Monthly Security Review

November 2010
Volume: 1 Edition: 6
Contents

Patron-in-Chief
Zaid Hamid Editorial 01
American Wars. Conflict & Chaos in the Muslim Lands 04
Synopsis of the Month 14
India – Israel Military Relations & Pakistan 26
Shahzad Masood Roomi Propaganda & Warfare in Cyber World: 31
Editorial Board Pakistan’s Weak Flank
Shehla Zafar
From Indus to Oxus
Noureen Akhtar 35

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 Completing the Big Picture

Dear Readers,
Assalam – o –Alaikum

The 21st century has ushered wars into the Muslim lands.After the Crusades in the 11th and 12th centuries, this is
the most massive, and consequently even bloodier, Western invasion into the Muslim heartland. Led by the
United States, these are the new Crusades, launched under the generic name of War on Terror. By September
2000, almost a year before 9/11, a plan for such an invasion had been finalized by the Zionist think tank The
Project for the New American Century (PNAC). The grand strategic objectives of the US for the 21st century
were outlined in the following chilling statement of Grand Strategy in the final report presented in September
2000:

“As the 20th century draws to a close, the United States stands as the
world's most preeminent power. Having led the West to victory in
the Cold War, America faces an opportunity and a challenge: Does
the United States have the vision to build upon the achievement of
past decades? Does the United States have the resolve to shape a
new century favorable to American principles and interests?

[What we require is] a military that is strong and ready to meet

both present and future challenges; a foreign policy that boldly and
purposefully promotes American principles abroad; and national
leadership that accepts the United States' global responsibilities.
Of course, the United States must be prudent in how it exercises its
power. But we cannot safely avoid the responsibilities of global
leadership of the costs that are associated with its exercise. America
has a vital role in maintaining peace and security in Europe, Asia,
and the Middle East. If we shirk our responsibilities, we invite
challenges to our fundamental interests. The history of the 20th
century should have taught us that it is important to shape
circumstances before crises emerge, and to meet threats before they
become dire. The history of the past century should have taught us
to embrace the cause of American leadership.”
From the Project's founding Statement of Principles

This is the Neo-Con vision of the future world where the United States would attempt a fair amount of killings to
re-shape the world in order to maintain its dominance in the 21st century. Explaining the role, power and vision
of the PNAC, on December 16th, 2002, famous journalist John Pilger writes in New Statesman:
“Two years ago a project set up by the men who now surround George W Bush said what America needed
was “a new Pearl Harbor.” Its published aims have, alarmingly, come true”.
BRASSTACKS 01
He further writes in the article:

“One of George W Bush's “thinkers” is Richard Perle. I interviewed Perle when he was advising Reagan,
and when he spoke about “total war”, I mistakenly dismissed him as mad. He recently used the term again
in describing America's “war on terror”. “No stages,” he said. “This is total war. We are fighting a variety
of enemies. There are lots of them out there. All this talk about first we are going to do Afghanistan, then we
will do Iraq... this is entirely the wrong way to go about it. If we just let our vision of the world go forth, and
we embrace it entirely and we don't try to piece together clever diplomacy, but just wage a total war... our
children will sing great songs about us years from now.”

Pilger further writes in the same article:

“Perle is one of the founders of the Project for the New American Century, the PNAC. Other founders
include Dick Cheney, now vice-president, Donald Rumsfeld, defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, deputy
defence secretary, I Lewis Libby, Cheney's chief of staff, William J Bennett, Reagan's education secretary,
and ZalmayKhalilzad, Bush's ambassador to Afghanistan. These are the modern chartists of American
terrorism. The PNAC's seminal report, Rebuilding America's Defences: strategy, forces and resources for a
new century, was a blueprint of American aims in all but name. Two years ago it recommended an increase
in arms-spending by $48bn so that Washington could “fight and win multiple, simultaneous major theatre
wars”. This hasFarzana
By: happened. It said the United States should develop “bunker-buster” nuclear weapons and
Shah
make “star wars” a national priority. This is happening. It said that, in the event of Bush taking power, Iraq
should be a target. And so it is”.

About the war strategy to be deployed by the Neo-Cons, Pilger further writes:

“In the Los Angeles Times, the military analyst William Arkin describes a secret army set up by Donald
Rumsfeld, similar to those run by Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger and which Congress outlawed. This
“super-intelligence support activity” will bring together the “CIA and military covert action, information
warfare, and deception”. According to a classified document prepared for Rumsfeld, the new organisation,
known by its Orwellian moniker as the Proactive Pre-emptive Operations Group, or P2OG, will provoke
terrorist attacks which would then require “counter-attack” by the United States on countries “harbouring
the terrorists”.

In other words, innocent people will be killed by the United States. This is reminiscent of Operation
Northwoods, the plan put to President Kennedy by his military chiefs for a phoney terrorist campaign -
complete with bombings, hijackings, plane crashes and dead Americans - as justification for an invasion of
Cuba. Kennedy rejected it. He was assassinated a few months later. Now Rumsfeld has resurrected
Northwoods, but with resources undreamt of in 1963 and with no global rival to invite caution. You have to
keep reminding yourself this is not fantasy: that truly dangerous men, such as Perle and Rumsfeld and
Cheney, have power. The thread running through their ruminations is the importance of the media,
the prioritised task of bringing on board journalists of repute to accept our position”.

This is no conspiracy theory. These are the hardcore grand strategic objectives, strategies, policies and
operations of the US foreign policy for the 21st century, already set in motion a decade ago through the
orchestrated “Pearl Harbor” of 9/11 under the code name War on Terror (WOT). The primary battle grounds
chosen for the invasion, occupation and waging multiple theater high intensity wars are Afghanistan and Iraq,
with Pakistan being the next direct target and battle ground for the 4th generation war already raging in full
intensity with devastating consequences for the country. Afghanistan and Iraq are the staging areas for more

BRASSTACKS 02
high intensity wars and for the control of the global trade routes, natural resource regions and for containing
hostile ideologies and civilizations;all under the façade of WOT.

Having seen through the American game, it is time to build the responses. Pakistan is now taking the full brunt
of this massive 4GW. As a softening up operation, a bloody overt as well as covert war has been waged against
Pakistan on all axes–by exploiting internal political instabilities, igniting sectarian wars, supporting
insurgencies, staging economic collapse, launching media psy-ops –and to target the country diplomatically
under the pretext of supporting “terrorism”.Creating “terrorist” groups within Pakistan and in other Muslim
lands is as critical a dimension of this war as waging the “pre-emptive war” against them. Though, no Muslim
country, from NorthAfrica to the Far East, is safe in this war, Pakistan is the hotly contested battleground now.

These challenges and the crises are also the greatest of opportunities for Pakistan. America's wars have turned
into military and economic disasters for the occupation forces. Under the staggering burden of two active wars
and global deployments, the US economy at home is collapsing. US and NATO supplies pass through Pakistan
giving incredible leverage to Pakistan to decide the fate of the US war in Afghanistan. Despite facing the most
ruthless wave of terrorism and insurgencies, the Pakistan army has held its ground and emerged triumphant
against overwhelming odds. Pakistan's strategic and nuclear assets remain safe, making the country the natural
born leader of the Muslim bloc. The tide is turning in Pakistan's favor. The winds are changing against the
occupation forces.

Pakistan now has to take a decisive step. As far as Pakistan's National Security and sovereignty is concerned, is
the presence of United States and the NATO in Afghanistan, part of the solution or part of the problem? And if it
is part of the problem, which it is, then how will Pakistan exert itself to reclaim its rightful place in the region and
secure its National Security interests in the 21st century?

Great leaders are the greatest assets of any nation, more so in times of such staggering crises. The finest
moments for Pakistan are now visible, the moment of destiny is close; let's hope great leaders are as well.

MayAllah be our protector.Ameen

.
Farzana Shah

BRASSTACKS 03
American Wars
Conflict and Chaos in the Muslim Lands
The sinister struggle for control of Pakistan and the Muslim world between two
opposing fascist ideologies of Western / Hindu Zionists and Kharjee Takfiris
by: Zaid Hamid
They said it – lest we forget:
“When the wealthy Jews play, the nations and the
rulers dance."
"The Jews make countries fight each other and
when they want, make peace. But whatever
happens, they get rich from this.”
Founder of Zionism, Theodore Herzl
"There is only one power which really counts. The
power of political pressure. We Jews are the most
powerful people on earth, because we have this
power, and we know how to apply it." –
Vladimir Jabotinsky, Jewish Daily Bulletin, July 27,
1935.
The History:
Almost ninety years ago, in the beginning of the 20
th
century, Muslim world received a most shattering and
devastating blow as maps of the Muslim world were
radically re-drawn by the invading and victorious
Western powers as spoils of war when the Ottoman
Empire was defeated and dismembered. It was during
this outrageous and sacrilegious pillage of the Muslim
lands that the State of Israel was sanctioned to the
World Jewry by the triumphant British Empire. It took
another great war few years later with horrendous
death and destruction to the humanity, both in the East
and the West, to finally materialize the dream of the
Zionist Jewry – the State of Israel in the holy lands. A
political, military and ideological dagger pierced the
Muslim heartland. Pakistan was born almost at the
same time as Israel. Both countries, representing two
diametrically opposite religious ideologies hostile to
each other, were born to be enemies and have
remained in a state of covert war ever since. India, a
State which is secular on paper only, is led and
controlled by idol worshiping Brahmin pagans with
extreme hostility towards Pakistan, hence becoming
the natural born collaborator of the Zionist State. The
following quote by the founding father of the Jewish
State completes this geopolitical and strategic
equation in totality.
“The world Zionist movement should not be
neglectful of the dangers of Pakistan to it. And
Pakistan now should be its first target, for this
ideological State is a threat to our existence. And
Pakistan, the whole of it, hates the Jews and loves
the Arabs. This lover of the Arabs is more
dangerous to us than the Arabs themselves. For that
matter, it is most essential for the world Zionism
that it should now take immediate steps against
Pakistan. Whereas the inhabitants of the Indian
peninsula are Hindus whose hearts have been full of
hatred towards Muslims, therefore, India is the most
important base for us to work there from against
Pakistan. It is essential that we exploit this base and
strike and crush Pakistanis, enemies of Jews and
Zionism, by all disguised and secret plans.”
David Ben Gurion, the first Israeli Prime Minister.
His words, as printed in the Jewish Chronicle,
August 1967.
The Environment:
As the 21st century unfolds, the contemporary times
are witnessing yet another epic struggle within the
Muslim heartland. Muslim world is desperately
fighting in an existential war this time against two
BRASSTACKS 04
violent ideologies which have invaded from opposing
prongs. The entire Muslim heartland – from the
Arabian Peninsula to the greater Middle East
including Pakistan - is the battle ground, and the
ultimate prize. Not just that the heart and soul of the
Muslim world is at stake, even the geography is once
again threatened to be altered radically. In terms of
phenomenon and scale, the threat is so severe and
unique that it has baffled even the finest Muslim
thinkers, philosophers, generals and analysts who are
desperately trying to understand and then cope with
the staggering emotional turmoil and the ensuing
ground violence within the Muslim lands. The
ideological, political and military confusion and chaos
is so complete within the Muslim world that the
mature reason and sound logic has almost given way
to irrational radicalism or defeated resignation to the
fate as violence, anarchy and the sheer pace of the
events cripple the capacity of the Muslim world to
develop even a reactive response let alone a pro-active
one. There is no strategic threat analysis, hence no
long term response strategy. The Muslim political
leadership, despite hanging on to the power, has
crumbled in totality to rise to the challenges, hence
giving a free run to the invaders, leaving the hapless
Muslim population to the wolves.
Once again it seems sharply clear that the colonial and
anarchic invading forces – operating on external and
internal axis -- would further attempt to divide,
conquer and dismember the Muslim countries into
smaller territories. The 4th Generation war deployed in
the greater Middle East today was first applied,
experimented and perfected upon pro-Soviet
Yugoslavia in the last decade of the 20th century,
obliterating the country into history. Now the
American wars are being waged right into the Muslim
heartland, with genuine threats of re-drawing of
greater Middle Eastern Maps as well. After bringing
death and destruction to Afghanistan and Iraq,
Pakistan is now in the eye of the storm, already
staggering under the sheer scale of violence, war,
chaos as well as political and economic anarchy.
Still, the threat is manageable, downslide can be
checked and rock solid responses can be built but this
remarkable turnaround would need genuinely great
leadership with vision, courage and spiritual prowess
to dream and then achieve the seemingly impossible
under these desperate conditions.
BRASSTACKS 05
The prongs:
Today, the Muslim world finds itself between the two
proverbial jaws of an alligator, facing the following
invading prongs from the opposing directions:
1. The Western Crusaders, US, NATO, Neo-
Cons and the Zionists. Using the full might of
the western military and industrial power,
backed by the massive use of information
warfare and Psy-ops weapons, another wave
of physical colonization of Muslim lands has
begun.
2. The Radically anarchic Takfiri Kharjee
religious militants. Exploiting the heretical
interpretations of religious ideals, these
terrorist gangs have been on rampage within
the Muslim lands, primarily targeting Iraq and
Pakistan with devastating effects. By
declaring war from within on the Muslim
lands, the Kharjees have become the most
valuable assets for the Western crusaders to
justify their global war and colonization.
The crisis confronted by the Muslim world today of
facing two prongs of attacks from opposing violent
ideologies has only one precedent in the entire 1400
years of Muslim history though in terms of
phenomenon and scale the threat today has magnified
many times over.
Historically, it is not new for the Muslim world to
come under attack from the powerful Western
civilization or radical Zionists ideologies from the
Judeo-Christian world. The Crusades are a vivid and
brutal expression of the militant and violent Judeo-
Christian anarchists' ideology invading Muslim
heartland for religious, political and economic
reasons.
Similarly, radical anarchist thoughts within the
Muslim world are also not without precedent. The
Kharjiites in the early days during the times of
companions of the Prophet (pbuh) declared war on the
Muslim political and civil society. The radical and
anarchists ideology of Assassins came later during 10th
century and wrecked havoc within the Muslim society
for almost 200 years during the times of Crusades and
after. The great Kurdish Sultan of Syria and Egypt
Salahuddin Ayubi had to fight and subdue Assassins
within the Muslim society before he could attack and
counterattack invading Crusaders from the Western
world.
It would be interesting to note for our readers that the
English word Assassin has come from theArabic word
Hashashin, meaning the ones who use Hashish or
drugs. The Murderous thugs of The Order of the
Assassin cult were drugged with Hashish and then
sent on dangerous suicide missions within the Muslim
world for murders, sabotage and creating terrorism,
hence the word Assassins came into the use in Western
languages representing the qualities of a hidden
terrorist murderer. In mid nineteenth century German
historian Von Hammer wrote a rare and invaluable
book on the ideology and practices of medieval age
assassins titled the History of the Assassins and
vividly explain their murderous practices and cult
ideology which almost succeeded in overrunning the
entire Muslim heartland even coming close to
murdering Sultan Salahuddin at the peak of the
Crusades. But even Salahuddin could not finish off the
cloak and dagger cult of the Order of the Assassins
who were finally and decisively eliminated ruthlessly
by the rampaging Mongol armies which had also
overrun the Capital of Khilifat in Baghdad around the
13th century AD.
It is only now after the times of Crusades that the
Muslim world is again facing two prongs of opposing
violent fascist political ideologies – Crusading
Zionists and the Assassin Kharjees. – often fighting
with each other as well within the Muslim world for
control, power, influence and turf. The game is
sinister, evil and indeed bloody with violent
consequences for the Muslim world. External
invasion fueled by religious fanaticism of the Judeo-
Christian Zionists and aided by Hindu Zionists and
internal sabotage by home grown cult of Kharjees
recreate the threats, risks and the environment of the
crusades after almost a 1000 years.
Similarly, though all Muslim Ummah disapproves of
Western invasion of Muslim lands, Kharjees are
exploiting the Zionist invasion to wage their war
against the Muslim societies and governments by
declaring them partners in crime in these Crusades and
thus Kharjees are also trying to grab the strategic
control of Muslim world by exploiting the emotional
upheaval and anger within the Muslim societies due to
lack of any quality leadership within Muslim
countries.
War on Terror (WOT) actually means War of Crusades
by Zionists within the Muslim world for its
colonization using the radical ideology of Kharjees as
a justification for invasion and forcing the Muslim
society to accept the Zionist invasion by presenting to
them the Kharjee ideology as a bigger threat to the
Muslim world. So even if the Kharjee threat is not real
in certain lands, creating, fabricating and promoting
the phantom bogey through orchestrated media
campaigns and psy-ops remains an integral part of the
entire Zionist war effort.
While Zionists invade Muslim lands and occupy
them, they want Muslim world to fight and finish off
the Kharjees first. On the other hand, it is the ultimate
desire of the Kharjees to bring about a massive high
intensity conflict between the Muslim world and the
Crusading Zionists so that a power and leadership
vacuum within the Muslim world would allow
Kharjees to break out and grab power just as Assassins
did in the past during Crusades. Both Zionists and
Kharjees want the other to finish off the Muslim world
and are using the bogey of the other to justify their
presence within the Muslim heartland and society.
Both are waging war against the Muslim world and the
battle ground is the Muslim urban societies with
devastating effects. In reality, they are often willing
partners to destroy the status quo within the Muslim
world by violent means. The net result for the Muslim
world would remain total and complete destruction if
any or both of the ideologies succeed.
The commonly known name for the modern day
Kharjees in Pakistan is Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
and the so called Al-Qaeda, both of which have waged
bloody wars within the Muslim world against Muslim
States and Muslim societies while also occasionally
terrorizing western societies as well. Comprehensive
analysis and introduction of this ideology and its
patronizing gangs have been discussed in detail in
BrassTacks September issue. Baitullah Mehsud,
Hakim ullah Mehsud, Mullah Fadlullah, Ayman
Zawihiri and Osama Bin Laden as well as Uzbek
militants and Lal Masjid gangs are examples of this
anarchic cult in modern times. Another example of
Kharjee thought is the group of Utaibi who took over
Holy Kaaba in 1979 in an armed rebellion against
Saudi monarchy during Hajj which resulted in
thousands of deaths in fighting in holiest Masjid of
Muslims in Makkah. The similarities between the
siege of Makkah in 1979 and siege of Lal Masjid in
2007 in Islamabad are strikingly obvious with similar
BRASSTACKS 06

