US
trains Pakistani killing
machine By Syed Saleem Shahzad
KARACHI - A longstanding disconnect
between the Pakistan and United States militaries
is largely responsible for the inability of the
"war on terror" to nail key targets such as
al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, as well as
military failures against the Taliban-led
insurgency in Afghanistan.
Former US
ambassador to Honduras, Mexico and the Philippines
and presently Deputy Secretary of State, John
Negroponte, aims to change this by creating
special Pakistani units, trained by the US, to go
after key figures.
"These programs have
already started and will continue at length.
Already, many teams of US military officials have
arrived in Pakistan and have started basic
training courses," a senior
Pakistani security official told
Asia Times Online on the condition of anonymity.
"Under these programs, US Army officers
will come to Pakistan and maintain a close liaison
with middle-ranking army officers, including
majors, colonels and brigadiers. Some officers
will then be selected to go to the US, where they
will be trained in special operations," the
official said.
According to other security
contacts who spoke to Asia Times Online, the
conventional fight against insurgents - that is,
large deployments of the Pakistani army in the
tribal areas - will be set aside and the newly
trained special operations teams will go after
irreconcilable hardline militants. The newly
elected government in Islamabad at the same time
will negotiate with reconcilable elements.
Pakistan is also to be given a new US aid
package in the context of this counter-terrorism
approach. The US Congress is soon to decide
whether to triple non-military aid to Pakistan to
US$7 billion.
The training by the US of
Pakistani special forces is based on Negroponte's
initiatives in Nicaragua and the Philippines,
where indigenous armies were cultivated to further
the US's battles. In the case of the Philippines,
it is against the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group and
separatists on the island of Mindanao. In
Nicaragua, special forces were trained as a
bulwark against the revolutionary Sandinista
government in the 1980s.
The reasons for
the new tactic in Pakistan are twofold. Firstly,
the Pakistani army does not have extensive
training in counter-insurgency, especially on its
western borders, that is, Afghanistan. And for
years, its strategic orientation has been
India-obsessed, in particular fueling the
insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Secondly, the US considers it vital to
bring its military closer to Pakistan's. At a
senior level, many Pakistani officers have a
personal rapport with senior US officials. The
chief of army staff, General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani,
has attended three extensive courses in the US,
where he has cultivated high-level contacts. The
idea is to achieve the same contacts for
middle-ranking officials as a tool for sharing
intelligence and conducting joint military
operations.
Despite the US giving Pakistan
about $10 billion in military aid over the past
seven years, the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan
is stronger than ever and the Taliban have found
safe heavens in Pakistan. Some officials in
Washington suspect most of the US money has been
used to build up Pakistan's conventional forces
for use in possible future conflicts with India,
rather than spent on counter-insurgency.
Under the new plan, any reward money for
taking out high-value targets will go directly
into the pockets of middle- and junior-level
officers, who will be at the heart of the special
operations teams. Previously, reward money has
invariably ended up in the hands of the exchequer,
rather than in those of informers or the security
officials involved. This has acted as a
disincentive for cooperation in the "war on
terror", especially for a military that
traditionally has had a soft spot for the Taliban.
Sensing the new moves, Pakistani militants
have unilaterally broken various ceasefire
agreements with the authorities and carried out
two deadly attacks against Pakistani security
forces in the past few days.
Some Taliban
leaders have made unprecedented calls for the
urgent and strict enforcement of Islamic laws, for
instance, Maulana Faqir Muhammad of Bajaur Agency
has ordered all men in the tribal area to grow a
beard. The aim is to spread the insurgency at the
grassroots level and close the gap between
irreconcilable and reconcilable Taliban, thereby
making the task of the new special operations
units all the more difficult.
Syed Saleem
Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan
Bureau Chief. He can be reached at
saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com
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2008 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved.
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