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 War
and Terror
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October 2009
 AN
ATOL INVESTIGATION
Deep inside Indonesia's
kill zone
Indonesia's Detachment 88 counter-terrorism teams are seen by some critics as
too willing to kill suspects and so do away with the need for long trials of
suspected jihadis. Yet the training of these crisis response teams, and their
weaponry, is in many ways inadequate for confronting at close quarters suicidal
and well-armed opponents. - John McBeth (Oct
30, '09)
NATO forces turn to warlords
Afghan warlords are earning millions of dollars from North Atlantic Treaty
Organization forces to guard forward operating bases and supply convoys. Their
ruthless private armies are reviled by much of the public, and are likely to
turn their rifles on NATO forces should the protection money dry up. - Gareth
Porter (Oct 30, '09)
Europe stoops to conquer the
Uzbeks
A controversial decision by Europe to lift an arms embargo on Uzbekistan comes
as alarm bells are ringing in Central Asian capitals over a possible spillover
of the Afghan war. Tashkent may be the key to a northern supply corridor, but
regional leaders - increasingly skeptical of the West's will to win and the
prospect of "Afghanization" - are bracing for a Taliban victory. - M K
Bhadrakumar (Oct 29, '09)
Strong messages in Pakistan
 The
primary job of United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her
visit to Pakistan is to relay the message to both its civilian and military
leadership that it would be wise to join the US in fighting extremists as part
of the war in Afghanistan. The massive car bomb that killed 105 people in
Peshawar on the day of her arrival is the militants' message.
(Oct 29, '09)
SPEAKING FREELY
Hamid Karzai: Afghanistan's Diem
Fresh revelations of the Hamid Karzai government's opium trade links and the
alleged involvement of the Central Intelligence Agency render the United States
role in Afghanistan more murky and contradictory. With all the attention on
General Stanley McChrystal's troop increase demand, historical perspective has
been lost. We are back in Ngo Dinh Diem's Saigon of 1963. - Michael Wallach
(Oct 29, '09)
Helicopter rumors refuse to die
The United States is battling yet another rumor in Afghanistan, that Western
forces are using helicopters to transport Taliban fighters from the volatile
south to the north of the country. Officials have dismissed the claims as
rubbish, but locals are sticking to their stories. - Ahmad Kawoosh
(Oct 28, '09)
Taliban take over Afghan province
 Following
the withdrawal of United States troops from key bases, the Taliban have taken
control of Afghanistan's Nuristan province. It is now under Qari Ziaur Rahman,
a Taliban commander with strong ties to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. With this
haven, the Taliban's first goal is to disrupt next month's runoff presidential
election, then to assist militants in Pakistan. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Oct 28, '09)
Kerry argues for counter-insurgency
lite
The death on Monday of 14 United States troops in two helicopter accidents -
the single-deadliest day for US forces in Afghanistan in more than four years -
adds to the urgency for the administration of President Barack Obama to settle
on its war strategy. Democratic Senator John Kerry, following an extended visit
to the country, spells out his vision for counter-insurgency operations. - Jim
Lobe (Oct 27, '09)
Afghan fury at Koran burning claims
Allegations that American forces burned copies of the Koran during a recent
raid in central-eastern Afghanistan have led to a series of protests, including
two in the capital, Kabul. The United States military denies the charges,
saying Taliban insurgents are behind the burnings. - Abdullah Obaidi
(Oct 27, '09)
Baghdad blasts echo far and wide
The twin suicide bomb attacks in Iraq on Sunday that killed 132 people and
injured 700 others have dramatically shattered the relative calm the country
has enjoyed over the past 18 months. One of the first major consequences could
be delays to the parliamentary elections scheduled for January, while the
reverberations may yet be felt in Afghanistan. - Sami Moubayed
(Oct 26, '09)
US threats prompted Iran nuclear
facility
The United States has accused Iran of duplicity over the construction of a
second uranium enrichment facility at Qom, and says Tehran only revealed its
existence once the Iranians realized that Washington knew about it. Yet US
intelligence estimates tell a very different story, one in which Iran carefully
reacted to what appeared to be an imminent US strike against it. - Gareth Porter
(Oct 26, '09)
NATO plays a waiting game
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization faces a crucial decision on Afghanistan,
with the top United States commander in the country, General Stanley
McChrystal, asking the body for 40,000 more troops. Until next month's re-run
of Afghanistan's presidential election comes to a close, NATO's defense
ministers aren't committing to anything. (Oct 26,
'09)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Failed war president or prince of
peace?