ideological, militant and political goals of the
Kharjees and with similar ends to the two cult
rebellions.
The Great Game:
Having understood the ideology of the two invading
prongs, this brings us to the grand strategic objectives
of Neo-Con foreign policy for 21st century in Middle
East, Africa and Asia. This is the larger game of the
Neo-Cons for which an “enemy” had to be created and
Zionist backed Kharjees played that anarchic role
within the Muslim world rather brilliantly.
1. Defense and Security of Israel and to create
weak headless States in Middle East, even
changing geography to create a new Middle
East. Stopping Muslim countries from
acquiring nuke weapons is integrated part of
this objective.
2. Containing and destruction of political and
militant Islam.
3. Control of fuel assets.
4. Control of global trading routes, oil pipelines
and strategic water ways like Gulf, Suez,
Bosporus, horn of Africa, Gibraltar, Malacca
straits.
5. Encirclement and Containment of Russia.
6. Encirclement and Containment of China.
We emphasize that everything, repeat – everything
BRASSTACKS 07
that is happening in ME,Africa andAsia has to do with
one or more of these objectives and the clash between
US foreign policy and the rest of the regional players
who have a stake in preventing US from achieving
these objectives. These world wars and global agenda
have nothing to do with “war on terror”. The “WOT”
is the new great game to gain strategic foothold in the
21st century.
Political heavyweight, Zbigniew Brzezinski, clarified
the importance of Central Asia to US plans for global
dominance in his book, “The Grand Chessboard”. In it
he states:
“Ever since the continents started interacting
politically, some 500 years ago, Eurasia has been
the center of world power”…“For America, the
chief geopolitical prize is Eurasia—and America's
global primacy is directly dependent on how long
and how effectively its preponderance on the
Eurasian continent is sustained”….“How America
manages Eurasia is critical. Eurasia is the globe's
largest continent and is geopolitically axial. A
power that dominates Eurasia would control two of
the world's three most advanced and economically
productive regions. A mere glance at the map also
suggests that control over Eurasia would almost
automatically entail Africa's subordination,
rendering the Western Hemisphere and Oceania
geopolitically peripheral to the world's central
continent. About 75% of the world's people live in
Eurasia and most of the world's physical wealth as
well, both in its enterprises and underneath its soil.
Eurasia accounts for 60% of the world's GNP and
about three-fourths of the world's known energy
resources.”
“The Grand Chessboard”
To achieve the above stated six Grand strategic
objectives, Muslim lands need to be further
dismembered. US forces need to be based within
Muslim lands. Ethnic and sectarian wars ignited to
create “new blood borders” on ethnic and religious
lines. Muslim nuclear potential needs to be blunted.
Defense of Israel is not possible if Pakistan or Iran
posses nuclear weapons and Ballistic missiles. If
Pakistan does not agree to surrender its nuclear
weapons and missile program, then TTP Kharjees to
be deployed to create such mayhem and anarchy
within Pakistan that Pakistan becomes a failed and
dysfunctional state forcing the world community to
“step in” to prevent “proliferation” of nuclear
weapons into “wrong” hands.
The New Middle East map planned by US, for whom
multiple wars would be launched in the region, is
similar to what is shown below. US government has
recently officially denied any such plans to reshape
the Middle East. But the events on ground and US
force positioning in the region points towards what the
US denies.
The modern easy to understand name for Zionists is
Neo-Conservatives Christian Evangelicals and they
rule United States of America today with their
ideological allies in London, Tel-Aviv and Delhi. The
belief of Christian Zionists is that State of Israel must
be protected at all costs as that is the place where final
war with Anti-Christ, Armageddon, will take place
and Christ would return to earth to lead the good
Christians. Hence their fanatical loyalty to Jewish
Zionists and their ideals of creating a greater Israel in
the Middle East at the cost of Muslim world. Crusades
of the Middle Ages were religious wars. Crusades of
the 21st century are equally fanatical in religious
fervor, driven by the same ideals which drove the
frenzy of earlier Crusades.
It should be noted that not every Jew is a Zionist just as
not every Christian is a Neo-Con. In fact true Jews
and good Christians hate Zionism and Israeli policies.
There are millions of them as well but they are denied
space by the mainstream media which is also
controlled by the Zionists. A quick search on Google
throws up many such Jewish and Christian groups
rejecting Jewish and Christian Zionists.
It would be appropriate here if we give some time and
space to understanding the Neo-Con Christian
ideology as it is least understood phenomenon in
Pakistani planners and strategists. The American
Enterprise Institute (AEI) for Public Policy Research
founded in 1943 during the post WWII era is located in
Washington, DC. It is an organization dedicated to
strengthening national defense, Jewish cultural and
political institutions of and related to Israel. The
American Enterprise Institute (AEI) is fundamentally
made up of mostly scholars, corporate executives and
politicians with Neoconservative leanings to the right.
It is more or less a central “think tank” of Zionism.
They over-see and make decisions regarding trade,
economics, social welfare, government tax spending,
US policies on foreign affairs and all US defense
policies related to Israel and the entire Middle East.
AEI is a nonpartisan organization composed of
Neoconservative and Compassionate Conservative
Zionists. The AEI considers itself to be the American-
Jewish political presence in the world. World
domination is their goal. The Neoconservative dream
world is a Jewish World. Global domination with
Israel by its side is the main concern of the US
government and all its Neoconservative think thank
organizations, such as theAEI.
Christian Zionists, or dispensationalists, give Israel
total support because they think there has to be an
Israel there, a place — not for Jews, but for the battle
of Armageddon, which they actually believe must
occur. Its part of the required steps, they believe, that
will lead to their Rapture and the Second Coming of
Christ. American Christianity — referring to what is
variously called American Evangelism, Christian
Zionism, or Dominionism, and comprising much of
mainstream American Protestantism — isn't really
Christianity at all. By 1947, the Jewish Zionists in US
had formed a powerful, $100 million a year, lobbyist
organization in Washington that pushed Truman into
BRASSTACKS 08

pushing the U.N. into giving away 55% of the
Palestinian people's land to Zionist Jews.
But in 1947, the United States government was not
infiltrated so much with Jewish Zionists or non-
Jewish Zionists. The State Department, Senate, House
of Representatives, Pentagon, and White House were
still Christian and conservative Americans – very
unlike today. Today, that infiltration is massive -- it
almost represents a coup d'etat. The most recent
Zionist group to infiltrate the US government is called
Neocons (neoconservatives).
In the 1960s Irving Kristol and other East European
Zionist Jews founded the Neocon movement in New
York. They followed the political, philosophical
writings of another German Zionist Jew who taught at
the University of Chicago and whose class many of
them attended. His name is Leo Strauss (1899-1973).
Kristol, the godfather of the Neocons, became the
managing editor of Commentary magazine, which
according to the Christian Science Monitor, became
the "neocon bible." Later, he founded additional
magazines: the Public Interest and the National
Interest.
Neocons teach that one of the best ways to maintain
political order is to have an external threat. It unifies
the people behind the President. If there is no external
threat, they say, government should manufacture one.
In that vain perpetual war is a good goal. War is also
good because it keeps people from their more
hedonistic tendencies. Therefore, the US being the
world's only superpower, should aggressively use its
BRASSTACKS 09
military might to promote US values around the world
especially in the Middle East which translates for the
Zionists into the US protecting and supporting Israel
at all costs.
Hindu Zionists – Hitching a ride with
Western Zionists:
Hindu Zionists too are no different from their Judeo-
Christian counterparts in antipathy towards Islamic
world but suffer from an intrinsic inferiority complex
against Muslims due to the fact that Muslims had ruled
India for a thousand years till 1857 and then India fell
into the hand of the British for another 90 years. Hindu
zealots are burning with anger to revenge their 1000
years of shame and subjugation at the hands of
Muslims but lack the courage and ferocity to do the job
themselves especially against Pakistan, their arch
enemy. They need Western Zionists to do the job for
them. It is the ultimate dream of their foreign policy
and diplomacy to get the Western countries to attack
and destroy Pakistan. One can still remember the
eagerness and impatience of the Indian government to
offer bases to the US forces after 9/11 to attack and
destroy Pakistan! Just like Israelis, Indians also plan to
fight Pakistan to the last American!!
About Hindu Zionists and their objectives, Vijay
Prashad writes on August 8th, 2001, in a fascinating
and thought provoking article titled Hindutva and
Zionism:
“The fantasy entertained by the Hindu Right
government is that an alliance with the world's lions
(USA-Israel) will allow India to sup at High Table,
to eat high on the hog. Certainly the expectation is
that trade will follow the military tie-up.
For that reason, we see a wholesale sell-out by the
Hindu Right to US-Israeli foreign/military policy
objectives. The Hindu Right recognize the
persistence of US imperialism, and Israeli sub-
imperialism -- and they want a piece of the action in
South Asia. It appears that the Hindu Right seeks the
franchise for US lackey against what it sees as
Islamic fundamentalism and Chinese Communism.
But the alliance with Israel is not so strange after
all, because at the ideological level, Hindutva is
much like Zionism, for both extol the importance of
the Race-State, and both cast aspersions at the
presence of a Muslim minority. An India-born
analyst at the Zionist Freeman Center in Houston,
Texas, makes just this connection: "Islamic fascists
see Bharat [India] as the soft spot to propagate their
irrational creed and foment violence. India tries to
placate them. Israel expels them. This is what
Bharat should do. If they hate Hindu Rashtra so
much they are free to leave for Dar-ul Islam."
At the unofficial level, the links seem to be growing.
Among semi-fascists the links are deep. The restless
lions of west and south Asia join the tigers of East
Asia to encircle China and the predominantly
Muslim states of west and central Asia.”
The Dirty Wars:
Post 9/11 American wars to redraw the Middle East
are based on what Robert Greene, in his book “The
33 strategies of War”, described as unconventional
or dirty war. Greene explained this war further;
“A general fighting a war must constantly search for
an advantage over the opponent. The greatest
advantage comes from the element of surprise, from
hitting enemies with strategies that are novel,
outside their experience, completely unconventional.
It is in the nature of war; however, that over time
any strategy with any possible application will be
tried and tested, so that the search for the new and
unconventional has an innate tendency to become
more and more extreme. At the same time, moral
and ethical codes that governed warfare for
centuries have gradually loosened. These two effects
dovetail into what we today call “dirty war”, where
anything goes down to the killing of thousands of
unwarned civilians. Dirty war is political, deceptive
and supremely manipulative. Often the last recourse
of the weak and desperate, it uses any means
available to level the playing field.
The dynamic of the dirty has filtered into society and
the culture at large. Whether in politics, business or
society, the way to defeat your enemy is to surprise
them, to come at them from an unexpected angle.
And the increasing pressures of these daily wars
make dirty strategies inevitable. People go
underground: they seem nice and decent but use
slippery devious methods behind the scenes.”
So basically now, following is the brief summary of
the ridiculous situation in which Pakistan finds itself
today due to these US “dirty wars”. It is a master piece
of Pakistan's foreign and national security policy
blunders, failures and confusion fully exploited by the
Zionists and Kharjee Fascists.
1. US is threatening to invade Pakistani tribal
areas and regularly attack targets of its choice
using Drones and other means. Relations
between US and Pakistan are tense, nervous
and based on mistrust and betrayal. US
supplies pass through Pakistan making US
vulnerable to developments in Pakistan. War
in Afghanistan is not going as US had wanted
creating a military and political crisis for
United States and NATO, making US even
more nervous and jittery towards Pakistan. US
now want Pakistan to fight Afghan Taliban and
other resistance groups on behalf of the
Americans and is using all forms of carrots and
sticks to push Pakistan into another war in
North Waziristan.
2. Pakistan is still not sure on its role in
Afghanistan and remains clueless without an
Afghan policy nor has defined rules of
engagement with the US. Even after nearly 10
years of Afghan war, Pakistan has no vision to
protect its interests and assets in Afghanistan
nor have defined and declared national
security goals. Despite the anarchic chaos and
the conflict within Pakistan due to US
presence in Afghanistan, the government and
the military is still not sure what is good for
Pakistan – American presence in Afghanistan
or their withdrawal from it!!
3. Kabul government remains hostile to
Islamabad supporting multiple insurgencies,
supporting the Indians to establish bases all
along the western borders, staging terror
campaigns inside Pakistan and protecting
BRASSTACKS 10
 wanted terrorists. Pakistan has not made any
significant breakthrough in the Northern
alliance nor taken any independent initiative
to play aggressive role as peace maker in
Afghanistan. The hesitation and lack of
confidence to get involved is breathtaking in
Islamabad.
4. TTP Kharjees, Al-Qaeda and their allied
militant gangs have maintained their open war
against the State of Pakistan. Their supplies
remain open from Afghanistan making it
impossible to eliminate this threat decisively
despite major gains made by the army against
these terrorists. The entire judicial system of
the country has collapsed to respond to the
threat. Security forces are fighting a reactive
war where the advantage remains with the
terrorists to hit at urban soft targets of their
choice with surprise and impunity.
5. Afghan Taliban are still not considered as
assets for Pakistan nor offering any direct
support to crush the Kharjee insurgency
against Pakistan. They have not declared any
war against Pakistan though but are extremely
unhappy with the way Pakistan has handled
the entire crisis.
6. Indian Zionists continue to work on the plan to
get Pakistan beaten up by the Americans. They
have been on this agenda since 9/11 when they
had offered bases to the US to attack Pakistan!
It is Indian desire that a situation is created in
which an open confrontation is developed
between Pakistan and US where US would be
doing the dirty job of destroying Pakistan to
the utter pleasure and advantage of India. US
and India have now successfully forged an
open and aggressive alliance against “Islamic”
threat from Pakistan. Meanwhile Indians are
busy trying to crush the Kashmiri uprising and
resistance in the valley taking advantage of the
favorable environment in the region against
Islamic militancy and Pakistan.
7. The government in Islamabad remains
incapacitated, corrupt and dysfunctional
almost turning Pakistan into a banana republic
if Army and the Supreme Court were not there
to salvage some dignity. The economic and
governance collapse is almost total with real
possibilities of a street level anarchic chaos
BRASSTACKS 11
unless the regime is changed urgently. This is
what both the Zionists and Kharjees had
planned to bring about from the very
beginning and is being facilitated by the
corrupt regime.
8. National media remains equally confused and
directionless, even hostage to the Kharjee
terrorists and the Neo-Cons. US information
warfare has penetrated deep into Pakistani
media controlling the direction, content and
the perception management of the Pakistani
nation. Despite massive devastation and TTP
driven war against the State, media remains
dreadfully silent to nail and name the
perpetrators. The “free” media has willfully
surrendered its “freedom” to the dreaded
terrorists.
9. Despite having closest and common national
security interests, Pakistan has still not used
the power and clout of China to exert itself in
the region and in Afghanistan to create a
favorable space for both countries.
10. Iran remains isolated from Pakistan despite
some cooperation at security and economic
issues. Both countries have not yet discussed
Afghanistan and American presence seriously
nor have forged any common strategy to
secure Afghanistan after the US withdrawal or
to force a US withdrawal.
11. Pakistan has still not built any relations with
Russia which has great interest in countering
US aggressive postures in Eurasian region and
is looking for allies in South and WestAsia.
Hindu Zionist- Bal Thakery

