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 War
and Terror
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October 2010
AN ATOL EXCLUSIVE
Taliban peace talks come to a halt
After gaining momentum in August, the reconciliation process between the
Taliban and the United States, shepherded by third parties, has broken down. A
Taliban representative tells Asia Times Online that the process was a
smokescreen for the US to intensify operations against the Taliban and
al-Qaeda. For its part, al-Qaeda is regrouping to launch world-wide attacks. - Syed
Saleem Shahzad (Oct 29, '10)
 THE
ROVING EYE
Osama has (not)
left the building
It has 16 intelligence agencies employing a million spooks at its disposal,
along with the military muscle of the entire NATO alliance. And it's been on
the job for at least a decade. So why can't the US find Osama bin Laden? Maybe
someone should ask Pakistan’s spy agency. - Pepe Escobar
(Oct 29, '10)
Iraq calls time on Saddam's
sidekick
Former Iraqi deputy premier Tariq Aziz once said he would rather die than go to
an American prison. On Tuesday, the "international face" of Saddam Hussein's
regime was sentenced to death over persecution of Islamic parties. Nuri
al-Maliki, on the brink of sealing a deal to give him another four years as
prime minister, apparently feels confident enough to act on something he has
long dreamt of: revenge against Aziz. - Sami Moubayed
(Oct 27, '10)
THE ROVING EYE
Aziz's story will remain untold
Maliki and his Shi'ite Da'wa party had a score to settle with Aziz, and they
will believe justice has now been done. Everyone else loses badly because Aziz
is arguably the only person on Earth who could tell the real story, bit by
juicy bit, about the rolling, decades-long American dirty game in Iraq. - Pepe
Escobar (Oct 27, '10)
NATO invites Russia to join Afghan
fray
In an incredible twist to the great game, the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization has invited Russia to dive deeper into the Afghan war. NATO has
nothing to lose, while Russia will spot a lucrative deal as much as the
political embrace. Yet for those who remember the death unleashed by Russian
gunships more than two decades ago, their return will invoke fear and fury. - M
K Bhadrakumar (Oct 27, '10)
Drones ever-closer to Pakistan's
militants
After surviving at least 12 attempts on his life, Qari Hussain Mehsud, whose
specialty was training suicide bombers, has been confirmed killed in a United
States drone attack. The death of the school dropout who rose to become a
national terror ringmaster is in itself a major blow for the Pakistani Taliban.
It also indicates that the militants' North Waziristan bastion is becoming
increasingly vulnerable. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Oct 26, '10)
New Iraqi alignment reveals US
failure
New information about the killing of five American soldiers in 2007, and a
political accommodation between Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki, reveal a convergence of Shi’ite interests in Iraq.
This balance of power leaves the United States the odd man out. - Gareth Porter
(Oct 26, '10)
Covert ops sabotage US-Iran ties
The United States has spent millions on covert operations aimed at
destabilizing Iran's government and trying to sabotage its nuclear program. The
use of hitmen, front companies and double agents has only created more
obstacles to a long-term solution by reinforcing Iranian fears of the "Great
Satan". - Rob Grace (Oct 26, '10)
US-Pakistan embrace is a fillip for
peace
The United States and Pakistan's demarche is back on a firm footing after a
compromise suggesting that Islamabad will not torpedo the Afghan settlement the
White House has in mind. Under a deal forged last week, the US will accommodate
Pakistan's interests in Afghanistan and continue wide-ranging support. Afghan
peace talks may now gain traction. - M K Bhadrakumar
(Oct 25, '10)
Sympathy for Iran spawns new world
order
As frequent Tehran visitor and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez exhorts the weak
to take on the "kings of the world'', his Iranian counterpart Mahmud
Ahmadinejad's script for nuclear talks has acquired a larger significance.
Tehran's ability to solicit sympathy from nations ready to break Western
sanctions is accelerating the birth of a new world order. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi
(Oct 25, '10)
US dug in for long haul in
Afghanistan
Plans by the Pentagon to spend billions of dollars upgrading and expanding the
network of forward operating bases in Afghanistan suggest that the military's
long-term strategy differs greatly from the July 2011 drawdown promised by
President Barack Obama. From runways and helicopter parking to PXs and dog
kennels, these bases are becoming too permanent for an imminent withdrawal. - Nick
Turse (Oct 22, '10)
Extremists winning the mind games
Pakistan has tried twice to counter radical Islam and al-Qaeda's appeal. The
first attempt under General Pervez Musharraf was gaining traction before he
resigned as president in 2008. The subsequent effort to promote Sufism has
backfired, with Sufi shrines under militant attack and key leaders lying low.
