In 1984 he had one further step in strengthening his presence in Afghanistan by establishing the guesthouse in Peshawar (Baitul’ansar). That house was supposed to be the first station of Arab mujahedeen when they come to Afghanistan before going to the front or start training. At that period Osama did not have his own command or training camps. He used to send the newcomers to one of the Afghan factions.
The guesthouse establishment was coinciding with the formation of Jihad Service Bureau by Abdullah Azzam in Peshawar. The Bureau was very active in terms of media, publications and charity work. The Bureau publications were important in attracting more Saudis and Arabs to Afghanistan.
In 1986 Osama decided to have his own camps inside Afghanistan and within two years he built more than six camps. Some were mobilized more than once. He decided to have his own front and to run his own battles with his own command. Among the Arab fighters he had, there were senior Arab ex-military men from Syria and Egypt with good military experience. The story of the guesthouse and the camps was very attractive for more Arab mujahedeen to come and there was a significant surge in their numbers at that period.
In addition to many exchanges of fire and small operations, the first major battle he had face to face with the Soviet army with pure Arab personnel was the battle of Jaji in the province of Baktia 200 kilometers away from Khost. From then until 1989 he had more than five major battles with hundreds of small operations and exchanges of fire. During the period 1984-1989 he was staying more in Afghanistan than Saudi Arabia. He would spend a total of eight months a year or more in Afghanistan.
In 1988 he noticed that he was backward in his documentation and was not able to give answers to some families asking about their loved ones gone missing in Afghanistan. He decided to make the matter much more organized and arranged for proper documentation. He made a tracking record of the visitors, be they mujahedeen or charity or simple visitors. Their movement between the guesthouse and the camps had to be recorded as well as their first arrival and final departure. The whole complex was then termed Al-Qa’edah which is an Arabic word meaning “The Base.” Al-Qa’edah was very much public knowledge. It was funny to see some people triumphing because they discovered it!
Late 1989 after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, he went to the kingdom in an ordinary trip. There he was banned from travel and was trapped in the kingdom. The Soviet withdrawal might have been a factor but the main reason for the travel ban were his intentions to start a new “front” of jihad in South Yemen. In addition, he embarrassed the regime by lectures and speeches warning of impending invasion by Saddam. At that time the regime was at very good terms with Saddam. He was instructed officially to keep low profile and not to give public talks. Despite the travel ban he was not hostile to regime at this stage. Indeed he presented a written advice in the form of a detailed, personal, private and confidential letter to the king few weeks before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
He reacted swiftly to Iraqi invasion and saw it fulfilling his prophecy. He immediately forwarded another letter to the king suggesting in detail how to protect the country from potentially advancing Iraqi forces. In addition to many military tactics suggested, he volunteered to bring all the Arab mujahedeen to defend the kingdom. That letter was presented in the first few days of the incident, and the regime response was of consideration!
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/bio.html#ixzz1tJPwKIH7
Tag: Osama
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Hunt For Bin Laden Video
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“Shoot Your Way out”Obama Ordered ‘Osama Hit’ Team.’.
Image via Wikipedia The confidence about the Pakistan‘s complicity in sheltering Osama bin laden was so high that President Obama ordered the navy SEALs to shoot their way out, if confronted by Police or any other force of Pakistan.
In addition to the Team of about 48 SEALs in two helicopters, two more helicopters and 50 Seals were kept as stand by.
“One senior Obama administration official, pressed on the rules of engagement for one of the riskiest clandestine operations attempted by the C.I.A. and the military’s Joint Special Operations Command in many years, said: “Their instructions were to avoid any confrontation if at all possible. But if they had to return fire to get out, they were authorized to do it.”
The planning also illustrates how little the administration trusted the Pakistanis as they set up their operation. They also rejected a proposal to bring the Pakistanis in on the mission.
Under the original plan, two assault helicopters were going to stay on the Afghanistan side of the border waiting for a call if they were needed. But the aircraft would have been about 90 minutes away from the Bin Laden compound.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/world/asia/10intel.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss
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Pakistan Wake up,all is not Lost.
Very objective assessment.
We share your anguish and concern.
So long as people are aware of the failings of the State , any problem can be fixed.
For that The people of Pakistan must realize that they hold the power to drive the megalomaniacs out.
Also that the average Pakistani is not really concerned about jingoism whether it be Nationalistic or Religious.
Every Pakistani is, as far as I come to know of them,are as much patriotic and religious as the jokers who control Pakistan.