The Challenge and the Response:
The biggest failure of Pakistani leadership so far is
that they have failed to see the threats emerging from
the Neo-Con ideology!! The Neo-cons are as sinister
and existential threat as the Kharjee terrorists but in
Islamabad, Neo-Cons are taken as friends and
masters. While Kharjee terrorist threat is considered
as the biggest national security risk, the Neo-Con
colonial and hostile agenda against Pakistan and in the
region is dismissed as just a conspiracy theory! This
sheer lack of political, historic and philosophical
vision, touching the limits of stupidity and insanity by
the political leadership has brought Pakistan to this
unprecedented crisis stage.
Pakistan's has still not decided if the US presence in
Afghanistan is part of the problem or is it the part of
the solution to Pakistan's national security challenges.
It cannot get more ironic than this.
It is the US presence in Afghanistan which is causing
all the chaos and anarchy in the region. Indians,
Kharjees and the terrorism breed under the US
umbrella. When Afghan Taliban were in Afghanistan
between 1996 to 2001, not a single incident of
bombings, terrorism and insurgency was reported in
Pakistan. Indians had been eliminated from
Afghanistan and drugs were not flowing into Pakistan.
There was no insurgency in Baluchistan. Pakistan had
not lost a single soldier or civilian to political
terrorism during that period. TTP never existed. Even
if the so called Al-Qaeda existed in Afghanistan, they
were kept in strong check by the Afghan Taliban,
never causing any security hazard to Pakistan.
Even today, a strong mind exists in Pakistani
government and policy makers which strongly feel
that US must stay in Afghanistan to bring “stability”!
They feel that NATO supplies must pass through
Pakistan so that Pakistan may maintain leverage over
US in Afghanistan. It is believed by them that if
Pakistan demands US withdrawal from Afghanistan,
it would make US openly hostile towards the Islamic
Republic and it would impose sanctions on Islamabad
and the country would collapse under the economic
meltdown! They believe and propagate that Afghans
are not capable to manage their own affairs hence a
foreign Western force is required to eliminate
“terrorism” from the region. The Neo-Con perception
management and disinformation teams have done a
fantastic job at spreading despondency and strategic
confusion within Pakistani leadership.
Major segments of the Pakistan government are open
collaborators with the Neo-Cons. They are not
expected to protect or understand Pakistan's security
needs. But even a segment of the patriots, for lack of
understanding of the Neo-Con threat and their great
game against Pakistan, believe that US should
continue to stay in Afghanistan and give above
reasons as excuse. This great confusion within the
political and military leadership is the precise reason
why there is still no Afghan policy or vision in
Pakistan despite suffering so much for the last 10
years.
BRASSTACKS 12
Let us make it clear firmly and decisively. If Pakistan
wants to come out of the crisis, there is no option but to
be ruthless.
1. There can be no peace in Pakistan if US
remains in Afghanistan. It is the US presence
which has brought Pakistan to this brink.
Sooner we throw the Americans out, the better.
The leverage which Pakistan has over US for
economic and military aid due to their supply
lines passing through Pakistan is nothing
compared to the damages, losses and chaos
which is created in the country due to the US
presence.
2. US is broke economically and militarily. The
two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have broken
the back of the Neo-Con war machine. There is
no way US can threaten Pakistan militarily.
3. This major US vulnerability should be
powerfully used in strategic negotiations to
demand a US withdrawal and to eliminate
Indian influence from Afghanistan. Pakistan
must now decisively demand a US withdrawal
from the region.
4. A regional political and diplomatic power bloc
between Pakistan, China, Iran and Russia can
be created which should further bolster
Pakistan's posture in demanding a US
withdrawal. All countries are anti-US and
want exit of the Western forces from
Afghanistan.
5. Pakistan must aggressively and openly engage
with all factions of the Afghan conflict and
exert its due role in bringing the warring
Afghan factions closer to peace. Most of the
Northern Alliance factions are former Afghan
Mujahideen parties of the Afghan Jihad era
and can easily be brought back into our fold.
So far, no serious attempt has been made to
bring them back.
6. Pakistan should pro-actively and pre-
emptively hit at TTP and Kharjee bases in
Afghanistan and exert pressure on US, NATO
and Afghan regime to “do more” to check and
control the logistics and supplies of the
terrorist networks. The war against Kharjees
will have to enter Afghanistan by all covert
BRASSTACKS 13
and overt means.
7. Zero tolerance and no mercy policy towards
Kharjee terrorist with special military courts
to put to trial and eliminate the captured
militants. Since the civilian courts have totally
collapsed to respond to the threat, the clauses
in the military law to be invoked which allow
for a military court martial for the captured
“civilian” terrorists and insurgents.
8. Neo-Cons influence into Pakistani media and
policy making to be eliminated and to be
replaced with indigenous homegrown national
security and media policy to revive the
national ideology and patriotism.
The crisis is staggering. The challenge remains
phenomenal. The stakes are of life and death for this
nation. If it was not for the army, the country would
have already disintegrated under the two prong
Kharjee and Zionists threat axes. Pakistan has never
faced such monumental existential threats of such
staggering intensity in such short duration of time.
What is cruelly ironic is that this crisis is self created
by the leadership in the past 10 years and has emerged
due to deliberate blunders of policy, diplomacy,
politics, strategy and perception management. The
solution lies in undoing the damages done on the
above mentioned points.
The crisis is still totally manageable in shortest
possible time. The problem is sharply defined,
solutions clear. Assets are available, resources are in
hand, military strength available to enforce political
decisions and the global and regional geo-politics
rapidly turning in Pakistan's favor, military gaining
ground against internal threats and beginning to hard
bargain with the foreign forces but still we see
complete lack of coherence in the national policies.
The ship remains rudderless and in seriously turbulent
waters. The crisis of leadership is phenomenal
undoing all the sacrifices and the advantages gained
on ground. If saving Pakistan means bringing a regime
change in Islamabad first, then so be it!
********************
Synopsis of the Month
By: Zaid Hamid

Eastern Front, Pakistan-India relations

and National Security:

Pakistan and United States concluded their “strategic

dialogue”.This is one last, desperate attempt by the US
to exploit the slavish PPP government to extract
maximum concessions from Pakistan in an
environment when the mood of Pakistani patriots and
armed forces is extremely hostile towards the US
policies. The US is losing the war in Afghanistan.
Their supplies are highly vulnerable when passing
through Pakistan. There is absolutely no military
pressure, which the US can bring against Pakistan due
to these factors. The only way the US can assure
constant support of Pakistan is through bribes, traitors,
arm- twisting, bluffs and carrots for economic and
military aid. The Americans could not have hoped for
better slaves than the present PPP government, and
now when the Pakistan army is flexing its muscles, the
US finds it prudent to invest, once again, on the
crumbling PPP regime. This is the reality of the
“strategic dialogue”.

The only man present at the talks and trusted to defend

and protect Pakistan's national interests was General
Kayani, the Chief of Army Staff. The foreign minister
has already sold the country cheap. The press briefing
of the FM, bragging about their achievement in the
strategic dialogue, included subjects like how the US
has generously offered to “train” hundreds of
Pakistani journalists in the US and help Radio
Pakistan to expand its operations! This is further
penetration of the US into the local media in order to
control the hearts and minds of Pakistani masses in the
perception management war, permitted by this
government under the façade of the “strategic
dialogue”! What is so “strategic” about expanding the
broadcast of Radio Pakistan into the rural regions and
why is the US required to do that? The game is
obvious: The US has been allowed total and complete
penetration to redefine Pakistan's social, moral,
ideological and military profile to its own strategic
advantage. How far the US can achieve this sinister
BRASSTACKS 14

The diplomatic flirting! The US got what they
wanted from the PPP regime
agenda depends upon how long this PPP government
can survive. Removing this sold out PPP government
has now become a necessity for the Pakistani patriots.
This was primarily an “order taking” exercise as far as
this PPP government is concerned. Everything the US
desired has been accepted without any conditions.
However, the Pakistan army is a different ball game
altogether. This shall be discussed as well, but first
let's see what the US requires from this PPP
government as well as the state of Pakistan under the
so- called strategic dialogue. It is interesting to note
that the US demands are not just limited to Pakistan's
support in their war on terror; the real agenda is long
term US interests in the 21st century and bringing
Pakistan into its fold as a colony, obliterating its role as
an independent, strategic, Islamic nuclear power.
Many of these points have been raised in the media but
many more remain untouched. What we write below is
exactly what the US is demanding, based on their
needs and plans for the region:
1. The US wants total, unconditional,
unrestricted assistance from Pakistan in
fighting the Afghan resistance. That means
putting Pakistan on the war path with Mullah
Omar, Haqqani and Hekmatyar. Military
operation in North Waziristan to be initiated
and drone strikes to continue without any
restrictions.
2. The US wants uninterrupted supply line for
US and NATO forces inAfghanistan.
3. The US wants to re-shape the political profile
BRASSTACKS 15
of Pakistan, insisting that all those elements
that are hostile to the US policies within the
government must be removed. The main man
the US hates is Governor NWFP, Owais
Ghani. The PPP government has already
initiated the move to remove him, to be
replaced with someone the US can rely upon.
4. The US wants to have an aggressive presence
inside the Pakistani State and private media to
control its direction, and content and use it as a
psy-ops weapon to re-program the collective
national psyche of the Pakistani nation.
Training hundreds of Pakistani journalists in
the US, buying private channels, opening
direct American channels and controlling
Radio Pakistan and PTV are the important
steps. Blocking anti-American analysts,
journalists and anchors is also part of the
strategy.
5. In the name of social development, aid and
donations, empowering the western NGO's
and sub-nationalist provincial governments in
order to bypass the federal government and
directly embark on the US projects without
any federal and legal control of the Pakistani
State. With ANP, BLA sympathizers and
MQM already in power in the NWFP,
Baluchistan and Sindh provinces, this
American task will be carried out rather
th
smoothly. The 18 amendment has also
cleared the path for provincial autonomy,
paving the way for complete secession. The
role of the ANP in creating a separatist trend
and rifts over Hazara community as well as eid
moon sighting, are just two examples.
6. The US wants to limit the military and
economic cooperation between Pakistan and
China, especially on nuclear deals. All details
on Pak-China nuclear deals are demanded by
the US.
7. A highly conditional military package of 2bn
dollars is being offered as carrots to the army to
behave. It is like a post dated cheque, which can
be cancelled anytime the army creates difficulty
for the US interests, like blocking NATO
supplies or not waging a war against Afghan
Taliban. The allegations of HR violations
against the army are also a part of this carrot and
stick doctrine to increase pressure.
 8. The US wants the ISI to be under civilian
control, making the Interior Ministry more
powerful. The ISI is seriously resisting the
CIA's attempts to expand its operations in
Pakistan. When the CIA was allowed to
establish “anti-terror” units in the tribal areas
during the Musharraf era, they created TTP
instead of capturing Osama Bin Laden. Now
the ISI is more cautious making the CIA
furious.
9. The entire NADRA database, air line travel
data and access into Pakistan's telecom
networks are also demanded.
Just to remind our readers, the PPP government has
accepted all the above conditions but army has not;
hence major hurdles still remain for the US policy
makers. General Kayani is a one man army when it
comes to protecting Pakistan's strategic core interests
within the government. He had Owais Ghani as an ally
but now OG is being targeted by the Americans as
well. A deadly trap is being laid around Pakistan with
the objectives ranging far beyond Pakistan's support
to the US in Afghanistan. The political elements have
all compromised the national security and honor. A
final showdown seems to be close at hand within
Pakistan's political and security establishment as well,
while the Americans are aggressively trying to exploit
the crumbling regime.
Pakistan also wanted the US to get involved in
Kashmir, to increase pressure on India and to give
preferential treatment to Pakistan for trade and
business access, but the Obama administration
resisted these suggestions, irritating the Pakistani
military leadership. This is the harsh, stark and
shameful reality of these “strategic dialogues”, which
depicted almost a master-slave relationship, with
humiliating conditions as well as abusing Pakistan's
alliance since the last 10 years.
In the coming years, the conflict between Pakistan and
India is bound to rise exponentially, as climate
changes create other axes of friction in addition to
Kashmir, terrorism and water. There is no way the US
can bring Pakistan and India into one collective,
security arrangement camp against China. There is
also no way Pakistan would give up its nuclear
security umbrella under this emerging hostile regional
scenario.
The man the US fears the most and the
Pakistani patriots are counting on!
The US desire has already brought it on to a collision
course with the Pakistani patriots. This PPP regime is
pushing its luck dangerously by doing the American
bidding in an environment where the mood of the
armed forces and patriots is visibly angry. The US
knows this and has tried to send signals to the
Pakistani patriots and military that any move against
this PPP government will not be welcomed.
However, these are just empty US bluffs. The US is in
no position to threaten the Pakistan army while the
NATO supplies pass through Pakistan, the US also
desperately needs Pakistan to find an exit strategy in
Afghanistan. If the Pakistan army decides to get
tough, the US would not have any other option but to
succumb and accept the terms of surrender given by
Pakistan. The US military knows this and they are
nervous about the possibility, as its demonstration was
seen when Pakistan blocked the NATO supplies
recently. The NATO supplies are still vulnerable,
sending sharp signals to NATO and the US that they
are dealing with the wrong people in Islamabad on
very wrong terms. The tide has now turned against the
US.
The US is forced to accept the reality that Pakistan
cannot be isolated from the developments in
Afghanistan and that the fate of the US may depend
upon it. Even the weak PM is forced to speak what the
Americans do not want to hear. The drone strikes are a
BRASSTACKS 16
sensitive issue for the Americans and now the PPP
regime is also under pressure to stop this arrangement,
though they will not go ahead with it.
This is no more the post 9/11 era, when the US could
get away with murder. Now the US is facing defeat in
Afghanistan, Pakistan military is exerting itself and
the US has no choice but to comply. This PPP regime
has no future anyway. Americans are betting on the
wrong horses, yet again.
While India is the strategic partner for the US in the
21st century, Pakistan remains their immediate short-
term need till the time they remain engaged in
Afghanistan. The US President has decided to visit
India, avoiding Pakistan and sending signals to
Islamabad that India remains their priority ally, but the
Americans are also nervous over the possibility that it
might infuriate the Pakistani patriots and armed
forces. Some damage control was attempted by Mr.
Obama and his team before the Indian visit.
Pakistan would want Obama to raise the issue of
Kashmir and India would want to avoid that. Pakistan
would want Obama to avoid targeting Pakistan over
terrorism allegations but India would want to achieve
that. Such is the delicate balancing act that Mr. Obama
will have to perform in India. As the signs indicate,
India will have their way. Kashmir will not be raised
and Pakistan will be targeted for supporting
“terrorism” inside India. While Kashmiris are
desperate to draw attention towards their cause, the
body language of the Obama visit is highly
provocative for Pakistan.
Kashmir is making headlines these days and would be
a difficult proposition for either Obama or India to
ignore.
1. India's top most writers are now raising their
voices in favour of the Kashmiri resistance
and uprising, creating an embarrassing
situation for the Indian government.
2. The uprising within the valley is gaining
momentum and is now a major crisis for Delhi.
3. Clashes on the Line of Control between
Pakistan and India have become more
frequent, raising fears that any false move by
either side can initiate serious hostilities.
BRASSTACKS 17
The Indian and American media is constantly pushing
the theme that all terrorism across the globe is
emerging from Pakistan or the tribal pocket of North
Waziristan, where Pakistan army is reluctant to wage a
high intensity war. The choice of words and their
constant reference to Pakistan is a classic example of
perception management to paint Pakistan as the
“epicenter of terror”, by the Indian and American
media. Any attack in the US or even anywhere in
Afghanistan, is blamed on “terrorism” from North
Waziristan. The US is indeed desperate to draw
Pakistan into its war.
Subsequently, the ironically stunning fact of the
matter is that the terrorists in North Waziristan are
actually assets created, planted, equipped and
supported by the Indians from Afghanistan, right
under the nose of the Americans and the Karzai
regime. The objective of backing and supporting these
terrorists in North Waziristan is to draw the Pakistan
army into an all out war against the Afghan resistance
groups, especially those of Haqqani, which are giving
a tough time to the American and NATO forces. In a
news report, the so- called Taliban are openly seeking
the protection of the Karzai regime in case the
Pakistan army launches attacks on them in the North.
This is comically ironic as this local TTP terrorist gang
is actually a CIA/RAW asset and not anti-US fighters.
Lately, these TTP terrorists have stepped up their
attacks on the forces including use of IED's and better
communication equipment. All these logistics and
supplies are coming from Afghanistan. It is the
American CIA and Indian RAW which continue to
support insurgency and terrorism inside Pakistan. The
Army knows it, the government knows it but the PPP
regime is too corrupt and compromised to raise the
issue with theAmericans or the Indians. In the absence
of any political or diplomatic support, the army has its
own ways to try and contain the incoming terrorism.
Already there are reports of Indian cellular networks
having their coverage in sensitive FATA regions of
Pakistan. Indians have installed their cell phone
towers in Afghanistan, expanding their coverage into
Baluchistan and FATA, allowing the Indian assets to
have direct communication links bypassing Pakistani
cellular and communication networks.
It is obvious that Pakistan does not have any national
security policy towards the threats emerging from the
Afghan side. The confusion in Islamabad is appalling,
and is being fully exploited primarily by the Indians.