The ideological high ground is back with extremists. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Oct 21, '10)
THE ROVING EYE
And the winner is ... Muqtada
Iraq's next government will likely be Iran-friendly and Shi'ite-friendly,
headed by incumbent Nuri al-Maliki, but crucially with the support of Shi'ite
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. At the same time, although Iraq has the third-largest
proven oil reserves in the world, it will be exploited by Chinese, Russian and
Asian companies, not US Big Oil - the final nail in the coffin of the
neo-conservative fantasy of a Greater Middle East as an American lake. - Pepe
Escobar (Oct 19, '10)
CIA slipping its leash with drone
strikes
The Barack Obama administration tells the world that its campaign of drone
strikes in Pakistan is aimed at al-Qaeda and is carefully targeted. But
interviews with Pakistanis affected by the attacks, and examination of the area
most of the unmanned aircraft are hitting, suggest that neither claim is true.
- Gareth Porter (Oct 19, '10)
Writers refuse to face horrors of
Afghan war
The groundswell of protest against the Vietnam War was strongly influenced by
books that exposed the human costs of the conflict, and questioned whether it
should be fought. The current literature of the Afghan war is more concerned
with muscle-minded analyses of how to fight a better counter-insurgency. - Nick
Turse (Oct 18, '10)
AN ATOL EXCLUSIVE
Pakistan frees Taliban commander
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's commander in Afghanistan who was
arrested in Pakistan in February, has been set free. Asia Times Online has
learned that Baradar has been reunited with his Taliban "family", and that he
has been earmarked to play a key role in backchannel talks through the
Pakistani army with Washington. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Oct 15, '10)
Heroes and villains in Lebanon
The fanfare over Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's visit to Lebanon raises
fears of a step towards a Hezbollah takeover that would see Lebanon become an
Iranian client state. While the provocative two-day tour could stoke more
political turmoil in Beirut, the power projection on display is likely to boost
Ahmadinejad's popularity at home. - Robert Tait
(Oct 14, '10)
Ahmadinejad bears a message for
Israel
Apart from threatening to throw a stone in Israel's direction, Iranian
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad hopes to achieve a lot during his two-day visit to
Lebanon that started on Wednesday, from reiterating support for Hezbollah to
improving trade and economic ties. Paramount, though, will be a warning of a
frontal attack from south Lebanon should Israel dare to attack Iran. - Kaveh L
Afrasiabi (Oct 13, '10)
Ahmadinejad steps into a cauldron
The enthusiastic welcome Hezbollah has planned for Iranian President Mahmud
Ahmadinejad’s visit to Beirut this week has fueled speculation that, after
reports that some of its members will be indicted for the murder of ex-premier
Rafik Hariri, the group will use the president's presence to undermine the
Western-backed Lebanese government. - Victor Kotsev
(Oct 12, '10)
Middle East squeeze on Obama
Even with a United States-led salvage effort underway, time is running out on
the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The protagonists are playing brinkmanship
with each other, and sensing US President Barack Obama's weakness after he
declared Middle East peace a top priority, they are collectively putting the
squeeze on him. - Victor Kotsev (Oct 7, '10)
Afghan war moves deeper into
Pakistan
A disillusioned German recruit for al-Qaeda provided information that led to
the US Predator drone attack in Pakistan on Monday in which at least eight
other Germans were killed. Rami Mackenzie was part of an al-Qaeda franchise set
up in Pakistan's tribal area to launch attacks in Europe. The Afghan war has
taken a giant step eastwards. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Oct 6, '10)
US scrambles to save peace talks
The Barack Obama administration has offered Israel "juicy carrots" to freeze
all settlement construction in the West Bank so that failing Middle East peace
talks can be kept alive. The inducements make nobody happy - from the
Palestinians to Israel's far right - and may damage the US president's
credibility as an honest broker in the Arab world. - Jim Lobe
(Oct 5, '10)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
America suffers a power outage
The United States remains a powerful nation with a military to match and
undeniable global heft, but in whole regions of the world its power slippage is
no less real for that - and, by any measure, irreversible. As Washington's
failure to impose its monetary or energy policies on the rest of the world
shows, we have entered a new era in history. - Dilip Hiro
(Oct 5, '10)
Carryings on up the Khyber Pass
The closure of the Khyber Pass, through which the bulk of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization's supplies travel on the way to Afghanistan, is a
manifestation of the growing power of hawkish anti-American elements in the
Pakistani military. While militants have added to the problem by attacking
convoys, the message to Washington is clear: Pakistan can't be taken for
granted. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Oct 4, '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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