaeda Cannonball'>{{cite news | author=[[Mark Mazzetti]], [[Dave Rodhe]] | title=Amid Policy Disputes, Qaeda Grows in Pakistan | date=June 30, 2008 | publisher=New York Times | url =http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/washington/30tribal.html | accessdate = June 30, 2008  }}</ref> Began in 2006, it was intended as part of an effort to capture [[Osama Bin Laden]] and eliminate [[Al Qaeda]] forces in [[Pakistan]].<ref name='NY Times Qaeda Cannonball' /> The operation was reportedly hampered by conflicts between CIA offices, leading to large delays in the deployment of the program.<ref name='NY Times Qaeda Cannonball' /> The existence of the covert program, and its various internal conflicts, was revealed to the public by the ''[[New York Times]]'' on June 30, 2008.<ref name='Canada FP NY Times Cannonball'>{{cite news | first=Judi | last=McLeod | coauthors= | title=New York Times again exposes “highly classified Pentagon order” | date=June 30, 2008 | publisher=Canada Free Press | url =http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/3724 | accessdate = June 30, 2008}}</ref> The ''New York Times'' article was said to be "exposing highly classified Pentagon orders".<ref name='Canada FP NY Times Cannonball' />
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On August 6, 2009, the CIA announced that [[Baitullah Mehsud]] was killed by a SAD/SOG drone strike in Pakistan.<ref name=Mazzetti-Schmitt>{{cite news|author=[[Mark Mazzetti]], [[Eric P. Schmitt]] |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/world/asia/07pstan.html|title=C.I.A. Missile Strike May Have Killed Pakistan's Taliban Leader, Officials Say|date=August 6, 2009|publisher=The New York Times|accessdate=August 9, 2009}}</ref> [[The New York Times]] said, "Although [[Barack Obama|President Obama]] has distanced himself from many of the Bush administration’s counter-terrorism policies, he has embraced and even expanded the C.I.A.’s covert campaign in Pakistan using Predator and Reaper drones".<ref name=Mazzetti-Schmitt/> The biggest loss may be to "Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida".  For the past eight years, al-Qaeda had depended on Mehsud for protection after Mullah [[Mohammed Omar]] fled Afghanistan in late 2001. With Mehsud dead, al-Qaeda could be in trouble. "Mehsud's death means the tent sheltering Al Qaeda has collapsed," an Afghan Taliban intelligence officer who had met Mehsud many times told [[Newsweek]]. "Without a doubt he was Al Qaeda's No. 1 guy in Pakistan," adds Mahmood Shah, a retired Pakistani Army brigadier and a former chief of the Federally Administered Tribal Area, or FATA, Mehsud's base.<ref>{{cite web|title=The End of Al Qaeda?|url=The End of Al Qaeda?|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/210970|author=Moreau, Ron and Yousafzai, Sami|work=Newsweek Web Exclusive|publisher=The Washington Post Co.|date=August 7, 2009|accessdate=August 9, 2009}}</ref>
  
In July 2008, CIA officials confronted Pakistan officials with evidence of ties between [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] and [[Jalaluddin Haqqani]].<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/world/asia/30pstan.html "C.I.A. Outlines Pakistan Links With Militants", by Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt, July 30, 2008, [[New York Times]]]</ref> ISI refutes this report.<ref>[http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h71eZAqfE_5QTQevuZ4QocshPTwg "Pakistan denies 'malicious' report on CIA confrontation", July 30, 2008, [[Agence France Press]]]</ref>
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Airstrikes from CIA drones struck targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan on September 8, 2009.  Reports stated that seven to ten militants were killed to include two top al-Qaida leaders.  One was Mustafa al-Jaziri, an Algerian national described as an "important and effective" leader and senior military commander for al-Qaida, and Ilyas Kashmiri, considered "one of al-Qaida's most dangerous commanders".  The success of these operations are believed to have caused senior Taliban leaders to significantly alter their operations and cancel key planning meetings.<ref>[http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2009/09/09/Airstrike-forces-Taliban-to-cancel-meeting/UPI-23481252514927/ Airstrike forces Taliban to cancel meeting] United Press Int'l</ref><ref>Suspected US drone killed up to 10 in Pakistan, Haji Mujtaba, Reuters.com, September 8.</ref>
  