Obama stuck in Pak-India quicksand –
Damned if you do, Damned if you don't
Outrageously enough, it is Pakistan that gets blamed
for terrorism in India as well as in the rest of the world.
On this Obama visit, this is exactly what the Indians
would try to exploit.
Indians plan to fight Pakistan to the last American. The
Indian foreign policy towards Pakistan heavily relies
upon using the American muscle to bully Pakistan into
submission. Obama is treading dangerous ground
here. He cannot disappoint the Indians and he cannot
antagonize the Pakistanis. He did try to walk the razor
sharp line. The diplomatic minefield that he is treading
through has zero margin for error. He has to please the
Indians. To start with, he launched his tour from
Mumbai Taj Mahal hotel and prayed for the dead of
26/11 attacks. With the anniversary of the attacks just
3 weeks away, the timing of the visit is critical for
Indians to exploit the occasion in their favor. But
Obama is sensitive to the fact that there are certain red
lines the US cannot cross when giving concessions to
India. Neither Pakistan can be demonized
unconditionally nor can Indians be given a UNSC seat
or military use of nuclear technology in return for
favors. Indians want it all. Obama is cautious, visibly
cautious.
It is getting difficult for Obama to avoid Kashmir but
he did not embarrass the Indians on this visit. Despite
the fact that 12 US lawmakers have urged him to
appoint a dedicated Kashmir envoy, he simply
decided to go soft on India and tried to appease the
Indians by lots of carrots but would not like to get
involved in Kashmir at this stage nor would he risk
making Pakistan more hostile than it already is. The
Pakistani FO has also sent signals to Obama to watch
his step. Pakistan wants Obama to force India on
Kashmir and has warned US not to give any UNSC
related concessions to India. Obama will not accept
Pakistani demands on Kashmir and the UNSC seat
issue does not suit US also, so that is settled for now.
Now, Obama tries to appease the Indians by offering
them massive trade deals and also “threatened”
Pakistan indirectly over “terror” groups. Indians are
NOT happy with this. They had expected a coup
against Pakistan. This is just admonition. Not
acceptable to Delhi.
The Indians have cultivated a strong lobby in the US,
which continues to threaten Pakistan. These are
mostly pro-Israel Zionists or Neo-cons who hold
powerful positions in the US administration and
lobbies. McCain has come out openly in favor of
Indians and against Pakistan, even threatening a joint
US-India military strike against Pakistan. This is
exactly the scenario we built in our October issue
article, Armageddon 2014,available at
http://www.brasstacks.ca/?p=1782
This is the harsh reality. In the long term, Pakistan will
have to fight on multiple axes against a combined
coalition of Americans and Indians. Pakistan still
maintains an India specific military doctrine with no
capability or training to fight high intensity
asymmetrical wars within its own borders, in urban
environment against organized armies. As long as
Pakistan controls the lifeline of the Americans in
Afghanistan, it is safe from a direct confrontation.
Americans had their own game plan in the region
when they walked into Afghanistan. They have
achieved nothing as yet except creating chaos and
anarchy in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Secondly, they
have not been able to “secure” Pakistan's nuclear
assets so far. Their Indian allies had given them a plan
– to support TTP terrorism at such a scale that Pakistan
becomes a dysfunctional failed state and the global
community then moves in to “de-nuclearize”
Pakistan. Even that plan has failed after the TTP got a
severe thrashing at the hands of Pakistan army. But
that plan holds even today. The TTP is now being re-
equipped, re-supplied and re-organized, to be re-
launched by the Indians from Afghanistan. Another
massive wave of anarchy, violence and mass murder
has already been orchestrated by the TTP.
On the other hand, the Indians will definitely launch a
false flag “terror” attack anywhere in the world, most
BRASSTACKS 18

Samjhota Express attack and burning by Hindu
radicals was blamed on Pakistan first
probably against western assets and then blame it
massively on Pakistan. Pakistan will be blamed for not
“doing enough” against “terrorist” groups and then
US/NATO would take the matters into their own
hands. The NATO incursions into Pakistan are
exercises to test the waters and to judge Pakistani
response. Even after nearly 2 years, India is still
pursuing the 26/11 attacks, desperate to create
international embarrassment for Pakistan. With a
weak government in Islamabad, Pakistani defense
remains equally hopeless.
India is going regional, exploiting its contacts in
Bangladesh to frame and nail LeT(Lashkar-e-
Tayyaba), the group Indians blame for carrying out the
26/11 Mumbai attacks. There is no doubt that
hardliner Hindu extremists would be going over board
to cash in on the opportunity to create a diplomatic
crisis for Pakistan. In the past also, Hindu extremists
have bombed a train coming from India, Samjhota
express, killing about 100 Pakistanis. The attacks
were blamed on Pakistani groups and ISI but later an
Indian MI officer was arrested for his links with Hindu
extremists. The explosives used belonged to the
Indian army.
Also, it is now totally in the open that “Al-Qaeda” is an
orchestrated phantom bogey, created to justify US
intrusions into the region. So many times “Al-Qaeda”
operatives turned out to be secret service agents. The
Indians are disappointed with what Obama has given
them with regards to Pakistan bashing. If Obama does
not do it, Indians would create a “terror attack” to
force him to do it. Pakistan should watch its back now.
Another 26/11 is just around the corner. All the signs
BRASSTACKS 19
are pointing towards it. NATO continues to provoke
Pakistan. TTP would be their most prized asset to
create a false flag to be blamed on JeM (Jaish-e-
Muhammed) or LeT. This is the shape of things to
come.
Western Theatre andAfghanistan:
Pakistani and American security interests clash in
Afghanistan. While Americans consider Afghan
resistance as THE enemy, Pakistan has its own
priorities, hedging the bets for the time when the US
withdrawal takes place from the graveyard of the
empires.
Afghan resistance knows this and they have the
patience and the time to let the fatigue set in the
occupation forces. Till date, none of the Afghan
groups have waged any war against Pakistan, despite
Pakistan's closest association with the US since the
last 9 years. In fact, Afghan resistance has been trying
to contain the violence of the TTP and sectarian wars
in the tribal regions, which had become a menace for
the Pakistani State. It is a ruthless cut - throat war in
Afghanistan, where the Americans have played the
most sinister betrayal with Pakistan by allowing the
th
Indians to wage a bloody 4 generation insurgency
through Afghanistan. With the Americans facing
defeat, Indians are visibly nervous as well and
Pakistan is now in a position to pay them back. There
is no way the Pakistani and US interests would
converge in Afghanistan. The Afghan resistance had
been waiting for this time all along.
US and NATO faced their first major test in Pakistan
since their invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, which
explicitly established Pakistan's strengths and
exposed NATO's vulnerability in their Afghan war.
Not just that the NATO supplies were blocked by a
very angry Pakistan army, the supply convoys all over
the country were ruthlessly targeted by the militants to
cause hundreds of millions of dollars losses in lost fuel
and supplies.
For the last 9 years, the presence of CIA, NATO and
RAW in Afghanistan have brought death, destruction
and misery into Pakistan. The friction between ISI and
CIA was rising since the past many months. When
NATO attacked and killed 3 Pakistani soldiers, the
Pakistan army responded by blocking NATO supplies.
The war between Pakistani nation and the US and its
allies is now in the open. Tempers are high at all levels
and the mood is defiant in Pakistan. For the first time,
US and NATO are sensing that they have crossed the
red line.
Once the NATO supplies were blocked, the panic in
US and NATO were immediately visible. Pakistani
armed forces made sure that their anger and fury was
conveyed to the western Capitals in full. The flurry of
activity is breathtaking. A full blown military and
diplomatic crisis is now brewing and US/NATO are
most vulnerable. Pakistan is in a very strong position
to deal with NATO at the moment. Pakistani reaction
has surprised the US and NATO, and there is nothing
they can do about it except come to terms set by
Pakistan.
The unbelievable happened pretty quickly when US
and NATO came down on their knees to seek
forgiveness for killing Pakistani soldiers. Pakistani
armed forces had put their foot down decisively but
the PPP government were weak- kneed and were too
eager to comply with the US demands. In the absence
of support from the government, the army could not
continue to block the supply route for long. The
Parliament, Cabinet and the leadership could not take
the US pressure. The Army rubbed it in properly, but
the PPP government was more than eager to oblige
NATO.
NATO supplies are just one issue where the US is so
heavily dependent upon Pakistan. In fact, the entire
US survival and exit strategy in Afghanistan is in the
hands of Pakistan. This is an ironic situation where US
finds itself in the shoes of the Soviet Union, whose fate
was also decided by Pakistan in the 80's. The US is
now desperate to withdraw but want to have a face
saving exit. The US also does not want Pakistan to fill
the vacuum, hence want Pakistan to get into a state of
war with the Afghan resistance instead. The pressure
on Pakistan to invade North Waziristan is for this sole
purpose only. Pakistan has been refusing to get
involved in the American war inside Afghanistan and
has focused only on eliminating the TTP terrorists.
These are serious policy level, strategic differences
where now Pakistan is in the driving seat as the
Taliban continue to draw more blood from the
occupation forces and the cost of invasion has already
broken the back of the US economy. The US is still
hopeful that Pakistan will succumb to their demands.
This PPP government would, but the army will not. It
is the army which has taken the brunt of failed policies
of the Musharraf era and now would not be making
those mistakes again. This is a seriously concerning
No way out -- A super power bogged down
in Afghan hell hole!
factor for the US, which is now facing a very firm and
determined Pakistan army which has its priorities
defined.
Desperate for an exit strategy and after taking severe
losses at the hands of Afghan resistance, the Obama
regime has given the go ahead for talks between
resistance and the intermediaries. The Kabul
government is talking on behalf of the Americans but
the real bet is on Pakistan here. This is what gives so
much leverage to Pakistan to nail down the US in
Afghanistan.
This PPP government is so compromised by the
Indians and the US that despite all the support to
terrorists of TTP and BLA from Karzai regime as well
as the NATO attacks in Pakistan, they were going in
over drive to allow trade between Afghanistan and
India. While NATO supplies were being blocked by
the army, the PPP regime was allowing goods, bound
for India, to pass through Pakistan. The leverage that
Pakistan has on Afghanistan is the total and complete
control of Afghan food, fuel and trade supplies. But
this great geographic advantage is not being turned
into a strategic asset in any diplomatic or political
forum by this government. It was Pak army which
exploited this advantage briefly but the FO and the
regime remains spineless. The Americans are feeling
that their presence in Afghanistan and support to the
Indians is causing major unrest and apprehensions in
Pakistani patriots. The concerns of Pakistan army are
also being noted. While the Americans have arm
twisted the PPP regime to sign a pro-India transit trade
BRASSTACKS 20
deal, they are quick to defend their move as well. In the
coming days, the Indians will be given the full transit
facility, bypassing the concerns of Pakistan army and
patriots. For now, just the first steps have been taken.
The Pakistani military is now fully exerting itself on
the Americans and NATO over Afghanistan. It is
rather amusing to notice how the US and NATO find
themselves in a desperate situation, as the Pakistan
military continues to talk and walk tough with them.
The NATO supplies were resumed, after sending the
US and NATO into a panic attack. The US heaved a
sigh of relief, though remaining extremely nervous.
On another axis, the US has given a go ahead for talks
with Afghan Taliban. Now, despite the Indian and
Afghan displeasure, it is Pakistan, which holds the key
to any US exit strategy and peace talks. Over here also,
Pakistan is now aggressively exerting itself. The US is
getting desperate in Afghanistan. Their peace
initiative has not taken off yet and the Taliban have not
just rejected it but also stepped up their attacks. As
usual, Karzai was quick to blame Pakistan for all the
defeats and humiliation at the hands of the Taliban.
This is getting comical now. The US itself is cutting
peace deals with the Taliban, even paying them for
transit of NATO supplies. High level resistance
leaders from Haqqani group have met the Karzai
regime members. Still, Karzai feels that it is Pakistan's
doing that the US is facing defeat.
During the Afghan war of the 80's against Soviets,
Pakistan was indeed a base camp for the resistance.
With 4 million refugees all over Pakistan, hundreds of
training camps were established all along the border
and a massive supply chain was built with thousands
of horses, donkeys, trucks and pickups transporting
weapons, ammunition, food and communication
equipment into Afghanistan. It was a gigantic
operation but was critical to defeat a super power.
Without the base areas, training camps, weapons and
supplies and steady stream of fighters – no war of
resistance can be fought. The entire world joined
hands to support the resistance. Only then a super
power was defeated.
Today, not a single weapons truck or horse goes into
Afghanistan, not a single training camp exists inside
Pakistan. Fighters are based inside Afghanistan and
they are not backed by any power of the world. The
region is most heavily monitored for training camps,
supply trains and fighters. Not even the US has ever
BRASSTACKS 21
accused Pakistan of training Taliban or supplying
them with weapons. Then how can the US or the
Karzai regime blame Pakistan for their defeat in the
Afghan debacle?
The Taliban are based inside Afghanistan. Their
weapons are snatched from the US, NATO or the
Afghan army. Their money comes from the US and
NATO paying them for safe passage! They may be
minimally supported by anti-US countries in the
region but not by Pakistan for sure. The West has
accused Iran of supporting the resistance but failed to
produce any proof. Even if few Taliban cross into
Pakistan, it remains insignificant in affecting the
larger outcome of the war. If Pakistan is required to
wage a war with the Afghan Taliban, why are the US
and NATO cutting peace deals inside Afghanistan and
even paying the Taliban and not fighting the militants?
This is a classic case where the US and Karzai are
trying to pass the buck and rest the blame on Pakistan.
If the US is losing the war in Afghanistan, it is not due
to Pakistan. This is what Islamabad needs to make
them understand.
But the real bone of contention between Pakistan and
the Western Forces in Afghanistan, are 3 critical
issues:
1. North Waziristan operation, which the US
insists that Pakistan must carry out against
Haqqani group. That is where the “do more”
mantra continues to be heard. The US wants
Pakistan to clash with theAfghan resistance.
2. US and NATO attacks inside Pakistan,
including drone strikes.
3. Smuggling and illicit trade through NATO
containers and Afghan transit trade. Hundreds
o f NATO containers have gone “missing”.
NATO has not complained about the missing
containers! That makes the whole scenario even more
suspicious. It is clear that the entire operation is being
done under their tacit approval. Hundreds of
containers carrying war equipment, guns, explosives
and surveillance equipment are being emptied in
Pakistan by either secret private contractors like
Blackwater or being handed over to local anarchic and
terrorists groups for future civil war in the country.
This is the most sinister and threatening aspect of
NATO supply lines through Pakistan. The US is
desperate to find excuses to justify its Drone war
inside Pakistan. Spreading lies and disinformation
against ISI and Pakistan army remains an important
part of this strategy. The US has made it clear that it
will continue with the drone war inside Pakistan.
There is nothing this PPP regime can do about it; in
fact they have approved of it.

The biggest American strategy and desire is to draw

Pakistan into an open confrontation with the Afghan
Taliban and to force Pakistan to launch a military
operation in North Waziristan. To achieve this, the
TTP has been asked to increase attacks inside Pakistan
and to brandish their presence with audacity in the
region. A trap is being set for Pakistan. The TTP are
also trying to gain sympathies by pretending to be
associated with Afghan resistance and working
against the US interests by claiming to kill “US spies”.
In reality, these so called “US spies” are often
Pakistani loyalists, who side with the army against
these terrorists and are then punished, execution style
to send messages to the local population. The attacks
th
on Masjids on the bloody Friday of November 12,
which killed and wounded over a hundred tribesmen
were also a part of this terror tactic. The hundreds of
ordinary worshipers killed in Masjids, were not “US
spies” as claimed by the TTP.
To appear as the good guys, the Americans were also
forced to give a reluctant approval to Pakistan's deals
with Iran. For years, Americans have been resisting
any trade or defense deal between two Muslim
neighbors, but now for sometime is unable to prevent
working relationship between the two countries.
Pakistan and Iran are coming closer. This is a major
US concern. The US response is to increase its
presence in the “soft regions” of Pakistan.
The Americans are now highly active and aggressive
in the “soft spots” of Pakistan – Baluchistan, FATA
and Gilgit-Baltistan region. There is a huge game plan
underway to completely take over and shape the
media and perception management teams of these
regions through a direct media control program run by
the CIA. The PPP regime has allowed unchecked and
direct access to the CIA and Voice of America into the
State and private media in the country and now
allowing the US more direct access into these
sensitive regions. Pakistan army is being blamed for
“excesses” in these regions, the youth is being
instigated to find their own “voice” and “freedom”,
and a chessboard is being set for breaking off these
regions on the Yugoslavia pattern. The game is on, big
time, and the US wants to make the most of it while
this sold out regime exists in Islamabad. Note how the
“journalists” from “soft spots” are invited.
The US now has plans to open a consulate in
Baluchistan also. It has openly cited the reasons for
this consulate as to monitor the developments in
Baluchistan and to have a direct contact with the
people of Baluchistan. One can feel that a sinister US
game is unfolding on the Western front of Pakistan,
especially orchestrated by the CIA and RAW. Despite
major military gains by the army, Pakistani State and
the nation are now genuinely in trouble on the Western
borders with no response strategy from the
government at all. The entire burden has fallen on the
Army.
Political / EconomicAxes:
The country is on the verge of a street level uprising! It
is make or break time for this corrupt regime. If the
corruption does not bring it down, inflation, economic
collapse or the strong arm of the Supreme Court can
deliver the final blow. The crises are brewing on all
axes with severe ferocity.
The country is affectively being run by the IMF and
World bank. Since hemorrhage of financial resources
and coffers has not been blocked, taxes remain the
only means for the corrupt regime to bleed the masses
to death. It is now dangerous to the point of a social
explosion as the government continues to impose
staggering taxes on the poorest of people. Basic food
stuff is also almost untenable now. With fuel prices
BRASSTACKS 22

