Topic: Assault to get Osama in Pamir has begun

topic by
Someone
10/5/2001 (10:16)

By Nusrat Javeed

ISLAMABAD: Many Islamabad-based diplomats seriously believe that
after the Russian decision to let its ground forces be used for an assault
on Osama bin Laden's possible hide-outs in the heights of Pamir
mountains, 'Washington will perhaps not be very keen to get Pakistan
strategically involved in its war against terrorism.'

Through calculated and very timely leaks, they point out, 'the American
public is now being told the tragedy of September 11 could be averted,
if Islamabad had allowed the launch of get-Osama operation in 1999.'

Through Bob Woodward, who broke the Watergate scandal which led to
the disgraceful fall of Richard Nixon, Washington Post reported only the
other day that around sixty Pakistani commandos were trained and
equipped to enter Afghanistan for capturing Osama that year. The plan
was approved by then prime minister Nawaz Sharif. 'But it was aborted
on October 12, 1999 when Sharif was overthrown by Gen Pervez
Musharraf, who refused to continue the operation.'

The News has already reported that the US and its allied forces are
giving enough credence to reports that Osama and around 200 of his
diehard followers have dug themselves in for a deadly show down at the
heights of Pamir Mountain.

To reach Osama's suspected hide-outs, advance parties of US
commandos had already begun crawling from a launching site in
Tajikistan since last Thursday. Russians had pointed at the suspected
hide-outs and provided route maps to some sites, which were used for
storing the nuclear tipped missiles by the former USSR during the
culminating years of the cold war at the heights of Pamir. Their ground
forces refused to join crawling to the said sites, however.

But on Sunday, September 23, Bush telephoned the Russian president
and spoke to him. 'The world we live in had radically changed in
strategic terms,' a European diplomat told The News, 'right from the
moment both men hung up. The two arch rivals, who faced off against
each other for half a century with nuclear weapons, have now become
allies. And, this is going to influence the world in a big way.' Our sources
claim that immediately after the Bush-Putin talk, latest models of
anti-terrorist equipment were hastily delivered to Russia by the USA.
After around a week of getting familiar with these weapons, the troops
of Tajikistan-based 201st Motorized Rifle Division of Russia joined the
Delta and Seal commandos of the USA, who already had crossed into the
Afghan territory for reaching the heights of Pamir.

Most of these Russian troops, now inching to Pamir, are fluent in Pushto.
While, many have the working knowledge of Dari, the spoken Persian of
Afghanistan. The defence analysts of some Islamabad-based diplomatic
missions believe that 'after locating the potential hide-outs of Osama
and getting the Russians on board for getting him, Washington may not
ask any concrete military help from Islamabad for reaching the Saudi
millionaire and his outfit, Al-Qaeda.' Yet, the British would still need to
use the air space of Pakistan for taking on the Taliban in south
Afghanistan. 'The anti-terror alliance,' our sources claim, 'has split its
task into two parts. The Americans and Russians will go for bin Laden
and his Al Qaeda force in Pamir, while the UK and Western allies will take
on the Taliban in South Afghanistan.'

The British Prime Minister could be coming to Pakistan for discussing the
nitty-gritty of this side of the operation, which is to be launched from
Oman. Royal Marine Commandos of UK are already present in that Gulf
country in a huge number. With the use of 500 Abrams tanks, they are
going through the drills of a pre-planned exercise.

'Russia's joining in the war on terrorism,' many defence and foreign
policy experts told The News, 'has brought a huge paradigm shift
vis-a-vis the strategic realities, at least in our part of the world.'

During the Afghan Jihad, they recalled, Pakistan was the one and only
'front line state' which the US and its allies used to defeat their
communist adversaries. 'In part two of the Afghan-related drama,
Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are taking the lead
positions on the strategic epicentre, thanks to US-Russia understanding.
Pakistan and Turkey are still there, no doubt. But they make the second
line.'

The new development also sidelines Colin Powell, the US secretary of
state, who has been working overtime to forge a 'global anti-terror
coalition'. But he could not build one, which was required to pre-empt
the feeling as if by going after Osama and its protectors amongst the
Taliban with a vengeance, the (Christian) USA was unleashing the 'clash
of civilization' with the Muslim world.

The coalition, sought by Powell, could not take off. Primarily, because of
a strong position taken by Prince Abdullah, who virtually rules Saudi
Arabia since the ailment of King Fahd.

He refused to allow the USA to strike 'Muslim Afghanistan' from the
military bases in the desert kingdom. His stance compelled the rest of
the important Arab countries to remain somewhat distant from the US
declared war on terrorism. And, the US President had to give in to hawks
in his administration. Dick Cheney, the vice-president; Donald Rumsfeld,
the defence secretary; Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defence secretary
and national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice are powerful members of
the group which demand 'avenging the American pride' with a ruthless
and hasty attack on Osama and his protectors in Afghanistan.

Bush preferred listening to his secretary of state till late last week. Colin Powell couldn't deliver in the end, though. And, the USA has reached
Central Asia for a very long term engagement.

reply by
Laurie Anstead
10/6/2001 (19:50)

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I don't know you or where you are from. I am in the US. why is everyone over there trying to turn this into a jihad? bin ladin is such a fool. he thinks this is a war between islam and Christians...he is more insane than i thought!! I am a born again Christian. However i know for a fact 60% of America is not Christian. That is why we are called the land of the free... Free to practice whatever faith you have been led to believe is for you. This is a war against terrorism. I don't know why bin ladin is a homicidal maniac nor do i care. 6000 innocent people here are dead or missing and presumed dead. if bin ladin thinks he had a bad childhood...wait until we DELIVER his midlife-crisis.....

reply by
americanborn
10/8/2001 (7:23)

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girl please..you may be born again christian but i think you are a born again fool if you realy believe a cave dweeling man named bin laden (BIN LADEN family is ofcourse BUSHs friends, did u know that? they are involve mainly in oil interests DID YOU KNOW THAT TOO) and honey while you were sleeping did you also know that osama's siblings live in BOSTON and were escorted to safety back to saudi arabia on the days that PLANES WERENT EVEN ALLOWED TO TAKE A BREATH? go back to your moms womb and become born again AMERICAN

reply by
Someone
10/8/2001 (10:24)

reply top

Dear Laurie,

You question is valid but I do not consider myself to be expert on middle east. Below are the links of some good articles. I will post them as main message too for others to review.

Enjoy.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/1008-02.htm

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2001/09/17/israel/index.html

http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1003-09.htm