Should he take the peace-maker route, United States President Barack Obama
stands a chance of success. History suggests that the path of war will be a
surefire loser. The past half-century makes clear what the US military can
achieve - destruction and mayhem; and what it has failed to do in Korea,
Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan - deliver a genuine and lasting victory. - Nick
Turse (Oct 26, '09)
America, condoms and the Taliban
The United States didn't seem to care that it was unprecedented for a tribal
chief like Afghan President Hamid Karzai to be made to admit defeat in front of
his people - as he did in a press conference to announce a run-off election.
Whether Karzai was efficient or corrupt is no more the issue. The crux now is
the Afghan perception that Westerners use their friends like condoms - to be
discarded after use. - M K Bhadrakumar (Oct
22, '09)
Where Pakistan's militants go to
ground
The Pakistani military is taking the fight to militants in the South Waziristan
tribal area, even as the United States takes its Afghan fight to Pakistan. This
draws Pakistan into an ever-deepening quagmire, one in which militants are
carving havens. One of these is the Lyari area of Karachi, where an odd
assortment of groups - including the Iranian Jundallah and anti-Shi'ite terror
outfits - rub shoulders beyond the reach of the law. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Oct 22, '09)
Islamabad dismayed by 'dithering' US
The view that the United States will eventually abandon Pakistan, leaving it
alone to fend off insurgent groups and suicide bombers, is pervasive in
Islamabad. And when US President Barack Obama appears perplexed over questions
on Afghanistan such as "How many troops?" and "For what purpose?", it does
nothing to instill confidence in a besieged ally. The fine line between
"rethinking" and "dithering" is fast fading. - Zahid U Kramet
(Oct 22, '09)
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Iran trapped in a ring of unrest
Whether the United States directed Jundallah to conduct the weekend's terrorist
attack in Iran is irrelevant. What is significant is that the Americans have
created - through their actions in Afghanistan and Pakistan - a strategic
environment in which such attacks are both practically and ideologically
possible. If Iran is to rid itself of Jundallah, and the close ties the group
has to organized crime, it has to actively lobby for the exit of foreign forces
from the region. - Mahan Abedin (Oct 21, '09)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
A 'long war' in the blowback world
America tends to think of "blowback" as something in the past, something that
ended with the attacks of September 11, 2001. But in the Greater Middle East,
one lesson seems clear enough: for 30 years, the United States has been deeply
involved in creating, financing and sometimes arming an entire blowback world
that will strike again. - Tom Engelhardt (Oct
21, '09)
Saudi-Iranian hostility hits
boiling point
Escalating tensions between Riyadh and Tehran may have played a role in
Sunday's suicide strike that killed seven senior commanders of the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards Corps as well as 42 other people in Iran's southeast.
Riyadh is concerned that Iran's growing power will erode Saudi pre-eminence in
the region, and the Saudis might have a vested interest in disrupting the
United States-Iran nuclear talks. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Oct 20, '09)
THE ROVING EYE
Jundallah versus the mullahtariat
Sunday's suicide bombing in Iran has set off a war: it's the Iranian
Revolutionary Guards Corps against Pakistani Balochistan-based Jundallah and
the massive drug trafficking network in the area. In terms of the turbulent,
internal political equation in Iran, the show of force against a key element of
the mullahtariat could not be more devastating. - Pepe Escobar
(Oct 20, '09)
Iran's nuclear talks also hit
The strike in Iran raises the possibility of Iran retaliating with attacks on
bases inside Pakistan from which the main suspects operate. Iranian President
Mahmud Ahmadinejad will also now be under pressure to unravel the recent gains
made with the United States in talks over Tehran's nuclear program. - Kaveh L
Afrasiabi (Oct 20, '09)
A new battle begins in Pakistan
Pakistani troops are pouring into the South Waziristan tribal area for a
conflict against militants that they have little chance of winning outright.
The offensive does, though, emphatically shift the focus from Afghanistan,
which is what the United States has wanted for some time. Iran, following
Sunday's attack on commanders of its Revolutionary Guards Corps, also has
Pakistan on its mind. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Oct
19, '09)
 CHAN
AKYA
Us and them
Controlling the renewed menace of the Taliban will involve actions in the
United States and Europe to destroy the demand for heroin and oil; the twin
fuels of Islamic fundamentalism. Getting this achieved may not be the most
popular course of action, but is more likely to succeed than mere adjustments
to the current war strategy. Historical evidence involving the decline of the
British Empire favors the notion, too. (Oct 19, '09)
 SPENGLER
When the cat's away,
the mice kill each other
It is most astonishing that official Washington seems oblivious to the crack-up
of American influence occurring in front of its eyes. Without America to
mediate and restrain, each of the small powers in the Middle East has no choice
but to test its strength against the others. Those who wish to reduce American
power may get what they wish for, but they might not like it.