Hungry, abandoned and burdened by the
Government – violent street chaos is possible
hitting record levels and more taxes being imposed, a
street rebellion is just a spark away!
If we outline the priorities of this government, they
would be the following. Everything that is happening
in Pakistan on the judicial and economic front, has to
do with this priority list of the government:
1. Survival against Supreme Court's aggressive
judicial inquiry.
2. Survival against IMF's harshest terms which
would initiate a rebellion on the streets if
implemented rapidly. IMF is now running the
country and collapsing the national economy.
3. Corruption and minting money in the shortest
possible time. They know that they will not get
any other chance to rule and loot, hence the
urgency is breathtaking. Destroying the State
institutions for corruption prosecution
remains a top most priority as the entire PPP
government now faces criminal cases of
corruption due to NRO.
4. Maintaining some sort of law and order to keep
the system going till they last.
The Government is trying to deceive the SC but we see
little chance of that. Corruption scandals continue to
surface everyday and the SC continues to take notice
of these. The media is now getting bolder in
humiliating the regime and the army is exerting itself
forcefully. The IMF driven economy is not sustainable
and it would snap if exerted any further. Terrorism is
BRASSTACKS 23
alive and continues to pose serious challenges. The
government is incredibly lucky to have survived this
far. Now its future is genuinely bleak. The PPP
government is on its way to commit political suicide!
It already has. Just the formalities need to be taken
care of. By declaring an open and all out war against
the Supreme Court, the odds are now heavily against
the PPP government. The way it is going, it seems that
any day a judicial coup de grace can send this PPP
government packing.
The Supreme Court took a step back to give a breather
to the regime. Massive behind the scene maneuvering
by the government, Supreme Court, army Chief and
the Americans have stalled the demise of the
government, perhaps for a few weeks. The crisis
remains as the institutions continue to be at war with
each other. The Army has not yet decided on the future
political setup, hence has not offered full backing to
the Supreme Court to move decisively against the
government's corruption and crimes. The PPP was
relieved to be given this concession. The Supreme
Court is the only institution, which can nail the
government on genuine criminal charges. This whole
so called democratic setup is a fraud, with MNA's
forging their educational documents to get elected and
involved in massive corruption. The government and
the departments are so corrupt that it has become an
international embarrassment.
The government continues to defy the Supreme Court,
find avenues to do more corruption and continues to
feed the nation to dogs! Prices are being hiked, taxes
are being imposed and inflation is skyrocketing but
there is no financial or fiscal discipline in the
government. They just don't want to stop scavenging.
The business community is in an uproar but there is
nothing they can do about it. Incredibly, since the
rulers are all landlords and feudals, the tax bodies have
been asked not to tax their agricultural incomes. In this
country, the feudals and the lords are a tax- free
community. While billions of rupees worth of loans of
the rich and powerful have been written off, the State
Bank is now giving signals that more loans would be
written off to benefit the “poorest” rich of the country!
This is the organized money swindling business:
Getting your loans written off. Everyone in the
government is part of this racket. The audacity of the
corrupt knows no bounds. Even the name of the ISI is
exploited by the corrupt to fool the decision makers.
Zardari's bravado is now touching the limits of
stupidity. He has made enemies with almost all power
groups in the country. Supreme Court, Army, Media,
PML(N) and the terrorist gangs of TTP. Only MQM
and the ANP remain allied to PPP so far, though their
alliance is also shaking up rapidly. Sensing the
pressure building upon the PPP regime, the opposition
parties tried a desperate bid of their own to try to put up
a unified opposition. That also seems to have fizzled
away as many larger factions stayed away.
Nowhere in the world such shamelessly corrupt and
criminal elements could come to power except in
Pakistan, where the CIA sponsored democracy threw
the scum of the earth into the parliament and the
corridors of power. Below, we have compiled quotes
from the mighty and the powerful in the land, which
would give an idea how sickening the whole system is.
These are actually quotes of the Governors, Ministers
and MP's, most of whom are corrupt, criminals and
gangsters.
The National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) is a
medal and I regret not being listed in it.
Governor Punjab, Salman Taseer
Everyone, whether he is a Baluch, Sindhi, Seraiki,
Pashtun or Punjabi should be given an equal
right to indulge in corruption.
Minister of State for Defence Production,
Abdul Qayyum Jatoi
The other issues are all domestic and could be
discussed later on… I can co-exist with a pig,
but not with a Punjabi.
Nawab Kher Bakhsh Marri, Baluch Nationalist
Leader
We, in the PML-N opposed Musharraf's policies and
rejected dictation from abroad. If the Taliban are
also fighting for the same cause, then they
should not carry out acts of terror in Punjab.
Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif
Let's persuade people to consume less sugar and
then we will see where these hoarders sell their
sugar.
Information Minister, Qamar Zaman Kaira
The Governor Punjab's status is no better than toilet
paper.
Punjab Law Minister, Rana Sanaullah
I'm a badmash (gangster) and know well how to
deal with this lot.
Sindh Home Minister, Zulfiqar Mirza
You must understand the environment in Pakistan.
This has become a moneymaking concern. A lot
of people say if you want to go abroad and get a
visa for Canada or citizenship and be a
millionaire, get yourself raped.
Former President General Pervez Musharraf
I don't say that there is no corruption in my ministry,
but the question is where is it not?
Federal Minister Railways, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour
(Burying women alive) is a centuries-old tradition
and I will continue to defend it.
Federal Minister for Postal Services,
Israr Ullah Zehri
We were ready to break Pakistan and were much
more determined to chant the slogan of 'Pakistan
Na Khappay' : No need for Pakistan.
Sindh Home Minister, Zulfiqar Mirza
I apologize to the departed soul of the Sikh ruler
(Ranjit Singh), for frequently quoting his name
in meetings for the wrong reasons. I was wrong.
Ranjit (Singh) was a great administrator of
Punjab.
Leader of Opposition, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan
Iftekhar Chaudhry is the scum of the earth – a third-
rate man – a corrupt man.
Former President General Pervez Musharraf
Even more gorgeous than I had expected, now I
know why the whole of America is crazy about
you. If he (the cameraman) keeps insisting, I
might hug you.
President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari to Sarah Palin
Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah is a
'manjan seller'
Central Secretary for Information of Pakistan
Peoples Party, Fauzia Wahab
I am not afraid of jail's mosquitoes.
President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari
The MQM will openly support the patriotic generals
if they take any martial law-type action against
corrupt politicians and feudal lords.
BRASSTACKS 24

In fool's paradise – oblivious of the brewing storm
Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain
My own brother approached me and said lala
(brother), 'Can I also join your party?' I told him
to run away … he is a known gambler.
Dr. Sher Afgan Niazi, Member of All Pakistan
Muslim Leagues
The PML-N has appointed Punjab Law Minister
Rana Sanaullah as a “loudspeaker”.
Governor Punjab, Salman Taseer
How did a person, who used to sell tickets at the
Bambino cinema in Karachi, reach the Surrey
Palace and became richer than Queen Elizabeth
before his ascendancy to the presidency? It is a
million-dollar question that only the PPP top
leader has to answer.
Spokesman PML(N), Siddiq ul Farooq
These people are in power today, truly the shame of
the nation. This is the true face of democracy in
Pakistan. The crisis for the army, Supreme Court and
the patriots is that whom should they replace this
stinking, corrupt regime with? The Army chief is
weighing his options and meeting the politicians who
may be just workable.
The system has reached critical limits of failure. It is
untenable now. Army or the Supreme Court would
bring an organized change. Street violence would
create anarchy. It is a race between organized change
BRASSTACKS 25
and chaotic anarchy. Change is inevitable. Even
Zardari and Gilani know it. They are barely hanging
by a thread and just might end up hanging at the end of
a rope, if they continue to fail as they have so far. Time
is one luxury they do not have.
Internal Security:
Karachi witnessed sectarian war expanded into the
urban metropolis. TheTTP is now expanding the axis
of war against Sufis and Shias. The Sufi/Barelvis and
Shias have lately taken serious hits at the hands of
these terrorists. Swat valley remained quiet. The CIA
has gone hyper in its drone war inside Pakistani tribal
regions. They are mostly targeting Afghan Taliban,
Haqqani group and their allies. The TTP, which fights
against Pakistan, is not being targeted. The Army
maintains their pressure on the TTP. But the TTP has
regrouped and has been re-supplied in the recent
weeks and has re-launched their war against the State
and the army. Many serious hits against military and
civilian population have resulted in major loss of life
and property. The centre of gravity of TTP lies in
Afghanistan and they are being used by the CIA to
draw the army into an open confrontation with the
Afghan Taliban and to launch a war in North
Waziristan.
Baluchistan :
BLA continues its assassination campaign of pro-
Pakistan intellectuals and leaders and political
opponents, even if they are Baluch. There is
absolutely no response from the Baluchistan
government to this threat, which continues to operate
with impunity.
********************
 By Shahzad Masood Roomi

“The world Zionist movement should not be
neglectful of the dangers of Pakistan to it. And
Pakistan now should be its first target, for this
ideological State is a threat to our existence. And
Pakistan, the whole of it, hates the Jews and loves
the Arabs. This lover of the Arabs is more dangerous
to us than the Arabs themselves. For that matter, it is
most essential for the world Zionism that it should
now take immediate steps against Pakistan. Whereas
the inhabitants of the Indian peninsula are Hindus
whose hearts have been full of hatred towards
Muslims, therefore, India is the most important base
for us to work there from against Pakistan. It is
essential that we exploit this base and strike and
crush Pakistanis, enemies of Jews and Zionism, by
all disguised and secret plans.”
David Ben Gurion, the first Israeli Prime Minister.
His words, as printed in the Jewish Chronicle, 9
August 1967.
Traditionally, India is considered the only real enemy
for Pakistani state but above mention statement of first
Israeli premier and history of covert relations between
two countries –even before 1992, the year India
formally recognized Israel and established diplomatic
relations –proves that Pakistan was perceived as a
security threat despite the fact that Pakistan never
showed any such intentions against Israel. Apart from
that, this statement was an announcement of natural
strategic alliance between Israel and India against
Pakistan.
Muslim countries located next to Israel. Pakistan is the
only country in the Muslim world that has top of the
line military training infrastructure and skilled
military trainers making it a natural target for Israel's
overt and covert plans.
As desired by David Ben Gurion, today, India is
serving as covert base against Pakistan. Not only this
but both are colluding against Pakistan in every
possible way to make it fragile on economic, political
th
and military axes. Indian 4 generation war against
Pakistan is a manifestation of this covert war and has
Israeli collaboration and assistance. Covert military
and diplomatic relations between the two predate to
1960s when Indian foreign spy agency RAW was
formed on the footsteps of Israeli Mossad though
nature of these relations was covert during Cold War
to avoid annoyance of Soviets.
After dismemberment of Soviet Union in 1991, India
and Israel established their diplomatic relations after
India formally accepted Israeli state in 1992. These

Just like India, a nuclear armed Pakistan is also a

nightmare for Israel as well due to its strong ideology
and armed forces. Israeli threat perception of Pakistan
stepped up further after the participation of Pakistani
armed forces personnel in Arab-Israel wars of 1967
and 1973. Even today various Pakistani military Pakistani Pilot shooting down Israeli jet
schools are training military staff belonging to in 1967 Arab Israel war
BRASSTACKS 26
 In conventional warfare domain, US and Israel are the
biggest supplier of advanced weapons to India which
India is going to use against Pakistan in the next
conflict whereas Pakistan has been denied number of
weapon systems, even those who are purely defensive
in nature. These sales began after 2003, when the
cunning Indians proposed the idea of forging an
alliance among India, Israel and United States, against
common threat of “Islamic terrorism and
fundamentalism”.

Below is a brief summary of previous and current

arms deals between India and Israel. These facts and
figures should suffice to showcase how Israel is
arming India to execute her Cold Start military
doctrine against a nuclear armed Pakistan.

From 2001 to 2009, India purchased arms

David Ben Gurion
Pakistan’s arch enemy
relations proved a marriage of convenience for both
India and Israel. Israeli war industry found a huge
market to sell weapons and allowed India to arm its
forces with most lethal weapon systems against
Pakistan, creating imbalance in the military equation
existing between the two rivals. Israel is an active
partner in Indian military buildup for her Cold Start
war plans against Pakistan.
Infiltrating the sensitive circles of enemy's military
and strategic infrastructure to make it implode from
within is an old ploy of Mossad. Today it is fully
utilizing the cover of NATO forces in Afghanistan,
UN and US personnel to find alternate ways to gain
access into Pakistan's security infrastructure.
Pakistan, having 6th largest military machine of the
world with nuclear weapons at her disposal, is too big
a target to take on for Israel alone. This military
strength of Pakistan helped both India and Israel to
push their strategic alliance further.
worth staggering $24 billion from Israel and
emerged as the largest military hardware client
of Israel.
According to the figures released in 2008 by
the Israeli Defense Ministry, India accounted
for 50% of Israel's military exports.
Supply of 3 state of the art Phalcon AWACS air
surveillance system to IAF. Deliveries have
been started already since last year. System
would allow Indian forces to look deep into
Pakistani lands and skies.
Indian air force's SU-30MKI, fighter jets were
upgraded by Israel Aviation Industry (IAI)
boosting their electronic warfare and jamming
abilities.
Sale of long-range Green-Pine radars to India.
These radars are capable of detecting any
flying object from hundreds of kilometers.

India-Israel military relations: In 1996 India purchased 32 Searcher

The nature of Indo-Israel military co-operation is
secretive. India is one of the 39 countries with whom
Israel has signed “secret co-operative agreements” in
order to conceal the information about joint military
projects. Much of these plans are related to
denuclearization campaigns against Pakistan which
has been put into top gear after 1998 in political
affairs, diplomatic engagements and media debates by
this Indo-Israel nexus around the globe.
BRASSTACKS 27
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Electronic
Support Measure sensors and an Air Combat
Maneuvering Instrumentation simulator
system from Israel.
In 1997, Israel offered its Barak-I vertically
launched surface to air missile (SAM). India
bought this missile system with the ability of
destroying targets like cruise missiles.
 During 1999 Kargil crisis, Israel supplied
India with laser guided missiles and munitions
making it possible for Indian air force's
Mirages to destroy Pakistani bunkers in
mountains. According to Jane's Defense
Weekly, India was provided with Heron /
Machatz 1 UAVs for high altitude
surveillance, laser-guided bomb and many
other systems within 24 hours.

In 2000, Israeli submarines reportedly

conducted test launches of cruise missiles
capable of carrying nuclear warheads in the
waters of the Indian Ocean, off the Sri Lankan
coast. Israeli Heron UAV’s purchased by India

In June 2002, as part of “Operation Parakram,”
after the attack on Indian Parliament, Israel
supplied hardware through special planes after
a visit by the Director-General of Israeli
Defense ministry.
India has signed a $30 million contract with
Israel Military Industries (IMI) for 3,400 state
of the art Tavor assault rifles and 200 Galil
sniper rifles, as well as night vision and laser
range finding and targeting equipment. India
buys the counter-infiltration devices Israel
uses in Golan Heights and in the Negev Desert.
4 battalions were sent to Israel for special
training against insurgency in Kashmir, called
the Ghatak force.
India launched Israeli Spy satellite with
ability to draw real time 3D maps.
culmination of adopting the military tactics
used by Israeli defense forces against
Palestinian citizens. Emergence of a
horrifying resemblance between the two
forces' counterinsurgency approach vividly
explains how Indian army is getting its lesson
from the masters of oppression. Result is a
bloodbath in Kashmir with deaths of innocent
children and women exactly replicating Gaza
which came under attack by Israel in 2008.
Indeed, India and Israel are natural allies as
these are the only two “democratic” countries
in the world that have killed over 1 million
people in between 1947 and 2010, even
without labeling any charges.
Strategic blunders in foreign policy affairs by
Islamabad and US military invasion into Afghanistan
after 9/11 provided another base for combined Indo-

Israel advised India on new methods of

curbing Kashmiri struggle. Indian newspaper
The Pioneer, wrote on 3 March 2001:
"Fencing of the Indo-Pak border is not enough. To
check Pakistan-sponsored cross-border
terrorism, top security experts of Israel have
suggested that hi-tech gadgets ranging from an
electronic barrier system of radars to thermal
imaging devices should be immediately installed
on India's sensitive international border in J&K
and Punjab sectors.”