If only well-meaning people come forward to set Religious and false Patriotism away and set Growth as their objective,decide to throw away the corrupt Generals and Politicians of yore,infuse young blood( preferably Non-resident Pakistanis), FIRMLY DECIDE THAT DEMOCRACY IS THE OPTION and resolve that they shall resolve their problems including Economic, with-out running to West,especially the US, Pakistan shall be in the comity of Proud and Self Reliant Nation.
There is no joy in asking this. Pakistan exists in a tough neighbourhood. A strong and vibrant army is necessary and desirable.
But as the initial shock and disbelief wears off, there is a deep, deep sense of unease here.Did they know he was here? Surely, they knew he was here?…..
It’s too frightening to make sense of. The world’s most-wanted terrorist. A man who triggered the longest war in American
history. The terrorist mastermind the world’s only superpower has moved heaven and earth to track down. A decade of
hunting. Hundreds of billions of dollars spent. The blood of countless Americans and others spilled.And when he was finally found, he was found wrapped in the bosom of the Pakistani security establishment….
Why would they do it? What did they hope to gain? Pakistan has nothing in common with Al Qaeda. They serve no purpose to us; there is no confluence of interests that can be imagined.
Did we think we could produce him like a rabbit out of the hat when we needed to? Did we think if we turned him over, the American attention span would lapse and they’d move on, leaving us unable to suckle at the teats of the superpower?
Or, assured in our assumptions about the world around us, did we simply think we could get away with it?
It makes no sense. And yet, perhaps there was an inevitability to this. Did the 1965 war make any sense? It was hard to find any sense to it then, even less so today.
Did Kargil make any sense? Not then, not today.
Did hawking nuclear paraphernalia on the international market make any sense? Buying did perhaps, but selling? And now we
have the world’s most-wanted terrorist recovered from the bosom of the Pakistani security establishment.So maybe it does make sense after all. The establishment has flirted with irrationality in the past. Now it appears to have
perfected it…..As long as national security and foreign policy remain in the hands of a cabal of generals — unaccountable and untouchable, a
lay unto themselves, and in thrall to their own irrational logic — what future can this country have? Surely, not much of a
future.Is self-correction an option? Good luck trying to find anyone in the homeland or beyond with even a modicum of knowledge
and understanding of the institution who believes it is capable of reforming itself.Zia’s army, Musharraf’s army, Kakar and Karamat’s army — it may seem difficult to reconcile the differences. But while they were very different men, the strategic orientation of the army has more or less been the same. Some addressed the strategic imperatives from a religious angle, others from a more secular angle, but it has always been the army’s angle.
Can anything be done?
The outside world can’t fix us. In fact, even now the US is probably a better friend of the Pakistan Army than of the Pakistani people. Soldiers and intelligence networks are more useful than an under-educated and impoverished population. Double-gamers and duplicitous allies at least have something to offer; what can the wretched Pakistani people offer myopic Americans?
Can we fix ourselves? Take a look around. Does anyone think Asif Zardari has what it takes? Nawaz Sharif may have the chutzpah, but does he have the nous? Beyond them, what is there but a fetid pool of opportunists and political mercenaries?
So maybe that’s the answer after all. They knew. They knew he was there. And they knew they could get away with it……
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US Knew of Terrorist Attacks Plan in India,WikiLeaks.
India should know ,for any country, their national interests come first.
There is no point in being sour with US.
Look at they have done to Pakistan, which is supposed to be their closest ally,at least that is what US Presidents have been saying day in and day out.
Wise to take as much of advantage of US as possible.
Two can play a game.
What have our Intelligence Agencies been doing?
Hope they do not emulate ISI on Osama affair(if they were incompetent as being touted out)
At this rate,Assange is best suited to be R&AW or IB Chief
A US official record states that senior al-Qaeda agent has been planning attacks in India and using Indians for terror attacks. A Guantanamo Bay detainee is said to have admitted that he had considered using India as a platform to send operatives to the US or UK because of the large Muslim population there and the low level of scrutiny given to travellers of Indian nationality.
...http://www.deccanherald.com/content/159881/gitmo-detainees-told-us-isi.html
The ISI facilitated militants to cross the border to carry out strikes on Indian targets chosen by the Pakistan Army, several detainees at the Guantanamo Bay facility told US interrogators, according to a fresh set of American diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks. The interrogation reports quoted a detainee as saying that ISI “allowed” militants to travel to India where they conducted bombings, kidnappings and killing of Kashmiri people and the targets were picked up by the Pakistani Army.
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