(Oct 19, '09)
Washington presses Iran sanctions
The United States Congress is pushing through long-pending legislation to
impose new unilateral sanctions on Iran. Supporters of the sanctions claim they
give President Barack Obama more leverage in upcoming talks with Tehran about
its nuclear program, but critics say the bans may prove counter-productive to
any possible diplomatic engagement. - Jim Lobe
(Oct 19, '09)
Pakistan aid bill has explosive
impact
The same day that United States President Barack Obama signed a bill that
triples the current level of non-military aid the US provides to Pakistan, the
Pakistani Taliban mounted the latest in a 10-day series of devastating attacks
on key army and police facilities that highlight Washington's concerns about
the threat posed by the militants. - Jim Lobe
(Oct 16, '09)
Going 'deep', not 'big', in
Afghanistan
An analysis making waves in Washington by a veteran United States officer calls
for the withdrawal of the bulk of United States combat forces from Afghanistan
over 18 months, warning against General Stanley McChrystal's counter-insurgency
strategy. Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L Davis says that it is already too late
for US forces to defeat the insurgency. - Gareth Porter
(Oct 16, '09)
The 'other' Kurdistan seethes with
rage
While Iraqi Kurdistan elects its own parliament and forges oil contracts
independent of Baghdad, other ethnic Kurdish insurgents from Iran, Syria and
Turkey are flooding into remote redoubts in the fearsome Qandil Mountains to
battle nation-states that have persecuted them for decades. With Turkish
warplanes above and Iranian artillery firing over the border, Asia Times Online
traced a tortuous path to speak with Kurdish guerrillas. - Derek Henry Flood
(Oct 15, '09)
India takes off against 'Red
Taliban'
The Indian Air Force has requested government permission to fire in
self-defense should its helicopters or crew operating in Maoist areas come
under attack, marking a significant change in India's counter-insurgency
strategy against what are now being called the "Red Taliban". - Sudha
Ramachandran (Oct 15, '09)
Taliban have a free ride in Kunduz
Once one of the most stable provinces in Afghanistan, parts of Kunduz are
falling under Taliban control, so much so that the insurgents ride around with
impunity in captured police vehicles. The governor of Kunduz blames Pakistan
for the emergence of the insurgents, while others point fingers at the United
States. - Gul Rahim Niazmand (Oct 15, '09)
AN ATol EXCLUSIVE
Al-Qaeda's guerrilla chief lays out
strategy
 The
top field commander of al-Qaeda, in an exclusive interview with Asia Times
Online, proves he is alive and well after repeated drone attacks and delineates
in broad strokes al-Qaeda's strategy. The Afghanistan trap, baited on September
11, 2001, has been sprung, says formidable guerrilla leader Ilyas Kashmiri, and
events from Gaza to Mumbai should not be seen in isolation but as part of the
master plan to bloody the United States and its proxies. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Oct 14, '09)
Hawks still link Taliban to al-Qaeda
The relationship between Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and the Taliban has
been a central issue in White House discussions on Afghanistan strategy that
began last month, with security officials insisting that Afghan insurgent
groups have "much closer ties to al-Qaeda now than they did before 9/11". - Gareth
Porter (Oct 14, '09)
When 5+1 = 1+1 in the Iran equation
Despite accusations from the right-wing in the United States that Iran duped
the Barack Obama administration into serious concessions at last week's nuclear
talks, bilateral Iran-US dialogue, unencumbered by the influence of third
parties, remains the clearest path to easing nuclear tensions. - Kaveh L
Afrasiabi (Oct 8, '09)
THE ROVING EYE
Stuck in Kabul, with Saigon blues
again
What is now being performed for Washington galleries is the dance of the
generals by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, National
Security Adviser retired General Jim Jones and top man in Afghanistan General
Stanley McChrystal. The Pentagon and its experts argue the US should
"Afghanize" the war - but the staggering financial black hole is just getting
bigger as the US slouches towards "Chaos-istan". - Pepe Escobar
(Oct 7, '09)
Obama trapped behind wall of
containment
United States President Barack Obama's troubles in the Middle East are not
caused primarily by "bad guys" such as Iran, nor by Israel's supposed power or
that of the domestic "Israeli lobby". Instead, he's trapped in the conundrum
that's built into US containment strategy. No matter what other nations do or
don't do, everything that looks like it might be a solution only turns out to
create new problems. - Ira Chernus (Oct 7,
'09)
Leaked Iran paper exposes IAEA rift
Excerpts of an internal draft report reveal that the International Atomic
Energy Agency has only suspicions - not real evidence - that Iran has been
working on nuclear weapons. This contradicts the agency's earlier claim that