Israeli involvement in Kashmir issue is not a

secret anymore. Recent wave of Indian
Israeli made Tavor assault rifle for Indian army
military human crimes in the valley is a
BRASSTACKS 28
Israel clandestine operations inside Pakistan's FATA
and NWFP regions from Afghanistan. Pakistan has
been bleeding profusely since last 10 years due to
these furtive wars. Indians are willing partners in these
dirty wars as they have succeeded in damaging
Pakistan and its armed forces much more than they
could in previous four wars since 1947. The excerpt,
re-produced below, from Janes intelligence report, of
2001, vividly explains the connection between RAW
and Mossad;
“The Indian spy agency RAW and the Israeli spy
agency Mossad have created "four new agencies" to
infiltrate Pakistan to target important religious and
military personalities, journalists, judges, lawyers
and bureaucrats. In addition, bombs would be
exploded in trains, railway stations, bridges, bus
stations, cinemas, hotels and mosques of rival
Islamic sects to incite sectarianism. Pakistani
intelligence agencies also said that RAW had
constituted a plan to lure Pakistani men between 20
and 30 years of age to visit India so that they could
be entrapped 'in cases of fake currency and
subversion' and then be coerced to spy for India."
Not surprisingly, the pattern of terrorism and social
unrest in Pakistan since 2001 is exactly the same.
Pakistan army is the biggest encumbrance to Indian
hegemonic designs in the region so weakening it
through surrogate wars remain an obvious imperative.
After engaging Pakistan army on Western theatre,
exploiting economic pressures due to internal war is
the next step in ultimate game against the army and
state.
Pakistan has spent billions of dollars while fighting
against Indian and Israeli proxies in Northern areas.
On the other hand, it requires billions more, every
year, to maintain a credible balance of forces in the
region vis-à-vis India. Strong lobbying by Indian-
Israeli political and diplomatic engagements and
media ops has painted Pakistan army as a collaborator
against US/NATO forces in Afghanistan. Compelled
by this propaganda, US administration is hesitating to
give any economic waiver to already economically
strained Pakistani military. Consequently, whole
modernization of Pakistan military is about to suffer,
further weakening the country's defenses.
Obviously, this Indo-Israel nexus enables India to
enjoy considerable influence over the American
media. Pakistan's global outlook has been devastated
by this influence haunting country's foreign direct
investment (FDI) as well. US insistence on giving
BRASSTACKS 29
India a bigger role in Afghanistan overlooking all its
security implications on Pakistan is yet another
expression of this media influence.
In his article carried by Opinion Maker, in May 2010,
titled 'Framing Pakistan: How the pro-Israel media
enables India's surrogate warfare' Maidhc Ó Cathail
wrote:
“The media component of India's alliance with
Israel affords India a powerful weapon to wage
surrogate warfare against Pakistan and enables
both Tel Aviv and Delhi to pursue their common
objective of destabilizing the nuclear-armed Muslim
nation”.
Characters like Fareed Zakaria, Stephen Schwartz,
Daniel Pipes and others have been tasked to create a
monstrous image of Pakistan, as source of global
terrorism and an unreliable and devious ally. Not very
surprisingly this heinous media onslaught has met
with unprecedented level of success due to complete
diplomatic failure of Pakistan.
Denying nuclear capability to any Muslim country is
foremost strategic goal of Israel. Attacking pre-
emptively deep into enemy territories and destroying
their under-construction nuclear installations is an old
Israeli military strategy. Israel destroyed the Iraqi
nuclear reactor at Osirak in 1981. In 2007 Syrian
secret nuclear installation met with the same fate due
to devastating attack by Israeli Air Force. Pakistani
nuclear installations are constant targets of Israel, and
this is one point where US is also fully onboard in the
sinister drive of Indo-Israel covert nexus. Making
Israel destroyed Iraqi nuclear plant in 1981
Pakistan a nuclear free state is one of the greatest
ambitions of the Americans. According to intelligence
circles of Pakistan, India and Israel tried at least twice
to destroy Pakistan's nuclear plant at Kahuta; in 1984
and in 1998 just before Pakistan declared itself as N-
Capable country.
But after failure of previous attempts to destroy
Pakistan's nuclear capability, India, Israel and US trio
th
cultivated covert plans, using 4 generation
asymmetric warfare, to meet their ends. A detailed
evaluation of this war had been carried out in June
2010 and October 2010 issues of Brasstacks Monthly
Security Review. A brief tactical excerpt of the 4
th
generation war against Pakistan is given below;
Insurgencies in North and North Western
provinces. These are supported by Indian RAW
from Afghanistan. TTP in FATA and BLA in
Baluchistan are creating mayhem and chaos by
unleashing terrorism and anarchy.
An extreme sense of insecurity is prevailing in
masses due to target killings, suicide
bombings, sectarian violence and ethno-
linguistic sadism in all major cities. Increasing
frequency of these incidents depicts a very
bleak picture of national security profile.
This frenzied situation presented foreign
secret services like CIA, MI6 and RAW and
private mercenaries like Blackwater (Xe
Worldwide) with an opportunity to establish
their independent footprints in Pakistan to
carry out kidnappings, assassinations and
sabotage operations as well as eavesdropping
and spying. The entire Drone operations and
subsequent assassinations are being
conducted by CIA and their mercenary
contractors with impunity.
Economic intimidation of Pakistan and to
destroy Pakistan's food supply chain, through
water aggression is relatively new but most
ruthless move in this hushed war by India.
Violating Indus Water Treaty, India built
multiple dams on Pakistani rivers in Kashmir
region.
Media ops and propaganda warfare have been
launched using disinformation, twisted
analysis and planted intelligence reports about
Pakistan, its nuclear weapons and its possible
extinction in the near future.
Corrupt and incompetent government in
Islamabad accelerated economic meltdown of
Pakistan through staggering corruption.
National financial policies and institutes have
been handed over to IMF and World Bank and
by taking loans on compromisingly
unforgiving conditions.
On diplomatic plain, worldwide cloak-and-
dagger Israeli spy network is working in
semblance with Indian diplomatic presence in
the countries who have not established any
diplomatic relations with Israel.
Conclusion:
Despite hostile intentions of Israel and India, a
campaign with renewed vengeance against Pakistan
and its nuclear assets began after 9/11 when Islamabad
failed to demonstrate any sense of sovereignty while
allying itself in US war on terror. This move provided
necessary foothold to RAW-Mossad nexus against
Pakistan. Pakistan has paid heavily for that mistake. It
is time to fix this historical error.
In a fascinating development in late October, when a
US delegate confronted a Chinese diplomat about
Beijing's uncompromising support for Pakistan in
military and nuclear domains, the Chinese responded
with a heavily-loaded remark: "Pakistan is our Israel".
Remarks of Chinese diplomat may sound sarcastic to
Americans but undoubtedly this is the strongest
expression of Chinese aspiration of having a long term
strategic partnership with Pakistan.
For Pakistan, this is ideal time to get out of US camp
where Israeli and Indian lobbies are dominating and
dictating the terms. A uni-polar world is coming to an
end with the emergence of China and now Pakistan
will have to make an ultimate decision about its
strategic partnership in 21st century. Intimidation by
US on political and diplomatic fronts, sacrifices of
core strategic interests made to appease US and grand
failure of this appeasement policy must serve as
helping tools for Islamabad while weighing its options
for future strategic partnership.
BRASSTACKS 30
 Propaganda & Warfare in Cyber World:
Pakistan's weak flank
By: Farzana Shah
After sea, land and air warfare, traditional arch rivals
India and Pakistan are now facing each other in
another arena. With the help of Israelis, Indians have
launched another war on a new axis against Pakistan –
Cyber Warfare.
In certain aspects, cyber warfare is complex, more
penetrating and detrimental to the national security
than conventional warfare. It is fought on the
cyberspace using weapons like Cyber espionage, web
vandalism, gathering data, Distributed Denial-of-
Service Attacks (DDOS), equipment disruption,
attacking critical infrastructure, compromised
counterfeit hardware, virus and worm release.
Potential targets include;
Emergency services
Financial markets and bank systems
Power grids
Water and fuel pipelines
Strategic Weapons systems
Communication networks (Military / Civil)
Industrial and Engineering Complexes
E-Government services (internet based
utility services, web servers)
The Internet security company McAfee stated in their
2007 annual report that approximately 120 countries
have been developing ways to use the Internet as a
weapon and target financial markets, government
computer systems and utilities.
BRASSTACKS 31
Global Cyber Wars:
China and US are spearheading cyber war at global
level with dozens of cyber attacks on each other's
critical IT infrastructure. Both countries are spending
millions every year in order to fight against cyber
attacks.
Lethality of cyber warfare becomes palpable by the
fact that till April 2009, Pentagon had spent more than
100 million dollars in just 6 months to fight against
cyber attacks on its different systems. Money spent on
propaganda operations are apart from this. In October
2010, US army created its first ever US army Cyber
Command headed by a 3 star General.
ARCYBER headquarters will be located in the
National Capital Region and will realign soldiers and
civilians into essential ARCYBER headquarters
positions. ARCYBER is the Army's service
component command to US Cyber Command, a sub-
unified command under US Strategic Command to
operate the Defense Department's information
resources of 15,000 computer networks across 4,000
military bases in 88 countries. The total command
strength of 21,000 soldiers and civilians will be
located around the globe.
Not only US army but US navy and air force have
also setup their respective cyber commands to tackle
cyber threats from hostile enemies (read China).
This aggressive cyber warfare capability build-up by
US has triggered serious restiveness among Chinese
intelligentsia and media. The People's Daily, a
Chinese government-run newspaper, said in an
editorial:
 “The US was the first country in the world to
introduce the concept of cyberwar; it has introduced
and developed a new kind of army, a cyber army,
and even set up a hacker brigade. US intelligence
agencies can, through technical means, fully
monitor, follow and erase online information
harmful to the US' national interest. It is really
ridiculous that under such circumstances, it
demands other countries to allow the free flow of
information on the net.”
From Pakistan's perspective, unlike any other
conventional threat, cyber warfare is rather a new
battle field for Pakistani government, its intelligence
agencies and citizens. Pakistan is not geared nor
prepared to respond to this latest threat. India has all
the reasons and resources to use this as a weapon
against Pakistan, but more recently Israel has joined
hands with Indians increasing the threats for Pakistan.
Cyber espionage, web vandalism and information
gathering are known cyber threats to its security
establishment and government. Apart from these
cyber threats, recently cyber world has been used
ruthlessly as a part of propaganda warfare by Indo-
Israel alliance. As per various media reports one can
be sure that Indians and Israelis are taking these
known cyber threats to next level by using money,
talent and technology to defame Pakistan and its
nuclear program.
How eagerly Indians wanted to gain an edge in cyber
warfare technology is evident from what Indian Naval
Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta told to Start Post;
“The Indian Armed Forces are increasingly
investing in networked operations, both singly and
in a joint fashion. We cannot, therefore, afford to be
Maj. Gen. Rhett A. Hernandez assumed command
of the US Army Cyber Command from
Lt. Gen. Kevin T. Campbell, who is also
the commanding general of US Army Space
and Missile Defense Command, as well as
US Army Forces Strategic Command.
vulnerable to cyber attacks. Information Technology
is our country's known strength and it would be in
our interest to leverage this strength in developing a
formidable 'offensive' and 'defensive' cyber warfare
capability. Harnessing the gene pool available in
academia, private industry and the younger
generation of talented individuals is imperative,”
Statement of Indian Naval Chief is an endorsement to
the media reports that India has offensive cyber
warfare plans. Pakistan is the natural target though
Indian military establishment and political leadership
used Chinese threat as an excuse for introducing this
new war theatre in the region.
Indian endeavor:
Recently in August this year (2010) the Indian
government decided to recruit and form cyber army of
software professionals to spy on the classified data of
hostile nations (read Pakistan and China) by hacking
into their computer systems.
Astrategy was drafted for this purpose earlier in a high
level security meeting on July 29, 2010, chaired by
Indian National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar
Menon and attended by the director of Indian
Intelligence Bureau (IB) as well as the senior officials
of the telecom department, IT ministry and RAW.
BRASSTACKS 32
 US army cyber command centers
According to the strategy drafted in the meeting, India
will recruit IT professionals and hackers who will be
assigned to be on the offensive or to launch pre-
emptive strikes by breaching the security walls of
enemy's computer systems. The most important factor
to note is the involvement of the Indian National
Technical Research Organization (NTRO) along with
the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) which will be
responsible for creating these cyber-offensive
capabilities. It is to be noted that NTRO is a key
government agency of India that gathers technical
intelligence while DIA is tasked with collating inputs
from the Navy, Army and theAir Force.
The Indian Army conducted a war game called the
Divine Matrix in March 2009.
The most interesting aspect of this exercise was that
Indian Military simulated a scenario in which China
launches a nuclear attack on India somewhere in 2017.
The purpose of the exercise was to describe how
China will launch a cyber attack on India before the
launch of the actual nuclear strike.
Chinese were not amused by this Indian war gaming
and simulation.
“We are surprised by the report. Leaders of China
and India had already reached at consensus that the
two countries will not pose a threat to each other
but rather treat each other as partners.”
Foreign Ministry's spokesman Qin Gang expressed
his views on the Indian cyber warfare exercise. But
recently the Indian Army chief and the ex-chief has
clearly threatened that there can be a nuclear war in the
BRASSTACKS 33
region (a veiled message and threat to both Pakistan
and China).
Indo-Israeli Cyber nexus against Pakistan:
Though no large scale cyber attack has been reported
yet in Pakistan but limited cyber skirmishes have
already taken place between Indian and Pakistani
hackers in the recent years. In 2008 a group of Indian
hackers defaced a Pakistani website of Ministry of Oil
and Gas. Pakistani hackers, in retaliation, attacked and
defaced many Indian websites. This year also many
websites were defaced by hackers on both sides.
This is where the interests of both India and Israel
converged. According to reports, Israel has recently
established a cyber task force for Cyber Warfare
against Islam and Pakistan, besides harming the
Palestinian cause. A budget of $ 1,50,000,00 has been
also allocated to this force to carry out various digital
espionage and information gathering operations
against Pakistan.
Propaganda warfare and Cyber Space:
In a new development, Israel has also setup a huge
workforce of writers on the internet and is still
increasing its strength. Primary task of this force
would also be to wage propaganda war against
Pakistan and its nuclear weapons and armed forces.
Israelis are waging a net based disinformation and
psychological war against Pakistan since long.
Hebrew websites and magazines have been targeting
Pakistan by orchestrating near to impossible scenarios
about vulnerability of Pakistani nukes and the
“possibility” of their falling into the hands of Al-
Qaeda. Israelnationalnews.com, IsraelNN.com, and
Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine are few to name
among these media outfits where Israelis are spiting
their venom against Pakistan.
Israeli government first tested these cyber propaganda
tools during operation Cast Lead (brutal military
operation in Gaza in 2008) when bloggers, surfers and
writers were asked by the ministry of foreign affairs of
Israel, through www.giyus.org (Give Israel Your
United Support), to promote words like “holocaust”,
“promised land” and “murder of jews” on social
networking and blogging websites like Face book,
Twitter, MySpace, BlogSpot, wordpress etc. Israeli
government went to the extent to give written
messages which were to be posted on the
aforementioned websites as if they were the personal
responses or views of the citizen of any country.
Israeli lobbies have been heavily exploiting their
clouts in US and UK to wage propaganda wars against
Pakistan's nuclear program through satellite news
channels (like BBC, FOX, SkyNews) and news papers
(New York Time, Washington Post). Disinformation
campaign was also launched from US and Western
media when operation Rah-e-Rast was initiated in
Swat and Malakand regions. Taliban threat was so
exaggerated that the perception was created as if
Islamabad was about to fall to the Taliban! Indian
government also took active part in this campaign.
Indian premier took this disinformation war to new
heights by saying that some of the Pakistani nuclear
installations are already in Taliban control!
Israeli cyber operations were resolutely countered by
the young Palestinian bloggers by posting thousands
of pictures and footages from GAZAover the internet.
Final Thoughts:
In Pakistan, where billions are being spent on
conventional forces and strategic nuclear assets, it is
alarming to see the absence of any serious threat
perception in the theatre of cyber warfare. The
government as well as the armed forces have
neglected this threat too long and now are hopelessly
unprepared to respond to the new challenges. Pakistan
will now have to respond to this threat on literal war
footings.
There is absolutely no coordination, planning or
understanding within various civil and military
A hacked Indian website
organizations and intelligence agencies responsible
for cyber war and perception management through
propaganda wars in cyber space. The whole existing
system and organizations have failed to deliver in
these times of great crisis and threats in the arena of
cyber warfare due to reliance on old fashioned
methods of information collection and processing.
This should be clearly understood that in the modern
world only those nations would have the advantage on
the battle field, in both conventional and
unconventional wars, which have fought and won the
war in the cyber world first. The entire military
equation in a war can be changed dramatically without
even firing a shot, by controlling the critical
infrastructure and perception of the target population
through propaganda war in cyber world.
Weapons like E-bombs have emerged as a new threat
to cripple the military communication infrastructure
by producing massive electromagnetic pulse. Pakistan
must start work on Transient Electro Magnetic Pulse
Emanations Standards, known as TEMPEST in
military parlance to counter electromagnetic-pulse
bombs that can interrupt wireless signals.
Since Pakistan had faced interception of its vital
highly secret data on military operations in FATA by
India through its assets in the area therefore, it's a must
that we should work on TEMPEST making it difficult
for a cyber spy to hack into our systems minimizing
the chances of interception of data transferred by
defense agencies.
Pakistan now urgently needs to create a new
centralized, aggressive and pro-active Command for
Cyber and Information warfare under the office of
Chairman Joints Chief of Staff. It is not too late yet. An
entire flank of Pakistan's defense has been left
unguarded and unprepared.
BRASSTACKS 34
 Zaid Hamid

In the Chilghoza Grove!