==Pakistan 2010==
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The CIA is also increasing its campaign using Predator missile strikes on [[al-Qaeda]] in Pakistan. The number of strikes so far this year, 37, already exceeds the 2008 total, according to data compiled by the Long War Journal, which tracks strikes in Pakistan.<ref name=LATx>{{cite news| url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-intel20-2009sep20,0,1183243.story?page=2 | work=Los Angeles Times | title=CIA expanding presence in Afghanistan | accessdate=May 23, 2010 | first=Greg | last=Miller | date=September 20, 2009}}</ref>  In December 2009, the New York Times reported the President Obama ordered an expansion of the drone program with senior officials describing the program as "a resounding success, eliminating key terrorists and throwing their operations into disarray".<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/world/asia/04drones.html | work=The New York Times | title=C.I.A. to Expand Use of Drones in Pakistan | first=Scott | last=Shane | date=December 4, 2009 | accessdate=March 27, 2010}}</ref>  The article also cites a Pakistani official who stated that about 80 missile attacks in less than two years have killed “more than 400” enemy fighters, a number lower than most estimates but in the same range. His account of collateral damage, was strikingly lower than many unofficial counts: “We believe the number of civilian casualties is just over 20, and those were people who were either at the side of major terrorists or were at facilities used by terrorists.”  <ref name="ReferenceA"/>
{{See also|2010 Station Chief removal Pakistan}}
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==Pakistan 2011==
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On December 6, 2009, a senior [[al-Qaeda]] operative, Saleh al-Somali, was killed in a drone strike in [[Pakistan]].  He was responsible for their operations outside of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and formed part of the senior leadership.  Al-Somali was engaged in plotting terrorist acts around the world and "given his central role, this probably included plotting attacks against the United States and Europe".<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/International/Terrorism/al-qaeda-operations-planner-saleh-al-somali-believed/story?id=9314585 Drone Strike] ABC News</ref><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/10/senior-al-qaida-member-ki_n_387699.html Drone Attack] Huffington Post</ref> On December 31, 2009, senior Taliban leader and strong Haqqani ally Haji Omar Khan, brother of [[Arif Khan]], was killed in the strike along with the son of local tribal leader Karim Khan.<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/31/pakistan.drone.strike/ Suspected drone attack kills 3 in Pakistan], [[CNN]], 2009-12-31</ref>
{{See also|Raymond Allen Davis incident|Death of Osama bin Laden}}
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==Pakistan 2012==
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In January 2010, al-Qaeda in Pakistan announced that [[Lashkar al-Zil]] leader Abdullah Said al Libi was killed in a drone missile strike.  Neither al-Qaeda nor the US has revealed the date of the attack that killed Libi.<ref>Roggio, Bill, ''LongWarJournal'', January 7, 2010. Foundation for the Defense of Democracies</ref>  On January 14, 2010, subsequent to the suicide attack at [[Camp Chapman]], the CIA located and killed the senior Taliban leader in Pakistan, [[Hakimullah Mehsud]]. Mehsud had claimed responsibility in a video he made with the suicide bomber [[Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi]].<ref name=meh>{{cite news |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/m/hakimullah_mehsud/index.html |title=Hakimullah Mehsud |work=The New York Times |date=February 1, 2010 | first=Carlotta | last=Gall | accessdate=May 23, 2010}}</ref>
[[Shakil Afridi]], a Pakistani doctor who spied for the Central Intelligence Agency to locate Osama bin Laden, was jailed for 33 years by a Pakistani court on charges of treason.
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==See also==
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On February 5, 2010, the Pakistani  [[Inter-Services Intelligence]] (ISI) and CIA's SAD/SOG conducted a joint raid and apprehended [[Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar]].  Baradar was the most significant Taliban figure to be detained since the beginning of the [[Afghan War]] more than eight years ago until that date. He ranked second to [[Mohammed Omar|Mullah Muhammad Omar]], the Taliban’s founder and was known to be a close associate of [[Osama bin Laden]].  Mullah Baradar was interrogated by CIA and ISI officers for several days before news of his capture was released.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/world/asia/16intel.html | work=The New York Times | title=Secret Joint Raid Captures Taliban's Top Commander | first1=Mark | last1=Mazzetti | first2=Dexter | last2=Filkins | date=February 16, 2010 | accessdate=March 27, 2010}}</ref>  This capture sent the message that the Taliban leadership is not safe in Afghanistan or Pakistan.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123781567 Capture A Coup For U.S.-Pakistani Spy Agencies] NPR.org</ref>  "The seizure of the Afghan Taliban's top military leader in Pakistan represents a turning point in the U.S.-led war against the militants", U.S. officials and analysts said.<ref name="cnn.com">{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/16/taliban.commander.captured/index.html?hpt=T2 | work=CNN | title=Capture may be turning point in Taliban fight | accessdate=March 30, 2010 | date=February 16, 2010}}</ref>  Per Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, several raids in [[Karachi]] in early February netted dozens of suspected Afghan militants.<ref name="cnn.com"/>  In other joint raids that occurred around the same time, Afghan officials said that the Taliban “shadow governors” for two provinces in northern Afghanistan had also been detained. Mullah Abdul Salam, the Taliban’s leader in [[Kunduz]], and Mullah Mir Mohammed of Baghlan were captured in Akora Khattack.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/world/asia/19taliban.html | work=The New York Times | title=In Blow to Taliban, 2 More Leaders Are Arrested | first=Dexter | last=Filkins | date=February 18, 2010 | accessdate=March 27, 2010}}</ref>
* [[Milton Bearden]] - CIA station chief in Pakistan, 1986-1989
+
  