was based on leaked documents, and there is now a fierce struggle in the
nuclear watchdog about whether the leaked material is genuine or fake. - Gareth
Porter (Oct 7, '09)
US public skeptical - and hawkish -
on Iran
The results of a new poll showing that the majority of Americans believe
diplomatic engagement with Iran will fail and that Washington should be
prepared to use military force to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear
weapon clearly play into the hands of the hawks pressuring President Barack
Obama. Other elements of the poll, though, show support for the president's
policy of dialogue. - Jim Lobe (Oct 7, '09)
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Pakistan goes for militants' jugular
The pieces are all in place for Pakistan to launch an all-out attack on the
Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda in the Waziristan tribal areas on the Afghan
border. The formerly reluctant military is fully on board, the United States is
actively assisting with intelligence, and most important, the financial
lifeblood of the militants is being squeezed as never before. - Syed Saleem
Shahzad (Oct 6, '09)
US stands right beside Islamabad
The Barack Obama administration now believes that the Pakistani Taliban have
effectively over-reached and that Pakistan's elite, including the army, has
come to see it and its al-Qaeda allies as a much greater threat to the country
than ever before. - Jim Lobe (Oct 6, '09)
More power to Afghan warlords
The West's strategy of promoting 
democracy in Kabul while taking on the Taliban in the field with unproven
Afghan troops and overstretched allied forces has left it staring at defeat in
Afghanistan. The plan ignores an alternative that succeeded spectacularly in
2001: arming tribal warlords and turning them loose on the Taliban. - Richard M
Bennett (Oct 6, '09)
Seeds of change in Iraqi Kurdistan
Leaders from Iraqi Kurdistan's upstart political opposition, the Movement for
Change, say the party's departure from traditional clan-based politics led to
its unprecedented success at recent regional elections. The group is part of an
unexpected democratic progress that has forced Turkey, Iran and Syria into a
strategic rethink. - Derek Henry Flood (Oct
5, '09)
Sex and security in Afghanistan
Apart from rollicking romps at the United States Embassy in Kabul, allegations
have emerged of private security contractors in Afghanistan frequenting
brothels notorious for housing trafficked women. - David Isenberg
(Oct 5, '09)
New doubt on US's Iran plant claim
Washington's charge that construction on Iran's second uranium-enrichment
facility is part of a covert decision to violate its International Atomic
Energy obligations is being questioned. Further analysis of satellite photos of
the site suggests Iran is not in the wrong. - Gareth Porter
(Oct 5, '09)
US storms troops into the
Philippines
About 3,000 United States Marines are due to arrive in the Philippines for
training and humanitarian missions in the wake of recent floods there. That's
the official line, anyway. With extremists having recently killed two US
soldiers on war-torn Sulu island, the marines might have another mission in
mind. - Al Labita (Oct 2, '09)
October surprise in US-Iran
relations
The meeting on Thursday between Iran and the six countries dealing with its
nuclear case resulted in agreement for a follow-up encounter, in itself an
important development, given the heated atmosphere in the lead-up to the talks.
As significant, the United States and Iran made an initial direct contact,
raising hopes of a real breakthrough. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi
(Oct 2, '09)
CHAN
AKYA
One man's terrorist ...
Behind the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka and the
killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud are stories of countries
creating bands of terrorists to do things that were impossible for those in
power to be seen to be doing directly. In this dangerous game, blowback is
inevitable. (Oct 2, '09)
China maps an end to the Afghan war
A senior Chinese official has publicly put forward an unusually forthright and
timely view on the Afghanistan conflict, proposing concrete steps to be taken
towards unlocking the stalemate there. This, he argues, is an Afghan issue,
while al-Qaeda is not a big factor. Not the least important: US troops should
go home. - M K Bhadrakumar (Oct 1, '09)
China's military struts its stuff
The military took center stage on Thursday during celebrations to mark the 60th
anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Significantly,
the massive parade in Beijing featured hitherto unseen advanced hardware
developed and made in China. The People's Liberation Army has been equally open
in outlining its ambitious modernization plans to make it the best fighting
force in the world. - Cristian Segura and Wu Zhong
(Oct 1, '09)
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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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