A tale of seven headlines, Afghanistan, al Qaeda, and media falsehood

mccleans canada...

Afghan intelligence chief says Karzai assassination plot hatched in Pakistan

canada east...

Afghan intelligence chief says Karzai assassination plot hatched in Pakistan

khaleej times...

Afghans link Karzai murder plan to Pakistan

associate press...

Afghans link Karzai assassination plan to Pakistan

kuwait times...

Karzai assassination plan hatched in Pakistan soil

cnn...

'Pakistan militants plotted Karzai ambush'

ah, but THEN there's the new york times...

Afghans See Link to Qaeda in Plot to Shoot Karzai [emphasis added]

for somewhat obvious reasons, i'm paying closer attention to what's going on in afghanistan than i might otherwise... we received a security warning yesterday about the shoot-out that was going on with this crowd of "pakistani militants" over in the northwest section of the city... not long after, amrullah suleh made this statement...

"We have no evidence whether ... the operation has had any mercy or go-ahead from the government of Pakistan and (its) special agencies," Saleh told reporters in Kabul. "There (is) very, very strong evidence suggesting that Pakistan's soil once again has been used to inflict pain on our nation." The militants involved in the weekend plot were in phone contact with people in Pakistan's Bajaur and North Waziristan tribal areas and the main northwestern city of Peshawar, he said.

did you see any mention of al qaeda there? good... neither did i...

amrullah suleh has a very dirty rep which i won't go into right now because i don't have any facts together, but i do know that there is a great deal of suspicion of pakistan and the pakistani government here, and, from what i can tell, for very good reason... i have heard it speculated that the serena hotel bombing was carried out by agents of pakistan's isi rather than the taliban... for one thing, it was a very technical, highly coordinated, and quite sophisticated operation, unlike anything the taliban could have carried out... but the ever-toadying u.s. press, led by water-carriers like the nyt, slavishly follow the administration line and link everything to al qaeda...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

More on election-rigging in PK

in a post the other day, i wondered if this story would grow legs... grew 'em pretty fast, looks like...

At the time she was assassinated, Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was just hours away from meeting with two US lawmakers to hand them a dossier alleging that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) was plotting with its Election Commission to rig the upcoming elections.

According to CBS News, which has obtained a copy of the report, it "alleges widespread plans to stuff ballot boxes, rig voting lists, and intimidate, even kill, opposition voters."

CNN quotes the document more specifically as saying, "Where an opposing candidate is strong in an area, they have planned to create a conflict at the polling station, even killing people if necessary, to stop polls at least three to four hours."

The report, titled "Another Stain on the Face of Democracy," was compiled from Bhutto's own sources within the police and intelligence services. It was to be given to Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), because Bhutto did not trust the Bush administration, which is seen in Pakistan as strongly backing Musharraf.

The dossier also accuses Musharraf's regime of diverting US aid into political dirty tricks, charging that "ninety percent of the equipment that the USA gave the government of Pakistan to fight terrorism ... is being used to monitor and to keep a check on political opponents."

c'mon, c'mon... this is the kind of stuff that ought to be kneecapping the criminals in the white house, and sending 'em packing to never-never land... let's get on with it, shall we...?

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

U.S. aid money was being used to fix Pakistani elections in favor of Musharraf

let's see if THIS story from mcclatchy has any legs...

The day she was assassinated last Thursday, Benazir Bhutto had planned to reveal new evidence alleging the involvement of Pakistan's intelligence agencies in rigging the country's upcoming elections, an aide said Monday.

Bhutto had been due to meet U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., to hand over a report charging that the military Inter-Services Intelligence agency was planning to fix the polls in the favor of President Pervez Musharraf.

Safraz Khan Lashari, a member of the Pakistan People's Party election monitoring unit, said the report was "very sensitive" and that the party wanted to initially share it with trusted American politicians rather than the Bush administration, which is seen here as strongly backing Musharraf.

[...]

It names as the head of the unit a brigadier general recently retired from the ISI, who was secretly assigned to run the rigging operation, Lashari said. It charges that he was working in tandem with the head of a civilian intelligence agency. Before her return to Pakistan, Bhutto, in a letter to Musharraf, had named the intelligence official as one of the men she accused of plotting to kill her.

Lashari said the report claimed that U.S. aid money was being used to fix the elections. Ballots stamped in favor of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, which supports Musharraf, were to be produced by the intelligence agencies in about 100 parliamentary constituencies.

"They diverted money from aid activities. We had evidence of where they were spending the money," Lashari said.

[...]

Bhutto was due to meet Specter and Kennedy after dinner last Thursday. She was shot as she left an election rally in Rawalpindi early that evening. Pakistan's government claims instead that she was thrown against the lever of her car's sunroof, fracturing her skull.

tell me, please, why anyone would think that the u.s. WOULDN'T be involved in helping musharraf fix the election... let me just say that i hope they put good solid evidence on the table and let's get this show on the road...

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments

The Mohamed Atta, 9/11, Pakistani intelligence connection

in early october 2001, this was front-page news all over india...

from brasscheck tv...

CIA = ISI (Pakistani intelligence) = al Queda

On October 1, 2001, did the FBI uncover evidence that Lt. General Mahmood Ahmed, the Director of the Pakistani Intelligence Service (the ISI) authorize the wiring of $100,000 to Florida to Mohammed Atta (supposed hijack ringleader of the 911 attack) through Omar Saeed Sheikh (an alleged ISI agent)?

Why did only a single US press outlet, the Wall Street Journal website, mention this connection in the editorial section (James Taranto writing) on October 10, 2001, saying it was an "internet only" story - when in fact it was a major story reported at great length in the main line Indian press?

Does this mean that Al-Queda was used as a tool by members of the American government in the same way that they used the Mujahdeen against the Soviets in Afghanistan?

Submit To Propeller
Tweet

[Permalink] 0 comments