==References==
+
On February 20, Muhammad Haqqani, son of [[Jalaluddin Haqqani]], was one of four people killed in the drone strike in Pakistan's tribal region in North [[Waziristan]], according to two Pakistani intelligence sources.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/19/pakistan.drone.attack/index.html?hpt=Sbin | work=CNN | title=Drone strike kills son of militant linked to Taliban, al Qaeda | accessdate=March 30, 2010 | date=February 19, 2010}}</ref>
{{Reflist}}
+
 
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On May 31, 2010, the New York Times reported that Mustafa Abu al Yazid (AKA Saeed al Masri), a senior operational leader for Al Qaeda, was killed in an American missile strike in Pakistan’s tribal areas.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/world/asia/01qaeda.html?_r=1&src=me | work=The New York Times | title=American Strike Is Said to Kill a Top Qaeda Leader | first=Eric | last=Schmitt | date=May 31, 2010}}</ref>
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== Citations ==
 +
<references/>
  
 
== Further reading ==
 
== Further reading ==

Latest revision as of 19:10, 11 July 2012

The Seal of the Central Intelligence Agency

The CIA's presence in Pakistan has always ostensibly been about their presence in Afghanistan. Having tricked the Russians into attacking Afghanistan[1][2][3] and the Mujahadeen into attacking the Russians, their training camps in Pakistan and relationship with the Pakistan intelligence forces were fostered to further the Afghan killzone.[4][5]

When their targets fled to Pakistan, the next phase began; one that had begun in Iraq years earlier, in 2004. Drone attacks were credited, albeit not specifically, by Bob Woodward in his interview with CBS, as the reason for the success of the Surge in Iraq. They were now used to project military power into Pakistan, without leaving Afghanistan, in much the same way as bombing was used in Cambodia. But it was no longer secret, or even villified.

The Special Activities Division (SAD) is a division of the United States Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) National Clandestine Service (NCS) responsible for covert operations, black operations and other "special activities". Special Operations Group (SOG) is the element within SAD responsible for paramilitary operations.

Hamid Karzai with Special Forces and CIA Paramilitary in late 2001


Afghanistan 1980s[edit]


During the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, Paramilitary Operations Officers were instrumental in training, equipping and sometimes leading Mujaheddin forces against the Red Army. Although the CIA in general and a Texas congressman named Charlie Wilson in particular, have received most of the attention, the key architect of this strategy was Michael G. Vickers. Vickers was a young Paramilitary Operations Officer from SAD/SOG. The CIA's efforts have been given credit for assisting in ending the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.[6]

SAD paramilitary teams were active in Afghanistan in the 1990s in clandestine operations to locate and kill or capture Osama Bin Laden. These teams planned several operations, but did not receive the order to execute from President Bill Clinton because the available intelligence did not guarantee a successful outcome weighed against the extraordinary risk to the SAD/SOG teams that would execute the mission.[7] These efforts did however build many of the relationships that would prove essential in the 2001 U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan.[7]


Afghanistan 2001[edit]

