ISI formenting global jehad through Al Qaeda, Taliban and Lashkar e Taiba

For an intelligent fiction read the above book : THE ISI GAME PLAN written by Brigardier YPS Mohan.

Chicago natives David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana have been charged in federal court with plotting to conduct attacks against a newspaper in Denmark and also possibly India (along the lines of 26/11), according to a criminal complaint at the US District Court in Chicago.

How it all started

David Coleman Headley wrote from the confines of his Chicago home to a forum called Abdalians. Long War Journal reports: Headley began plotting the attack against Jyllands-Posten in October 2008 after posting a message expressing his desire to avenge the perceived slight against Islam and Mohammed. "I feel disposed towards violence for the offending parties," Headley wrote at "abdalians" forum, an internet group for graduates of a Pakistani military school.

By late 2008, Headley was in touch with a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative "who has substantial influence and responsibility within the organization and whose identity is known to the government" and another operative with close connections to Kashmiri.

Headley traveled to Pakistan as well as Copenhagen and other locations in Europe several times, using Rana's business as a cover. He even visited Miramshah in South Waziristan, the headquarters of the notorious Haqqani Network, al Qaeda's biggest ally among the Taliban (NOTE: Haqqanni are ISI's biggest ally - so go figure the connections), where he claimed he met Kashmiri. He remained in contact with the Lashkar operatives and received direction to focus on the Denmark attack. Headley's contact with Kashmiri was directed through one of the Lashkar operatives.

Now lets take a look at it logically. David writes in a forum that is meant for graduates of a Pakistani military school and he was directed to Lashkar e Taiba as well as Brigade 313 – which is itself part of Lashkar al Zil – a paramilitary outfit of Al Qaeda.

Albadians (Pakistan Military) ---> Lashar e Taiba ---> Brigade 313 ---> Al Qaeda. And in between ISI played it catalytic role.

What fascinates me is that people still talk about rogue ISI as if these old retired ISI generals are not part of ISI any more. ISI is one and Pakistan military retains absolute control over it.

So much so, Ilyas Kashmiri – the leader of Brigade 313 and a senior Al Qaeda leader was a Pakistan SSG commando.

Long War Journal states: (Ilyas) Kashmiri is also a longtime asset of Pakistan's military and intelligence services. He served as a commando in the elite Special Services Group (SSG), Pakistan's special operations unit trained by Britain's Special Air Service. In the early 1990s, Kashmiri was ordered by the (Pakistan) military to join the Harkat-ul Jihad Islami (HuJI).

Again look at this – Pakistan Military is embedding its strategic assets for better direction into jehadi outfits.

26/11 Mumbai may have been a Brigade 313 operation – but it was orchestrated by Al Qaeda and Pakistan Military.

Hence Pakistan Military => ISI => Al Qaeda => Lashkar e Taiba. The connection is contiguous, seamless and feeds off each other.

A look at four incidents and one article:

1. Taliban leader killed by SAS was Pakistan officer

2. Former SSG Commander Amir Faisal Alvi killed by Ilyas Kashmiri after he wrote a letter to Kayani exposing links of Pakistan Army generals and Taliban.

3. Two Jaish e Mohammad operatives caught in Kashmir were Pakistani Army sepoys

4. Soldiers turning rogues is Pakistan's (and the world's) new headache. People are not talking about the Zia ul Haq mindset that started this jehadi infiltration into Pakistan's armed forces.

5. During the Kunduz evacuation, Pakistan military had to land transport planes in Afghanistan to ferry out its embedded soldiers amongst Taliban in the cover of darkness, before the area was overrun by Northern Alliance soldiers.

The role of ISI and Pakistan military in 26/11 and formenting terror globally is well known. For the first time Pakistan stands accused of sending terrorists by three of its neighbours, India – Afghanistan – Iran.

The role of Pakistan Military and ISI for 9/11 is gathering dust in USA – wonder when they will take it out for public consumption, if at all. My guess is that USA will use it as a stick on Pakistan military to do its bidding in its so called war on terror.

With China breathing down India’s neck, a weakened US requires Pakistan for its game plan in Central Asia. And both China and US are joined at the hip in the current economic meltdown. A lot of dynamics can evolve which can leave India not only on the sidelines but outside the stadium as a hapless spectator.

Sometimes in chess you have to sacrifice the pawn for protecting the king. Time to look beyond short term objectives and plan for the next 100 years. India must cut off land link between China and Pakistan, retake portions of POK back and get a common boundary with Afghanistan. If situation does not come, then make the “situation” happen.

Al – Qaeda’s salafi principles if allowed to waft into Kashmir, will ring the death knell of freedom and a way of life we are used to. In another article I will write about the sheer audacity and fearlessness (and stupidity too) of these salafi foot soldiers – we who live in cities have no inkling of the level of commitment they bring to the table. A recent example is the bombing of Meena market in Peshawar where Al-Qaeda operatives warned of reprisals if women were not barred from the market. Since the warning was not adhered to, Taliban under orders from Al-Qaeda masters blew up significant portions of the market killing over 105 people. There are other tactical reasons for the blast too - but suffice it to say here - this was the stated purpose. For an exceptional analysis read this article by Murtaza Razvi : Attacking our way of life. And as stated earlier, if we are not stemming this rot in Pakistan, it will permeate into Kashmir and then its downhill from there!

For them Ghazwatul Hind (click and must read) is a reality as is the reality that the al-Asqa mosque will fall that will give them the clarion call to move both east and west of Afghanistan. The green corridors of Balkans(another must read - click) are being primed in the meantime. Only US might stands in the way – and too is being eroded militarily by quicksands of Afghanistan and Iraq and financially by eroding the value of dollar.

For some specific tango of ISI & Al-Qaeda - do read: WE ARE BROTHERS IN ARMS.



FINALLY, Kudos to Hillary Clinton for finally saying what is whispered inside the confines of situation rooms:

‘Al Qaeda has had safe haven in Pakistan since 2002,’ Clinton told senior Pakistani newspaper editors in the country’s cultural capital, Lahore.

‘I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn’t get them if they really wanted to,’ she added.

'You do have 180 million people. Your population is projected to be about 300 million. And I don’t know what you’re gonna do with that kind of challenge, unless you start planning right now,’ she said.