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Reinvention of Jihadi Terror from Pakistan
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The Islamic State of Iraq and Shams (ISIS) is neither a magical nor a mythical creation but the creation of vested interests. The Afghan Mujahedeen, followed by al-Qaeda and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), were creations of the Cold War. The Taliban followed. There was no al-Qaeda in Iraq when US troops landed ostensibly to eradicate it and the non-existent weapons of mass destruction.
It may be argued that since the West indirectly created the problem, they should be solving the problem. Unfortunately, this is not how the real world functions.
Al-Qaeda in Arab Peninsula (AQAP) happened subsequently. In short, the ISIS menace today is a result of assaults on Syria since 2011. The organisation may have its ideological territorial battles with AQ fronts like the Jabat al-Nusra in Iraq and Syria, but the truth is that the ISIS was helped along by the West and other Arab nations — notably Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both close to the West and fearful of Iran — with money and arms training to try and dislodge Bashar Al Assad in Syria.
It may be argued that since the West indirectly created the problem, they should be solving the problem. Unfortunately, this is not how the real world functions. As US President Barack Obama underlined in his strongest statement yet about fighting ‘ISIS’s brand of evil together’ from the UN in New York on Wednesday, ISIS and al-Qaeda now pose a menace to the rest of us, India included. ISIS may be attracting a great deal of attention in the West because of the beheadings and kidnappings of foreigners and other Sunni non-conformists, and is not concentrating on India and other regions yet.
It is more likely that other terrorist organisations could copy ISIS tactics in Afghanistan to frighten Indians away. India will have to be prepared to handle this.
The most lethal weaponry will not ensure a military annihilation of the enemy. But the menace has first to be contained militarily before it can be defeated ideologically. Meanwhile, ISIS has acquired a state, the Islamic State (IS) led by Abu Bakr Baghdadi, who heads a brutal vicious ‘regime’ in the name of purifying Islam. Islamic nations are not sure how they want to respond to this — with military strength or through appeasement and acquiescence. The battle against this is going to be equally brutal.
The more urgent problem for India is going to be the renewed talk by al-Qaeda about its alleged interest in India.
Switch Off Their Oxygen
The world does not need international real-time coverage of this fight. What the world needs is an international coalition that has an immutable definition of terrorism with no caveats, which ruthlessly starves the ISIS of finances, weapons, recruits, food and propaganda. If a sanctions regime has legitimacy, it is here.
Meanwhile, the September 3 video release featuring Ayman al-Zawahiri’s announcement of forming a new branch in the Indian subcontinent could be the result of turf battles between al-Qaeda and IS. We must, however, remember where this is coming from and recall that it is Pakistan, with the help of Taliban in Afghanistan, which is associated with the birth, growth and rise of al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda may have developed its branches or assigned franchise to different parts of the Arab world and into Africa, but its main players remained safe in Pakistan.
The more urgent problem for India is going to be the renewed talk by al-Qaeda about its alleged interest in India. Noted expert Tufail Ahmed points out that al-Qaeda and its associates have remained active in our neighbourhood and the Arab peninsula. In fact, an anti-Indian group was noticed in mid-2013. This group, Ansar ut-Tauheed fi Bilad al-Hind (Supporters of the Islamic Monotheism in India), had trained some Indians in the Pakistan-Afghanistan region. Whatever be the number of terrorist-jihadi organisations active in Pakistan and Afghanistan, their essential feature is the control and direction that the Pakistan military exercises on them as it does on others.
The threat to India and Indian interests will still come from Pakistan based terrorist forces. The name of the terrorist regiment or the colour of its uniform is not important.
Pakistan-in-Waiting
Pakistan has begun preparations to take control of Afghanistan once the Americans leave. This also means excluding Indian influence from Afghanistan. Apart from bolstering and strengthening its assets like the LeT, the Haqqani Network in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Quetta Shura of Mullah Omar, renewed threats from al-Qaeda have been thrown in.
According to Arif Jamal, author of Call for Transnational Jihad: Lashkar-e-Taiba 1985 to 2014, the LeT today comprises about 3,00,000-5,00,000 active members under arms.