In 2001, SAD units were the first U.S. forces to enter Afghanistan. Their efforts organized the Afghan Northern Alliance for the subsequent arrival of USSOCOM forces. The plan for the invasion of Afghanistan was developed by the CIA, the first time in United States history that such a large scale military operation was planned by the CIA.[8] SAD, U.S. Army Special Forces and the Northern Alliance combined to overthrow the Taliban in Afghanistan.[7][9][10][11]


Pakistan 2009[edit]


SAD/SOG has been very active "on the ground" inside Pakistan targeting al-Qaeda operatives for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Predator strikes and along with USSOCOM elements they have been training Pakistani Special Service Group Commandos.[12] Before leaving office, President George W. Bush authorized SAD's successful killing of eight senior al-Qaeda operatives via targeted air strikes.[13] Among those killed were the mastermind of a 2006 plot to detonate explosives aboard planes flying across the Atlantic Rashid Rauf and the man thought to have planned the Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing on September 20, 2008 that killed 53 people.[14][15] The CIA Director authorized the continuation of these operations and on January 23, SAD/SOG successfully killed 20 terrorists in a hideout in northwestern Pakistan. Some experts assess that the CIA Director Leon Panetta has been more aggressive in conducting paramilitary operations in Pakistan than his predecessor.[16] A Pakistani security official stated that other strikes killed at least 10 insurgents, including five foreign nationals and possibly “a high-value target” such as a senior al-Qaeda or Taliban official.[17] On February 14, the CIA drone killed 27 taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in a missile strike in south Waziristan, a militant stronghold near the Afghan border where al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri were believed to be hiding.[18]

MQ-9 Reaper

In a National Public Radio (NPR) report dated February 3, 2008, a senior official stated that al-Qaeda has been "decimated" by SAD/SOG's air and ground operations. This senior U.S. counter-terrorism official goes on to say, "The enemy is really, really struggling. These attacks have produced the broadest, deepest and most rapid reduction in al-Qaida senior leadership that we've seen in several years."[19] President Obama's CIA Director Leon Panetta stated that SAD/SOG's efforts in Pakistan have been "the most effective weapon" against senior al-Qaeda leadership.[20][21]

These covert attacks have increased significantly under President Obama, with as many at 50 al-Qaeda militants being killed in the month of May 2009 alone.[22][23][24] In June 2009, sixty Taliban fighters were killed while at a funeral to bury fighters that had been killed in previous CIA attacks.[25] On July 22, 2009, National Public Radio reported that U.S. officials believe Saad bin Laden, a son of Osama bin Laden, was killed by a CIA strike in Pakistan. Saad bin Laden spent years under house arrest in Iran before traveling last year to Pakistan, according to former National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell. It's believed he was killed sometime this year. A senior U.S. counter-terrorism said U.S. intelligence agencies are "80 to 85 percent" certain that Saad bin Laden is dead.[26]

On August 6, 2009, the CIA announced that Baitullah Mehsud was killed by a SAD/SOG drone strike in Pakistan.[27] The New York Times said, "Although President Obama has distanced himself from many of the Bush administration’s counter-terrorism policies, he has embraced and even expanded the C.I.A.’s covert campaign in Pakistan using Predator and Reaper drones".[27] The biggest loss may be to "Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida". For the past eight years, al-Qaeda had depended on Mehsud for protection after Mullah Mohammed Omar fled Afghanistan in late 2001. With Mehsud dead, al-Qaeda could be in trouble. "Mehsud's death means the tent sheltering Al Qaeda has collapsed," an Afghan Taliban intelligence officer who had met Mehsud many times told Newsweek. "Without a doubt he was Al Qaeda's No. 1 guy in Pakistan," adds Mahmood Shah, a retired Pakistani Army brigadier and a former chief of the Federally Administered Tribal Area, or FATA, Mehsud's base.[28]

Airstrikes from CIA drones struck targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan on September 8, 2009. Reports stated that seven to ten militants were killed to include two top al-Qaida leaders. One was Mustafa al-Jaziri, an Algerian national described as an "important and effective" leader and senior military commander for al-Qaida, and Ilyas Kashmiri, considered "one of al-Qaida's most dangerous commanders". The success of these operations are believed to have caused senior Taliban leaders to significantly alter their operations and cancel key planning meetings.[29][30]