It was November 1986. I began my early morning bumpy ride in

an open back, Toyota pickup truck from the border village of
Angoor Adda in South Waziristan, into the Paktika province of
Afghanistan. Our destination was the rear Head Quarters of
Commander Khalid Farooqi of Hizb Islami. Being a guest, I was
given a preferential treatment and got my seat next to the driver.
All other men, weapons and supplies were loaded in the open
back of the truck. Winter had started to set in and there was a
biting edge in the morning breeze. I was comparatively
comfortable in the cabin but the men at the back were already
feeling the slicing cold; the realization made me feel thankful at
being treated as a guest. I had already received my AK-47 from
the base, and now held my weapon tightly as we jerked through
our treacherous journey.

Entering the killing fields of Afghanistan was always a sobering

experience. As always, the rush of adrenaline and excitement
caused a quivering sensation deep inside me. In the shining
morning sun, our pickup truck was driving fast into the open
plains. Getting caught in the open by Soviet Gunship helicopters
was not the desired option and our route was also under the
observation of the Communist army posts, dotted at various
locations. Around eight, fully armed, tough men were in the
truck, silent but observing the sky and the plains for possible
threats. I have to confess, my heart was pounding faster than
usual. This sudden change of mood and atmosphere was sharply
visible even amongst the Afghans in our truck. Just a few

BRASSTACKS 35
minutes earlier, the group was jovial, laughing and in a
light mood, while in their camp in Pakistan. Crossing
the border into the front lines had affected them as
well. Now they were serious and sharp eyed,
anticipating the unexpected.
The region of Paktika was mountainous but had wide
valleys, almost turning into plains at many locations.
This entry point from Pakistan into Afghanistan was
an important staging area and a logistical route for the
resistance for Eastern and Central theatres and was
therefore, hotly contested by both, the resistance and
the Soviets. Soviet planes and Helicopters would
regularly bomb Angoor Adda and the routes coming
into Afghanistan from it. Urgoon was the major town
in the region under the control of the Kabul regime and
the plains had many strong and fortified mini
garrisons and posts, not just in the valleys but also on
many deeper mountain ridges, which they could hold.
The front line posts were all manned by the Afghan
Communist army, with tanks and artillery, while the
Soviets provided them air cover through their
fearsome MI-24 Gunships and MiG bombers. Enemy
spotter planes for spying and observation would
regularly fly high, keeping a close eye on all
Mujahideen movement from Pakistan into the Eastern
regions. In those days, unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAV's) or Drones were not around and the Soviets
relied upon small planes for spying and observation.
The Mujahideen, on the other hand, were based in
small camps inside Afghanistan, with their backs
towards Pakistan, dug into the foothills or on the
mountain slopes and ridges overlooking the plains.
Often the Afghan army would make advances towards
the foothills and ridges and would be met with fierce
resistance from the Mujahideen. The ridges
overlooking the plains and the passages into
Afghanistan were prized targets and bitterly
contested. The Soviet and Communist army
objectives were to block these routes and dislocate the
resistance. The Mujahideen were determined to hold
their ground and keep the supply routes open. If these
routes were to be blocked by the Soviets, the entire
resistance in the eastern and even central Afghanistan
would be choked. The stakes were extremely high for
both the warring factions and this region was under
severe pressure since the beginning of the war in 1979.
The Communist army would also set up ambushes on
the Mujahideen trails and convoys, planting
landmines to block the convoys and then attacking
briefly, before withdrawing into their fortified posts.
Here it was purely post warfare but with regular bouts
of fierce clashes in the open after which both sides
would withdraw into their fortresses and hideouts. On
their part, the Mujahideen would also plant landmines
on the roads and routes between various posts and
used to raid the garrisons and posts to capture them.
Due to the lack of any air support or ability to shoot
down the Soviet aircraft, the Mujahideen could not
stay in the plains for long and had to retreat quickly
into the safety of the mountains, else they would be
made minced meat by the Soviet air power. With their
bases and lairs hidden in the safety of the mountains,
the Mujahideen landmines and fire was a constant
nuisance for the Communists military convoys and
posts, often irritating and provoking them enough into
launching a major offensive towards the hills and
ridges in order to dislodge the anti-aircraft guns of the
Mujahideen dug in there.
The entire population of the region had migrated
towards Pakistan, leaving their homes, lands and dry
fruit orchards behind; thus creating a haunted aura
about the whole region with thousands of houses and
villages dotting the slopes and plains but not a soul
within. One would get an eerie feeling walking
through them. Now only the resistance or the
occupation forces and their allies fought bitter battles
within these villages and plains.
For the resistance, it was an exciting, yet unforgiving
life, full of all the ingredients of a brutally ruthless,
real life, action packed suspense thriller, with zero
margin for error. The beautiful land was now the most
cruel and unforgiving territory. I was indeed
BRASSTACKS 36
 In the Afghan society in those days, and perhaps even
today, little things signify huge messages. In a country
where literacy rate was in single digits, a pen in the
breast pocket was a proud sign of a literate man; two
pens meant a very educated man and three perhaps
were only reserved for Nobel laureates! Pistol gun
belts, reading glasses, pens, walkie- talkies,
binoculars and a pickup truck with a driver, were
respected signs of a real Commander. Junior warriors
would compete to have any of these trophies and
display them with pride, as these drew admiration and
respect from the fighters and the community alike.
Khalid possessed everything that signified a
Commander or Qomandan, in local dialect.

A resistance group during an assault action I was exceptionally eager to have a detailed discussion
against communist army's convoy with Khalid. It was incredible that while I was just 22
years of age and fresh on the battlefront, with only my
mesmerized by the beauty of the countryside already,
fourth expedition since March, my perceptions had
but was also well aware of the threats and dangers that
become acutely alive to the global geo-politics and
lurked all around. “Only yesterday there was an air
local dynamics of the resistance. I was observing,
attack on this road on one of our trucks”, the driver
noting and analyzing the war and its direction,
broke the news, making me a touch more anxious than
implications and fallout. The role of the present day
I already was. “So, what happened to the
super powers, the political developments, strengths
Mujahideen?” I asked, pretending not to be moved by
and weakness of the resistance as well as the Soviets
the possibility of a similar scenario being repeated for
and the role of contemporary Muslim world were of
us as well. I also wanted to calculate the risk factor for
great interest to me in the light of the global history of
our own survival. “MashaAllah, they all became
former Muslim resistance movements. History of the
Shaheeds. May Allah accept their sacrifice”, he said in
Muslim warriors, conquests, defeats and the wars of
a casual manner, with his right index finger pointing
resistance had been my passionate subject always. I
towards the sky followed by a gesture of a prayer for
was sadly aware that since the last 250 years, Muslims
them. I tried pretending to be unmoved, nodding my
had not won a single war of resistance against the
head in agreement, but acutely aware of a little knot
dominant occupation forces from the West. Muslims
forming in my stomach and a lump rising in my throat.
were passionate resistance fighters but had always lost
With my eyes now firmly fixed on the sky, we had no
further conversation for the next one hour till we
finally reached the base camp of Commander Khalid
Farooqi.
*********

