Lieutenant General Ahmed Shujaa Pasha has been named the new chief of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), the most powerful of its myriad of largely independent spying organizations. He replaced Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj, a Musharraf appointee who held the position for about a year. Before that, the role belonged to General Parvez Kayani, Pakistan’s [...]
Echoing comments made by Secretary of State Robert Gates last week, CENTCOM commander General David Petraeus has warned that Pakistan must deal with its growing militancy or face a threat to its very existence. Gen. Petraeus was hopeful that Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari recognizes the danger and “can deal with it in a comprehensive [...]
On Sunday, The Observer cited sources who reported that the Taliban and the Afghan government were engaged in a “wide-ranging peace-process” aimed at ending the seven year conflict. The talks were reportedly sponsored by the Saudi Arabian government and are aimed at driving a wedge between al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
It was unclear from the report [...]
President Bush announced earlier this month that there would be no further troop cuts in Iraq until 2009. CENTCOM commander General David Petraeus has already said he doesn’t believe the war will ever end in anything resembling a victory. And while the administration continues to insist at every opportunity that the Iraq War has been [...]
The Pakistani military’s offensive in Bajaur, started in early August, shows no signs of ending. And with the military already claiming 1,000 killed and 2,000 wounded militants in the fighting in the tiny border agency, the supply of militants shows no signs of waning.
Yesterday, militants launched attacks on three separate military camps in Bajaur. Where [...]
How are negotiations for America’s contentious Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq proceeding? It depends who you ask. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice indicated on Saturday that “we’re making good progress.” Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyan Zebari claimed at the same time that the agreement was “very close,” and “in the final stages.” Yet US Ambassador [...]
Last week Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, on a visit to Washington DC, warned that he expects another Taliban offensive before winter. The Bush Administration appears to fear strikes in the region as well. The Sunday Telegraph, citing a “senior US intelligence official,” insists that the escalation of US attacks in the Pakistani tribal [...]
Pakistani military officials said today that around 1,000 militants have been killed and 2,000 injured in Bajaur Agency since its offensive was launched in early August. Major-General Tariq Khan told reporters that 63 troops had also been killed and 212 injured in the operation, and that his timeframe for the offensive is “between one-and-a-half to [...]
One day after a reported five minute exchange of fire between Pakistani and US troops along the Afghan border, Pakistani government spokesman Akram Shaheedi warned the US-led coalition forces “not to violate territorial sovereignty of Pakistan as it is counterproductive to the war on terror.” President Asif Ali Zardari described US support as a [...]
United Nations Special Envoy Kai Eide has warned that the security situation in Afghanistan “is worse than it was three months ago,” and that the deteriorating atmosphere was distracting countries from fulfilling the commitments they made at June’s conference in Paris. Meanwhile, during a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, President Bush downplayed the rising [...]