The CIA is also increasing its campaign using Predator missile strikes on al-Qaeda in Pakistan. The number of strikes so far this year, 37, already exceeds the 2008 total, according to data compiled by the Long War Journal, which tracks strikes in Pakistan.[31] In December 2009, the New York Times reported the President Obama ordered an expansion of the drone program with senior officials describing the program as "a resounding success, eliminating key terrorists and throwing their operations into disarray".[32] The article also cites a Pakistani official who stated that about 80 missile attacks in less than two years have killed “more than 400” enemy fighters, a number lower than most estimates but in the same range. His account of collateral damage, was strikingly lower than many unofficial counts: “We believe the number of civilian casualties is just over 20, and those were people who were either at the side of major terrorists or were at facilities used by terrorists.” [32]

On December 6, 2009, a senior al-Qaeda operative, Saleh al-Somali, was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan. He was responsible for their operations outside of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region and formed part of the senior leadership. Al-Somali was engaged in plotting terrorist acts around the world and "given his central role, this probably included plotting attacks against the United States and Europe".[33][34] On December 31, 2009, senior Taliban leader and strong Haqqani ally Haji Omar Khan, brother of Arif Khan, was killed in the strike along with the son of local tribal leader Karim Khan.[35]

In January 2010, al-Qaeda in Pakistan announced that Lashkar al-Zil leader Abdullah Said al Libi was killed in a drone missile strike. Neither al-Qaeda nor the US has revealed the date of the attack that killed Libi.[36] On January 14, 2010, subsequent to the suicide attack at Camp Chapman, the CIA located and killed the senior Taliban leader in Pakistan, Hakimullah Mehsud. Mehsud had claimed responsibility in a video he made with the suicide bomber Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi.[37]

On February 5, 2010, the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and CIA's SAD/SOG conducted a joint raid and apprehended Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. Baradar was the most significant Taliban figure to be detained since the beginning of the Afghan War more than eight years ago until that date. He ranked second to Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban’s founder and was known to be a close associate of Osama bin Laden. Mullah Baradar was interrogated by CIA and ISI officers for several days before news of his capture was released.[38] This capture sent the message that the Taliban leadership is not safe in Afghanistan or Pakistan.[39] "The seizure of the Afghan Taliban's top military leader in Pakistan represents a turning point in the U.S.-led war against the militants", U.S. officials and analysts said.[40] Per Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik, several raids in Karachi in early February netted dozens of suspected Afghan militants.[40] In other joint raids that occurred around the same time, Afghan officials said that the Taliban “shadow governors” for two provinces in northern Afghanistan had also been detained. Mullah Abdul Salam, the Taliban’s leader in Kunduz, and Mullah Mir Mohammed of Baghlan were captured in Akora Khattack.[41]

On February 20, Muhammad Haqqani, son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, was one of four people killed in the drone strike in Pakistan's tribal region in North Waziristan, according to two Pakistani intelligence sources.[42]

On May 31, 2010, the New York Times reported that Mustafa Abu al Yazid (AKA Saeed al Masri), a senior operational leader for Al Qaeda, was killed in an American missile strike in Pakistan’s tribal areas.[43]


Citations[edit]