Global Ambition
This is an alarmingly large number and as long as Pakistan and the LeT agree that the targets are only Afghanistan and India, this will work. But once the jihadis wish to pursue their global ambitions, the LeT could easily be a threat even to Pakistan. Also, the LeT is an Ahle Hadis outfit and ideologically closer to the Wahabbi al-Qaeda. Which makes these threats continue to be lethal.
The US-led bombing of ISIS has begun. But its chances of a complete success remain bleak. The inevitable collateral damage will create new terrorists as one hears of jihadis morphing with new groups like the Khorasan. There is no substitute to human intelligence and boots on the ground. ISIS may even have made its appearance in Pakistan.
The threat to India and Indian interests will still come from Pakistan based terrorist forces. The name of the terrorist regiment or the colour of its uniform is not important. Conceivably, the first test for the Modi government will be in Afghanistan.
Courtesy: http://soodvikram.blogspot.in/
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6 thoughts on “Reinvention of Jihadi Terror from Pakistan”
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WITH ISIS FLAGS FLYING IN KASMIR , JIHADI BOMBS IN WEST BENGAL , THE RAW , IB OPERATIONAL , CADRES NEEDS TO INCREASED FIVE FOLD DRAWN MAINLY FROM THE ARMED FORCES HARDENED AND INTELLIGENT SOLDERS AND OFFICERS . THE ISI CHIEF HAS OPENLY WRITTEN THAT THE INDIAN ARMIES HOLLOWNESS CAN NOW BE EXPLOITED TO SETTLE THE KASHMIR AT PAKISTANS TERMS . HENCE THE PAK ARMIES ATTACKING OF INDIAN POSTS , MAIN SHARIEFS LECTURE IN US ASSEMBLY THE RAISING OF ANTE BY THE BHUTTO PUP , AND ALZAWHRI AND ALQUEDA VEDOES ASKING INDIANS TO JOIN JIHAD IN KASHMIR , ASSAM ,MAHRASTRA ANDHRA AND KERALA.THE INDIAN GOVT AND ARMED FORCS MUST NOT LET THE GUARD DOWN AND BE PREPARED FOR A FOUR FRONT ATTACK
The author is right about the future terrorism threat galvanizing out of Pakistan, and that is given. Any attempt to be politically correct is waste of time. India under the new leadership of Modi must dedicate its brightest security minds and resources to build a formidable deterrant. The retaliation doctrine should include strike on selected targets with lightening speed after it’s origin is established. The best way to send message is to patrol Pakistan’s Arabian sea off Karachi with a nuclear submarine force and an open threat to Pakistan of it’s striking power aimed at Karachi and Islamabad should they use their field nuclear device. If it fails to do that India will certify Pakistan’s ability to use it’s nuclear threat to bleed India with thousand cuts as they have been doing under the UPA governance.
There is a key aspect that must be understood and which permeates much of the polticially incorrect and therefore non analyzed reality.
1) The Saudis did a deal with the Wahabis to ascend the throne of Saudi Arabia and become the guardians of the Q’aba. In return for the fealty of the Wahabis, the Saudis swore to implement Mohamed’s vision of enforcing his latterly vision of the Sharia, emirate by emirate, on the rubble of all other civilizations through dissembling and violence.
2) The renegotiation of the oil price mechanism gave them the wealth to establish and fund Mosques and Madrass through out the World to generate “Taliban” (students) while purchasing or renting opinion and decision kaers in all susceptible democracies such as the US, UK, India, France, and so on. The creation of the Al Qaeda (the base) by the US and pakistan’s ISI to turn train and equip Taliban into a guerrilla army of Islam to kick the Russians out of Afghanistan was a key turning point in this endeavour. The Baader Meinhof, The Basque, the Irish Republican Army were all mustered by the CIA to lend a hand in the “Al Qaeda” project. The Taliban from around the World who passed through Al Qaeda became various regiments of the Saudi-Wahabi project of establishing Mohamed’s vision i.e. the Caliphate.
