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 War
and Terror
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December 2010
NATO weaves South Asian web
Once unthinkable, deeper engagement in Afghanistan and Pakistan by the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization is set to raise the heft of the world's most
powerful military and political alliance to shape South Asian geopolitics. Part
of the complex web now being woven is a perpetual role in the security detail
of the gas pipeline that represents the finished product of the US invasion. - M
K Bhadrakumar (Dec 22, '10)
 SPENGLER
Naked emperor and a conspiracy of
silence
While America's competitors stood transfixed as the emperor's garbs of global
dominance were stripped away, they likely found the extremities exposed -
prospects of new wars in the Middle East, a freewheeling North Korea and a
nuclear Iran - an ugly sight. Never in the course of strategic events have so
few done so much damage to so many. (Dec 22, '10)
Al-Qaeda finds new friends
American intelligence assesses that al-Qaeda is a significantly weakened force,
yet developments in Pakistan indicate otherwise. The powerful
Laskhar-e-Jhangvi, an anti-Shi'ite group, has now become a part of al-Qaeda's
global operations, and they could be bolstered by anti-Pakistan Baloch
insurgents. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Dec 22,
'10)
 THE
ROVING EYE
For drone warriors,
the future is death
Seduced by visions of a "stabilizing" pipeline cutting through huge swathes of
Afghanistan and Pakistan, US President Barack Obama now has a hot war on in
both countries. This will keep his spooks busy remote-controlling mayhem from
the air. Take cover - the Year of the Drone is upon us. - Pepe Escobar
(Dec 22, '10)
Kandahar gains came with 'brutal'
tactics
In efforts seemingly at odds with General David Petraeus’ counter-insurgency
strategy to win over the Afghan population, large-scale demolitions were
carried out in Kandahar province over fears of Taliban booby traps. While local
officials say "we had to destroy these villages to make them safe", the loss of
property has only worsened resentment of the foreign presence. - Gareth Porter
(Dec 20, '10)
 CHAN
AKYA
The value of a nuclear Iran
A nuclear-capable Iran may be exactly what is required to destabilize the
Wahhabi establishment, reduce support for extreme groups such as al-Qaeda - and
usher in a new era of democracy across the Middle East. If the issue of Iran's
attitude towards Israel can be addressed comprehensively, a strong Shi'ite
state may well suit the strategic requirements of both the West and Asia.
(Dec 17, '10)
Ticking boxes in Afghanistan
Although the United States' Afghan strategy review released this week was
originally sold as a supporting pillar for a drawdown of troops starting in
2011, US officials now say things are "on track" and are downplaying its
significance. The review's treatment as a mere formality comes as other
observers paint a bleak picture of failing security, encroaching Taliban rule
and of a US left high and dry when European allies withdraw. - Heather Maher
(Dec 16, '10)
Al-Qaeda braced for a war without
end
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization claims success against the Taliban in
Kandahar and Helmand provinces in Afghanistan. The fighting is far from over,
though, as al-Qaeda-affiliated groups have stepped into the vacuum and they
will continue the battle. This will be the pattern in a war that will not end.
- Syed Saleem Shahzad (Dec 15, '10)
Moscow moves to counter NATO
In the face of what Russia perceives as North Atlantic Treaty Organization
duplicity, Moscow this weekend used a summit of the Collective Security Treaty
Organization to show its determination to build the grouping as a counter to
NATO's projection as the sole vehicle for global security. Russia and its
allies also want to do something about what they view as a failed US war
strategy in Afghanistan. - M K Bhadrakumar (Dec
13, '10)
Who is to blame for WikiLeaks?