  1. The CIA's Intervention in Afghanistan Interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski,President Jimmy Carter's National Security Adviser "We didn't push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would... That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Soviets into the Afghan trap... The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter, "We now have the opportunity of giving to the Soviet Union its Vietnam War."
  2. Actualité, Spécial islamisme
  3. No Regrets: Carter, Brzezinski and the Muj
  4. The Nuclear Jihadist: The True Story of the Man Who Sold the World's Most Dangerous Secrets...and how we could have stopped him by Douglas Frantz, Catherine Collins
  5. New York Magazine Mar 27, 1995
  6. Crile, George (2003). Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History, Atlantic Monthly Press.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Steve Coll. Ghost wars: the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001.
  8. CIA Confidential National Geographic online
  9. Schroen, Gary (2005). First In: An insiders account of how the CIA spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan.
  10. Berntsen, Gary; Ralph Pezzulla (2005). Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A personal account by the CIA's field Commander, Crown.
  11. Woodward, Bob (2002) "Bush at War", Simon & Schuster, Inc.
  12. Secret U.S. Unit Trains Commandos in Pakistan, Eric Schmit and Jane Perlez, New York Times, February 22, 2009
  13. "Unleashed CIA Zapped 8 Qaeda Lieutenants Since July". Daily News (New York). January 18, 2009. http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2009/01/unleashed-cia-zapped-8-qaeda-l.html. </li>
  14. Alderson, Andrew (November 22, 2008). "British terror mastermind Rashid Rauf 'killed in US missile strike'". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/3500341/British-terror-mastermind-Rashid-Rauf-killed-in-US-missile-strike.html. Retrieved March 27, 2010. </li>
  15. Washington Times
  16. "The Meaning of al Qaeda's Double Agent". The Wall Street Journal. January 7, 2010. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704130904574644132628157104.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Popular. </li>
  17. U.S. missile strikes signal Obama tone: Attacks in Pakistan kill 20 at suspected terror hideouts, By R. Jeffrey Smith, Candace Rondeaux, Joby Warrick Washington Post, Saturday, January 24, 2009
  18. Pakistan: Suspected U.S. Missile Strike Kills 27, Saturday, February 14, 2009 (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,492944,00.html)
  19. U.S. Officials: Al-Qaida Leadership Cadre 'Decimated' by Tom Gjelten, February 14, 2008
  20. CIA Pakistan Campaign is Working Director Say, Mark Mazzetti and Helene Cooper, New York Times, February 26, 2009, A15
  21. Panetta warns against politicization NBC NY
  22. Yahoo "US Pakistan Missile"
  23. "25 Militants Are Killed in Attack in Pakistan". The New York Times. May 17, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/world/asia/17pstan.html. Retrieved March 27, 2010. </li>
  24. Ignatius, David (April 25, 2010). "Leon Panetta gets the CIA back on its feet". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/23/AR2010042303346.html. </li>
  25. Airstrikes Kill Dozens of Insurgents, Joby Warrick, Washington Post, June 24, 2009
  26. Bin Laden Son Reported Killed In Pakistan Mary Louise Kelly, NPR.org 22 July 09
  27. 27.0 27.1 Mark Mazzetti, Eric P. Schmitt (August 6, 2009). "C.I.A. Missile Strike May Have Killed Pakistan's Taliban Leader, Officials Say". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/07/world/asia/07pstan.html. Retrieved August 9, 2009. </li>
  28. Moreau, Ron and Yousafzai, Sami. The End of Al Qaeda?. Newsweek Web Exclusive. The Washington Post Co.. URL accessed on August 9, 2009.
  29. Airstrike forces Taliban to cancel meeting United Press Int'l
  30. Suspected US drone killed up to 10 in Pakistan, Haji Mujtaba, Reuters.com, September 8.
  31. Miller, Greg (September 20, 2009). "CIA expanding presence in Afghanistan". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-intel20-2009sep20,0,1183243.story?page=2. Retrieved May 23, 2010. </li>
  32. 32.0 32.1 Shane, Scott (December 4, 2009). "C.I.A. to Expand Use of Drones in Pakistan". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/world/asia/04drones.html. Retrieved March 27, 2010. </li>
  33. Drone Strike ABC News
  34. Drone Attack Huffington Post
  35. Suspected drone attack kills 3 in Pakistan, CNN, 2009-12-31
  36. Roggio, Bill, LongWarJournal, January 7, 2010. Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
  37. Gall, Carlotta (February 1, 2010). "Hakimullah Mehsud". The New York Times. http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/m/hakimullah_mehsud/index.html. Retrieved May 23, 2010. </li>
  38. Mazzetti, Mark; Filkins, Dexter (February 16, 2010). "Secret Joint Raid Captures Taliban's Top Commander". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/world/asia/16intel.html. Retrieved March 27, 2010. </li>
  39. Capture A Coup For U.S.-Pakistani Spy Agencies NPR.org
  40. 40.0 40.1 "Capture may be turning point in Taliban fight". CNN. February 16, 2010. http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/16/taliban.commander.captured/index.html?hpt=T2. Retrieved March 30, 2010. </li>
  41. Filkins, Dexter (February 18, 2010). "In Blow to Taliban, 2 More Leaders Are Arrested". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/world/asia/19taliban.html. Retrieved March 27, 2010. </li>
  42. "Drone strike kills son of militant linked to Taliban, al Qaeda". CNN. February 19, 2010. http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/19/pakistan.drone.attack/index.html?hpt=Sbin. Retrieved March 30, 2010. </li>
  43. Schmitt, Eric (May 31, 2010). "American Strike Is Said to Kill a Top Qaeda Leader". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/world/asia/01qaeda.html?_r=1&src=me. </li> </ol>

Further reading[edit]

Steve Coll. Ghost wars: the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001.

External links[edit]