I instantly liked him and felt that he was pleased to see

me as well. Seated in a warm mud house, on a cotton
mattress over Afghan carpets, dressed in traditional
Shalwar Qameez suit, Commander Khalid Farooqi
was a burly Pashtun, with a thick beard and a pleasant
face, clad in a large brown turban and a gun belt
holding a holster with a Tokarov TT Pistol and a row of
rounds shining on his chest. Two pens flashed their
caps in his breast pocket and a couple of handheld
walkie -talkie units lay close by.
Khalid Farooqi
BRASSTACKS 37
 Caucasus and the Central Asian regions which were overrun by Soviets in 19th century
the wars despite decades of resistance. The statistics
were frightful.
The tide of history in the past few centuries had been
against Muslim resistance wars. Siraj-ud-Daula and
Tipu Sultan lost to the British in 1757 and 1799
respectively. The War of Independence of India was
lost in 1857. Imam Shamil in Chechnya lost to the
Russians in 1861. Central Asian States of Samarkand,
Bokhara and Tashqand were also lost to the Russians
during the same era in the late 19th century. The
Ottoman Empire was dismembered in the post world
war period. Umar Mukhtar in Libya lost to the Italians
in 1931, Palestinians lost to the Jews in 1948 and
Kashmiris lost their freedom in 1947. Even as a child,
in the books of Naseem Hijazi, I had read about the
treachery and betrayals within the Muslim resistance
movements as well as the failure of the Muslim
community at large, to rise in times of crises. I was
also aware of the political and diplomatic blunders,
which had caused the Muslim military advantage to
collapse on so many occasions. The Muslim
experience with the Russians was particularly painful,
considering the last 400 years of debacles since the
Russian empire started to roll down from Moscow,
overrunning the Muslim state of Tataristan in times of
Ivan the Terrible and Peter the 'not so' Great, in the 16th
and 17th centuries, sweeping through the entire
Caucasus region and the then Central Asia in the 19th
century, and finally rolling into Afghanistan in 1979.
Before this time, the Russians had not been defeated
by any Muslim resistance group, despite their heroic
sacrifices throughout the centuries. I was eager to
know if the Afghan resistance would also meet the
same fate, or whether this time destiny had other plans
in store? Why this time it would be different, if it were
to be, from the sad and tragic historical experience of
the Muslim resistance wars in the past?
These were critical questions itching for answers. My
heart, mind and soul had been ignited into passionate
and serious ponderings and readings since my first
interaction with the resistance forces, just a few
months back, to search for the answers. Within my
heart, I was determined to play my role in proving
history wrong this time. Whatever I had witnessed by
this time had shown me that the Afghan resistance
leadership was yet again hopelessly short of vision,
courage and wisdom to play a decisive role on the
global canvas. The real fears were that the gains made
BRASSTACKS 38
on the battlefield, through staggering sacrifices of
over a million people thus far, and the atrocious reality
of dislocating over 6 million Afghans, would
ultimately be lost on the negotiating table, when the
major power players of the world would achieve their
objectives in this new great game. The Afghan
resistance was hopelessly divided politically as well
as militarily, though the presence of a common Soviet
threat had maintained some semblance of a unified
resistance front.
Little had I known at that time, that these passionate
pursuit for answers to the complex questions haunting
the Afghan resistance, were training me to become a
Security and Defense analyst in the later years. Today,
after nearly 24 years, when I run my own Security and
Threat Analysis Think Tank, addressing the same
security and political issues which were once haunting
Afghanistan and Pakistan, gives a feeling of déjà vu.
Now, in retrospect, I can see that nature herself had
conspired to turn a young engineering student into
something he could never have become otherwise.
While thousands of young volunteers came and
participated in the Jihad at that time, their role
remained focused on pursuits of their passion or
duties. Some were plain foot soldiers, some doctors,
some engineers, some educationists and others media
managers. They did their duty with courage, passion
and honor. Some died in the battlefields and some
went back to their lands with great stories of courage,
passion and valor. When the history of Afghan
resistance will be written, such honorable men will be
remembered with respect. Many greater men will
remain unsung, unknown. They were the best this
Muslim Ummah could produce at that time. When
there was total darkness and the Ummah was
directionless, with Muslim lands under siege and
occupation, they sacrificed their families, homes,
careers and wealth to live and die by the sword for a
noble cause they so passionately believed in. They
were the true salt of the earth. They gave their best and
InshaAllah have received the ultimate reward from
their Creator.
It was at the very onset of my Afghan adventures that I
had started to realize that perhaps Allah (swt) had
destined my humble role to be more encompassing, far
reaching and on a higher plain, than the rest of my
comrades in arms. Allah had created such
circumstances that I was given the exposure and the
BRASSTACKS 39
experience the others never had. I was thrust into
certain circumstances that the others could not even
dream of. I had interacted with the leaders at all levels
and was shown what the others perhaps overlooked. I
was protected and guarded even in the face of death as
if angels had been appointed to pull me through
against all odds. I could see and feel dangers being
diverted when I would pursue them knowingly or
unknowingly and sometimes even foolishly. On the
very private and personal level, the Afghan
occurrence was truly a mystical experience for me.
There were forces operating on plains which were
beyond intellect, beyond experience, beyond any
logic. They could be felt but not explained and they
were affecting me profoundly from a sublime,
transcendent level. I take no credit for all these
blessings for I know how vulnerable I was on these
battlefronts and how totally dependent upon divine
mercy.
*********
Now, I was seated in front of Khalid Farooqi and
wanted to pick his brains on the issues that were
making me uncomfortable. We had a detailed
discussion on all these issues. He was candid, open
and frank. Even now I get an eerie, nostalgic feeling,
pondering over the fact that the critical issues raised
and discussed on the Sarobi base that day, actually
came back to haunt the resistance a few years later and
degenerated the Jihad into a ruthless civil war, leading
up to another foreign invasion and occupation of the
country in 2001. Khalid Farooqi, for that matter all
Mujahideen leadership, collapsed when the time for
closure came after years of bitter war and resistance.
Though they succeeded in reversing the tide of history
at least on this count that the Soviet Empire was forced
to roll back from a Muslim land for the first time in 4
centuries, and the Afghan Jihad became the first
organized Muslim resistance to defeat a super power
of the time. These are great achievements no doubt,
but greater and more honorable heights could have
been reached had the Afghan leadership been taller in
stature and sharper in vision and spirituality. In
November 1986, as a 22 year old novice into the war,
Allah had shown me the painful shapes of things to
come.
My diary had saved some of the questions I had
written for him, though our discussion revolved
around tactical, battle field operations in the theatre
BRASSTACKS 38
 Ammunition boxes being carried in cloths sheets due to lack of backpacks
under his command. From the government in exile to
the role of Geneva talks, to the unity within the
Afghans, to the role of the UNO and OIC, as well as
disputes within the Afghan resistance, came under
discussion.
As per the fears raised by me back then, a couple of
years later, the Afghan cause was sold in the Geneva
accord after the Soviet withdrawal and the Afghans
were abandoned by the US, the UN as well as the OIC,
leaving them to fight a bitter war within themselves
and against the last remains of the Communist army of
Najeebullah. Afghan Mujahideen could not form a
government in exile after the Soviet withdrawal, nor
could they capture any major city, which would have
acted as their new Capital. The bloody and failed
battle of Jalalabad in 1989, doomed all hopes of a
Mujahideen government, and thus till 1992
Najeebullah held his ground, till he was finally
overrun by the alliance of Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras,
threatening the Pashtuns of being sidelined in the new
power struggle. A bitter civil war with the Pashtuns
ensued, which later, in 1996 invited the Pashtun
Taliban and then theAmericans in 2001, as allies to the
non-Pashtuns, who had by now formed their own
military coalition of Northern Alliance. The Afghans
have not seen peace ever since. In 1986, when I, as a
youngster, could foresee this tragic end in the making,
it is strange how the major power players in the world,
Pakistan or among theAfghan Mujahideen leadership,
could not see it coming. Perhaps they saw it and it was
also a part of the plan not to give any closure to the
Afghan resistance after the Soviet withdrawal, and to
create the chaos we see today in order to create
circumstances for the American invasion in the 21st
century.
Back in Sarobi camp, my diary entry had these painful
questions noted down:
1. Government in exile.
2. Air defense systems against new black jet used
by red army.
3. Coordination, cooperation between different
Hizb's.
4. Mujahideen membership of OIC and UNO.
5. What do the Mujahideen require and expect
from the Islamic world? What is your call to
BRASSTACKS 40
 the Islamic world?
6. Any chances of Soviet pullout and political
solution, is Jihad the only way? any optimism
regarding the Geneva talks?
7. In Afghanistan, Russians are working on a
mass program of intellectual revolution and
nearly 25 thousand children are taken to
Russia for education. How do you think you
will tackle this problem as it can tremendously
affect the future of freeAfghanistan?
At the tactical level, the needs and requirements of the
Mujahideen had already been written by me and
shown to Khalid. He approved of them as well. It was
shocking for me to see that the resistance was paying
with blood for equipment, which could have been
easily procured off the shelf and used in making life
comfortable for the resistance, both in transit and in
the battlefield. It was even stranger that such a rag tag
army was nailing down the mightiest Soviet army, for
which NATO had spent billions of dollars to counter.
Winter had almost set in and I was seeing men without
socks, without gloves, without backpacks to carry
their stuff into the mountains. The wounded were
carried in cloth sheets, as there was no concept of field
stretchers. Hardly anyone carried water bottles or tied
military belts around their waists to hold bottles or
knives, for none were available despite the desperate
need for these most basic items. For lack of ear guards,
the ears of the Mujahideen would bleed, as their
shoulder fired RPG launchers or recoilless rifles
would be held uncomfortably close to the ears for
multiple fires. For absence of Range finders, many
precious rockets or shells would be wasted in trying to
find the range of the target through trial and error,
which would not only waste ammunition and alert the
enemy, killing the advantage of surprise, but would
also give away the friendly position, which would then
receive hostile fire causing casualties. Binoculars
were rare even at the front line posts. Even on my very
first visit, I could see the absence of this most basic but
vital battlefield equipment, but those providing
billions of dollars of weapons and ammunition,
somehow failed to notice. Later, when I was back in
Pakistan, we created a supply line of this equipment
for the fronts, sending in thousands of such needed
items and units, though considering the size of the
resistance and the need, our entire effort was just a
drop in the ocean.
BRASSTACKS 41
In this aspect, my diary entry read:
Requirements of the Mujahideen
1. Range finders
2. Ear guards
3. Binoculars
4. Stretchers
5. Belts
6. Backpacks
7. Gloves
8. Socks
I spent a day with Khalid on his base, picking his mind
and mixing with the resistance to get the feel of the
battlefield. The Mujahideen were preparing for a
major attack on a post before the snow fall and onset of
winter, which would slow down the operation. Khalid
wanted me to stay close to him but I insisted in going
to the forward attacking base. I could sense the same
protective care in him which I had felt in Kochi Khan
in March, at Jalalabad, when I insisted on going in the
open assault and he wanted me to stay close to him,
near the recoilless rifle. Finally, I had my way and
Khalid reluctantly allowed me to move to the forward
base and handed me over to Dr. Awwal Jan, the front
line operational commander of Sarobi front for Hizb-
e-Islami.
My diary recalls these very nostalgic moments when I
had moved to the forward location:
19th November 86
It's my fifth day with the Mujahideen Sarobi in
Paktika. Preparing for days for a big action.
Commander Khalid is leading the Mujahideen
united front against one strong govt. post. Attack
would be in a few days and preparations are
underway for the big show.
I had good sittings with Khalid. He is a fine Mujahid
with good tactical sense. During the attack he
wanted me to stay at the Ack Ack guns, being used in
anti-personnel role against the government post, but
I want to go with the mujahideen in the open
 Soviet war on Afghan nation - the landmines and the victims
assault. Let's see what Allah has for me. Still have
few days to go for that.
I am thoroughly enjoying the feeling of spiritual
purity only reserved for the battle fronts. May Allah
accept our humble effort and bless us and the Jihad
with His help and pleasure. (Ameen)”
Dr. Awwal Jan was a very pleasant, tall and firmly
built man in his mid 40's. We both took instant liking to
each other, and from here onward, he would play the
role of my mentor and guardian angel. From the rear
base of Khalid, we drove next to the foothills, further
into the mountains overlooking the plains towards
Urgoon. It was here that in a narrow ravine, the
Mujahideen, under the command of Awwal Jan, had
their base hidden deep in the jungle under the
overhanging peaks. Consisting of few grey tents and
dugouts on the mountain slopes, it was an ideal
defensive position and almost totally camouflaged
from the air. A small stream of ice-cold water ran right
through the narrow canyon housing the base. Trees of
special pine nuts, called Chilgozas grew in thousands,
laden with ripened fruit. In Pakistan one could only
dream of having Chilgozas due to their high cost, but
here we were based in their jungle. Throughout my life
before or after, I have not eaten so many Chilgozas as I
did in those few days, with the Mujahideen of Sarobi.
There, I also tasted the true flavour of another kind: Dr.
Awwal Jan taught me Pashtu, which I noted down in
my faithful little diary.
The base consisted of about 40 Mujahideen, who were
basically at a screening position to give time to rear
bases to prepare and respond in case any attack came
from the enemy posts, and were also serving as
fighting and reconnaissance patrols for area
dominance and surveying in the region. Each day, the
fighting patrols would leave the camp and would look
for enemy movements, ambush opportunities, battle
field reconnaissance and mine clearing operations. It
was exciting work and excellent education for me,
very necessary for training and orientation of the
guerrilla war tactics.
Dr. Awwal was a trained mine sweeper as well. Every
day, he carried a long mine detector in his hand,
followed by his men, including me, and would go to
clear landmines from the posts and passages, which
were planted by the enemy. Enemy scouts would
deliberately plant mines inside empty Mujahideen
foxholes and trenches on the ridges, making it
extremely dangerous to step into trenches without
sweeping them first. Once, in my naivety, during a
patrol, I moved ahead of the group and tried to enter a
small foxhole on the ridge overlooking the plains. If
Awwal Jan had not shouted in time to warn me, I
would have lost a leg for sure. He pulled me back,
swept the ground inches away from me, with his
minesweeper. His headphones made small beeping
sounds which only he could hear, but the expression
on his face showed that he had found something.
Circling the round metal disc over the suspected area,
he asked one of his men to dig out the mine. Using a
bayonet to prod the earth surface lightly, he found the
deadly trap, removed the dirt from it carefully, and
then lifted it from the base using the blade of the knife.
It was for the first time I witnessed a live mine being
taken out from the land, a spot I had almost stepped on.
Ashiver of chill went through my spine. I was red with
sheepish embarrassment. Very carefully, Awwal Jan
unscrewed a small bolt on the side of the mine and
jerked it slightly, bending it sideways. A small fuse
BRASSTACKS 42
 A typical Mujahideen Observer group on a hilltop
like detonator fell out. He put the bolt back and then
pressed the top of the mine with both hands, it made a
small “clicking” sound. Now the mine was safe. If the
detonator had not been taken out and I had stepped on
the mine, it would have blown away my leg. He looked
at me kindly, not saying a word but performing the
whole operation right in front of me, to teach the
invaluable lesson once again without saying it – stupid
men don't last long!
Afghanistan has millions of mines planted across the
country by the Soviets. It was a brutal way to fight the
population that offered such stiff resistance. It is
estimated that with the present demining pace, it
would take almost 400 years for the country to be
cleansed of all the deadly traps spread all over the
countryside in farms, around rivers, lakes, plains and
in fields. In later years, I had more close shaves with
landmines in every region of the country. It is nothing
short of a miracle that I am alive today after so many
close encounters with these elusive and deadly foes. It
was due to the threat of these weapons that the
Mujahideen had developed the practice of single file
marching, in the suspicious zones. Each man would
step into the footmarks of the one ahead of him in
order to avoid making contact with unsafe ground.
The first man of the column was always at risk and had
to be the bravest. That day, we pulled many more
mines from trenches and foxholes. The Mujahideen
were preparing for a major offensive, and clearing the
area was necessary. These patrols were invaluable in
battle field orientation and survival tactics. I was
relishing every moment of these, under the patronage
BRASSTACKS 43
of Dr.Awwal Jan.
A Hizb camera team from Peshawar also arrived
which intended to film the entire operation. Daud was
the chief cameraman. Those were the days of VHS
video cameras which recorded on tapes. Also, the
digital age of still cameras had not arrived and still
pictures were taken on film cameras. A film roll would
take weeks or months to be taken from the battlefield
to get back to Peshawar for processing, and only then
one would know what had come out. Daud had a
passion for his work. A young, sober man of medium
height, in his mid twenties; we became instant friends.
We talked about each other's lives, passions and
ambitions. We promised to meet again in Peshawar
when I would return. I noticed two pens in his breast
pocket!
That night I had insisted upon being given the night
sentry duties. My turn of guard was near dawn and by
the time I completed two hours of my duty on the hill,
it was daybreak. Days started early on those fronts.
Everyone was awake, leisurely and casual. Some were
busy in preparing breakfast and others trying to
snuggle back into their sleeping bags after prayers. It
was a beautiful cold morning and hardly anything
signaled the bloody adventure that was about to hit us
like a thunderbolt.
Around 7o'clock in the morning, a young man came
rushing in through the narrow gorge, which housed
our base. He was one of the Mujahideen from a nearby
similar camp. He was breathless and in obvious panic.
He charged into our tent where about 20 Mujahideen
had gathered in and around, and made a loud
announcement in Pashtu, “Askar Raghley”, the enemy
troops have arrived! He then quickly delivered the rest
of the message that the enemy had attacked at dawn
and was rapidly gaining ground towards the foothills,
backed by tanks and the infantry!
What happened after that was even more stunning for
me. For a second, the listening crowd remained dead
silent and frozen to allow the messenger to complete
his message. Then suddenly, the casual, leisurely
crowd exploded into an electrifying flurry of battle
preparations. While everyone prepared to get their
gear for moving out to face the enemy, I just watched
in amazed silence. In less than five minutes of
receiving the news, the first batch of Guerillas had
already geared up and left for the battle! The sheer
pace and the flawless efficiency, with which these
seemingly carefree, sleepy young men were
transformed into hardcore war machines, would put
any professional army to shame. Even the most highly
trained Special Forces of any country could not have
moved out as quickly as they did on that particular day.
One young man who led the first batch out was,
Baryaley. He shouted at everyone to follow him and
those who were ready were led by him into the battle.
He had the courage, the flair and the initiative. I could
see a leader in him. I still see him in my memory,
moving rapidly and then stopping briefly to turn
around and making a “follow me” gesture. The image
is permanently etched in my memory.
I waited, observed and then left with Dr. Awwal Jan,
who was delayed because he was busy opening the
boxes and distributing the ammunition. Once all were
fully armed, he too left with about 20 remaining men
including myself. We marched through the narrow
gorge at a fast pace and advanced forward towards the
foothills. The excitement was razor sharp. We could
hear fierce gunfire at close range, signaling that the
fight was already hot and close. Daud also had left
earlier, with an advance group.
We reached a “Y” junction within the gorge. I could
see that Awwal Jan did not want me to go with him to
the front. Already the sounds of gunfire had become
rapid and loud. His guardian angel mode had been
switched on. He ordered me to turn right, climb the
hills and get on to the high ridges along with 10 older
men, who he thought would find it difficult to keep
pace on the deadly mountainous tracks. We were told
to hold the ridge. I wanted to go with him and so I
insisted. He paused, looked at me, and I saw a painful
smile on his face. He glanced back where his
Mujahideen were charging fast and then turned
towards me with a silent but firm plea, “You are
holding me back. Please go!” I could clearly see the
love, care and concern on his face as well as the
desperation to go with his men, but he wanted to make
sure that I would be away from harm's way. I decided
to obey him and turned right. A relieved Awwal Jan
turned left and charged down the valley to join his
men. I climbed and reached the ridge. There lying on
my belly, I lifted my head to see the battle in the valley
below. It was an awesome and formidable sight!
The mountain foothills as well as the entire valley
plains were within the range of my view, clear as a
picture, in the early morning sunshine. I was at an ideal
position to observe the tactics of the battle. In the
plains right in front of me, was a column of enemy
tanks pointing their guns straight at us and advancing
towards the mountains. They were about 3 kilometers
away. I could see the enemy infantry following them
too. On my left towards the foothills, the Mujahideen
were seen breaking out from the mountain slopes and
moving into the plains. It was going to be a face to face
infantry battle now. Suddenly I saw a huge flash above
the tank and before I could react to it, a tank shell flew
inches over our heads with a massive, whistling
“whoooosh”, and crashed with a cracking, thunderous
explosion in the mountain side just behind me. God!
Spoils of war - A captured Soviet tank
used by Mujahideen
BRASSTACKS 44
 A Russian tank totally destroyed by a Mujahideen anti-tank mine
That was scary! It had shaken me completely. The
tanks were now taking direct aim at the very ridge I
was lying on, but I had learned something as well. The
flash on the tank would signal a fire and we would
quickly slide backwards into the safety of the ridge
slope. The shell would fly over our heads and hit the
mountain behind us and then we would rise again to
see the action. It was naive of us to think that a few feet
of ridge would protect us against a direct, high
explosive or armoured piercing tank shell. If the ridge
edge had taken a direct hit, it would have blown us all
into oblivion. At least a dozen shells were fired at us
but all went inches above our heads and missed the
ridge slopes.
It was around noon now, and the battle had been raging
for a few hours now. I could see that it had come to a
stall with neither side making advances, but the firing
continued. Suddenly, I heard a huge explosion, which
once again shook us all, but somehow, something was
different. There was no flash of the tank barrel, so
what could have caused this explosion? Then we saw a
plume of thick black smoke emerging from under the
leading tank. The tank was smoking heavily and had
come to a stop. It had either hit a Mujahideen anti-tank
mine or was hit by a recoilless rifle or RPG, which had
broken its tracks, grinding it to a halt. Once we
realized that it was incapacitated, we were ecstatic.
Screaming “Nara-e-Takbeer” at the top of our voices, I
felt a deep personal satisfaction at getting back at this
particular tank. This was the one that had fired the
maximum number of shells at us, served it right; it was
BRASSTACKS 45
personal now!
Moments later, we heard another similar bang and
another plume of smoke rose from the tank behind the
first, wounded one. The second tank had come closer
to the first one to tug and drag it away from the battle
field. The rescue tank itself struck a landmine and was
also incapacitated. We were now truly delirious,
screaming our hearts out with excitement. With two
tanks damaged and abandoned, the enemy attack
began to fizzle out and the remaining tanks and
armoured cars began a slow withdrawal, allowing the
Mujahideen to advance a little further. Then tragedy
struck.
The Mujahideen were using 14.5mm and 12.7mm
anti-aircraft guns positioned in the mountains, in anti-
personnel role in this battle. These guns were also
firing on the enemy tanks and armoured cars in the
valley, from around 2 kilometers away. One Mujahid
had advanced forward and was able to climb the
abandoned wounded tank, and had turned its 7.62mm
Granov machine gun around to fire at the retreating
enemy. This was an act of mad bravery and raw
courage. The Mujahideen, anti-aircraft gunners could
not tell the difference between the government soldier
in uniform and the Mujahid on top of the tank. They
zeroed on the tank and fired, killing the Mujahid.
At night, when we were all safely back at the base, I
was shattered to know that the killed Mujahid was
none other than Baryaley.
There were more sad news to come: Daud had been
wounded as well. A mortar shell had landed near him
while he was filming the action, wounding him
critically. He was taken out towards Pakistan and no
one knew about his condition.
My diary records the day's events in these words:
20 November 86:
“Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.
Today, we had a long action day in actual battle.
The enemy attacked us in the morning but by the
grace of Allah, the Mujahideen were able to beat off
the attack. It was a full day's action with heavy
casualties to the enemy both in men and equipment,
the Mujahideen gave one shaheed and two wounded.
One of the wounded is my friend Daud. I have not
seen him after his injury but I am told he is serious.
May Allah accept his effort in His way. He was a
member of the camera team, which had come from
Peshawar to film the Jihad. I only participated in
watching the whole action and seeing the miracles
in the Jihad. The enemy was very far from my post
to fire upon, but by the grace of Allah I had a good
view of the live action, something that pays an
important role in the training of a soldier. We thank
Allah for his mercy upon His humble servants. All
praises are for Him, the Greatest, the Almighty.”
I was glad to see Dr. Awwal Jan safely back. He was
dusty and tired but very happy. He was a graceful man
and showed emotions with a flair of dignity. I could
see that he was happy to see me safe as well. At night,
after everyone had had a warm meal, there were a
thousand stories to tell over the hot cups of Afghan
chai. Each man excitedly narrated his tales, around the
warm campfire in the bitter cold.
The fact that there were no enemy aircraft deployed on
that day, was surprising for me. The Mujahideen had
come out in the open to confront the advancing
Afghan army. We too were highly exposed on the
ridges. It was easy picking for the Soviet air force, but
they did not show up. The reports of a proposed
Mujahideen attack on the nearby post had reached the
enemy too. They had launched this attack to throw the
Mujahideen off guard and to disrupt their attack plans.
It was clear that the enemy did not want to capture
territory nor came with a determined plan to push the
Mujahideen back. It was a pre-emptive strike in order
to cause panic and confusion, in which they failed, and
incurred severe losses in the process.
At night when I went into my sleeping bag in the tent, I
pondered over the day's events. It was a massive
educational process for me, witnessing the entire
battle in a kaleidoscopic sequence and in
understanding the tactics of the war being fought. It
was often said within the Mujahideen ranks that
Afghan army were cowards and that they would not
fight well in a battle. There was a general tendency
within the resistance and even within the Arabs and
Pakistanis, to rubbish the Afghan army. I saw the
Afghan army fight that day, and they fought well.
They came out of their fortresses and into the open.
They took the war to the Mujahideen without the
Soviet support and without any air cover. They fought
a bitter battle all day and then withdrew by the
evening, after giving a dawn surprise to the resistance.
I began to take the Afghan army seriously. The
Communist army comprised of Afghans as well, and
all Afghans are natural born fighters, irrespective of
their religious beliefs or ethnic distribution. In the later
years this fact was proven beyond doubt. After the
Soviet withdrawal in 1988, the Afghan communist
army held their ground on their own for almost 4 years
against the combined might of all Mujahideen groups.
This underestimation of the Afghan army caused
many debacles in the years to come, the biggest one
being the defeat of the Mujahideen at the hands of the
Afghan army at Jalalabad in 1989. I was there too and
experienced their tenacity first hand once again.
Two days later, while we were preparing for our attack
on the Afghan army post, I received the very sad news
– Daud had died too!
(To be continued)
BRASSTACKS 46
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