In an odd twist to the WikiLeaks affair, positive words for Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Julian Assange, the organization's founder,
have fueled speculation that Israel conspired to release the US diplomatic
cables. The claim is too politically motivated and simplistic to do justice to
the complexity of the gray areas where the interests of powerful international
players and anarchist hackers cross. - Victor Kotsev
(Dec 13, '10)
Pakistan elites turn blind eye to
war
Washington is running riot in Pakistan, and the country's elite is turning the
other way as the missile strikes rain down, the Central Intelligence Agency and
special operations forces fan out and the United States in essence goes to war
against Pakistan. Collateral damage? Who cares? - Fatima Bhutto
(Dec 10, '10)
Broadside fired at al-Qaeda leaders
A new book by several top al-Qaeda operators - the first of its kind - is
critical of the group's leaders, accusing them of acting impetuously and
refusing to take advice. The authors suggest al-Qaeda open itself to the Muslim
intelligentsia and harmonize its strategy with mainstream Islamic movements.
This does not yet indicate a split, but the repercussions could yet be felt
along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Dec 9, '10)
Varanasi blast breaks Indian terror
lull
The Indian Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for a fatal blast at a Hindu
temple in Varanasi, ending a relative lull in terror attacks in India. In an
e-mail to the media, the group linked the attack to the demolition of the Babri
Masjid in Ayodhya. After claiming victory in a land dispute over that site,
Hindu nationalists urged Muslims to hand over land in Varanasi. Tuesday's blast
was the Indian Mujahideen's response. - Sudha Ramachandran
(Dec 8, '10)
THE ROVING EYE
What is al-Qaeda really up to?
Forget the old-school iconography of Osama bin Laden. In the new narrative of
intelligence agencies on al-Qaeda, gone is the talk of a caliphate, Yemen is
the name of the game, and the password is the online "re-Islamization" of
Muslims living in the West, inspired by the likes of Anwar al-Awlaki. WikiLeaks
shows the larger than life evil was an American construct - and the real
al-Qaeda now lacks the means to hit strategic targets. - Pepe Escobar
(Dec 7, '10)
Gulf war cries over Iran
exaggerated
The United States media spin on leaked diplomatic cables in the Persian Gulf is
that Arab rulers are as eager for military action against Iran as the Israelis.
But this is based on a highly selective reading of the relevant documents that
WikiLeaks has provided. - Gareth Porter and Jim Lobe
(Dec 7, '10)
Al-Qaeda backs massive push in Swat
Al-Qaeda has set aside US$23 million and established a major new training camp
in support of an operation in Pakistan's Swat Valley, from where last year
militants were forced out in a big military push. The objective is not so much
to regain lost ground, as to keep the army out of al-Qaeda's stronghold in the
North Waziristan tribal area on the border with Afghanistan. - Syed Saleem
Shahzad (Dec 6, '10)
Dirty tricks and sticky bombs in
Iran
While one target survived, the  "sticky
bomb" attacks on two high-ranking Iranian nuclear scientists in Tehran this
week have dealt a blow to the program ahead of international talks on Iran. The
sophisticated, clinical and coordinated nature of the incidents suggest a
resourceful foreign power has a covert destabilization campaign underway, with
indigenous militants used for the final deployment. - Ben West
(Dec 3, '10)
Pakistan stares into a valley of
death
Pakistan has been under relentless pressure from the United States for more
than a year to root out al-Qaeda and related militants in the volatile North
Waziristan tribal area. Politicians in Islamabad have washed their hands of the
matter, leaving it up to army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani. He has decided
in principle to go ahead, even though the consequences will inevitably be
catastrophic. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Dec 1,
'10)
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ATol Specials
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Syed Saleem Shahzad reports on
the Afghan war from the Taliban side
(Dec '06)
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How
Hezbollah defeated Israel
By
Mark Perry and
Alastair Crooke
(Oct '06)
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Mark Perry and
Alastair Crooke
talk to the 'terrorists'
(Mar, '06)
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The evidence for and against Iran's alleged
nuclear weapons program
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Nir Rosen goes inside the Iraqi
resistance
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Nir Rosen rides with the 3rd
armored cavalry in western Iraq
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Islamism, fascism and
terrorism
by Marc Erikson
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For earlier articles go to:
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