3) Deflecting the anger of the West over 9/11 to secular Baathist Iraq and Syria was a master stroke because it not only deflected the anger from Saudia Ararbia dn its Islamic Bomb wielding sword arm Pakistan but neutralized the counter posie to the formation of the Caliphate not only in the Middle East, but the US itself by cleeding it of its blood and treasure.
4) At this time, ISI, Al Shebab and many other fundamentally Wahabi regiments have repudiated allegiance to the Crown of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates as they hold them to be “haram” (corrupt). This si the only reason that Al Qaeda has (a traditional Wahabi set up loyal to the Saudi Crown) has distanced itself from ISIS.
THE THREAT TO INDIANS COME FROM INDIAN CORRUPT POLITCANS PSYEDO SECURALISTS , AND A UNRESPONSIVE BUREUCRACY WHICH HAS TOTALLY FAILED TO TO MAKE RAW , IB FORMIDABLE AND CAPABLE AND DENUDED THE ARMED FORCES OF TALENT BY CONSTANT HAMMERING OF THE OFFICERS CORPS BY REDUCING SLASHING THE STATUS , PERKS ,SALARIES PENSION , RETENTION , REMPLOYMENT OF HIGHLY TRAINED OFFICERS IN INTELLIGENCE OR POLICE AND PARAMILTARY FORCES . IN THE MEANWHILE PAKISTAN FOLLOWING THE FOOT STEPS OF FATHER OF ISI GEN AKTAR MADE ISI A WORLD CLASS FEARSOME INTELLIGENCE AGENCY BY COMPLETE CONTROL OF ISI BY THE GENERALS AND ARMED FORCES OF THE PAKISTAN . THE PAK ARMY OFFICERS CORPS IS ELITE COMING FROM THE HIGHEST ECHLONS OF THE SOCIETY OF POLITCANS , BUSINESS HOUSES SENIOR ARMY FORCES FAMILIES , BUREAUCRACY AND NRIS . THE GLOW AND HEALTH ON THEIR FACES IS IN STARK CONTRAST TO THE FACES BODY AND WORRIED EXPRESSION OF THE INDIAN ARMED FORCES OFFICERS CORPS WHERE A LAYMAN CAN SEE THEM WITH THEIR SLOUCHED BURDENED SHOULDERS WORRIED FOR CHILDRENS FEES , OR A NON EXISTANT HOUSE OR SICKNESS EXENDITURE OF FAMILY MEMBERS STANDING AND WAITING FOR BUSES OUTSIDE SENA BHAVAN AND SOUTHBLOCK WHEN EVEN FAT CLERKS AND CIVILAN OFFICERS OF THE INDIAN GOVT DRIVE PAST IN BIG FOREIGN CARS FAR BEYOND THE COST AND THEIR LEGITMATE EARNED SALARIES .TALK TO ANYONE AND MAJORITY LOOK FORWARD TO LEAVE THE UNIFORM AND CURSE THE DAY THEY MADE THE MISTAKE OF JOINIG THE DEFENCE FORCES . NO WONDER THE ENTIRE SENIOR INDIAN DEFENCE FORCES LEADERSHIP QUEITLY VANISHES FROM THE SCENE FROM THE DAY THEY RETIRE NEVER TO BE SEEN HEARD OR BE ANY WHERE NEAR TO TECH , MOTIVATE OR GROOM THE NEXT GENERATION . THE POLITICANS ,BABUS , AND BUSINESS CLASS HAS SIDELINED DEMOTIVATED THE ARMED FORCES AND THE NATION WILL PAY THE PRICE FOR THE DEEP DISTRUST OF THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE SWORN TO SHED BLOOD FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE NATIONS CONSTITUTION .
Switch Off Their Oxygen : good thought sir, the oxygen which drives ISIS,LET etc is not funding,weapons, it is 1 book and Islam founders ideology.If you cut of ‘finances, weapons, recruits, food and propaganda’ we will be merely postponing the eventuality (clash with Mohammedanism).
We have to initiate proactive measures now itself against this potential threat .