Haqqani Network: Ready for Prime Time

We are still experiencing strong echoes from the CIA’s support of Mujahedeen Islamist insurgents as they battled the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan back in the 1980s. We supplied these anti-Russian fighters with weapons, cash and support through Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) operation (their CIA) that also added training and intelligence data to the mix. After Soviets left, these “rebels” eventually moved to regional warlords or, more probably, to join the Taliban movement. Further, they turned those weapons on us: blowback! They fomented anti-Western terrorism, supported the training and growth of al Qaeda operatives (that led to the 9/11 attacks against the U.S.) and continue to comprise the backbone of the fighters in Afghanistan that are crushing the life out of our waning efforts in that forlorn Central Asian nation.

But one network of these operatives from that anti-Soviet era has been a particular thorn in the NATO side, and today they operate fairly freely from bases within the ungovernable Tribal District in northwestern Pakistan. “The Haqqani network is aninsurgent group fighting against US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. Originating in Afghanistan during the mid-1970s, it was nurtured by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan. Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani [pictured above] and his son Sirajuddin Haqqani lead the group, which operates on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; but U.S. officials believe it is based in Pakistan'sWaziristan tribal frontier. It is allied with the Taliban.

“According to US military commanders it is ‘the most resilient enemy network’ and one of the biggest threats to the U.S.-led NATO forces and the Afghan government in the current war in Afghanistan. In October 2011, U.S. Secretary Hillary Clintonindicated that American officials had held a meeting with the representatives of the group during the previous summer.” Wikipedia.

These bad boyz have worked together for decades, are masters of “hit and run” insurgency, well trained with purportedly strong communications and intelligence sources within both Afghanistan’s “elected” government as well as the highest levels of the ISI. Not only have they been highly effective in strikes against NATO troops within Afghanistan, but they have played hob with allied supply routes and shipments through Pakistan. They seem to know when and where NATO’s strategic shipments will move, and they have been particularly effective in their efforts. To the consternation of Pakistan that resents U.S.-mounted attacks on her soil, NATO forces have countered with drone strikes into the Tribal District targeting Haqqani leaders.

On September 7^th, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finally and formally designated the Haqqanis as a terrorist network. Why did it take so damned long?! How could there have been any debate on the issue? “Several State Department and military officials had argued that designating the organization would help strangle the group’s fund-raising activities in countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and pressure Pakistan to open a long-expected military offensive against the militants.

“Many other senior officials, including several in the White House, expressed deep reservations that blacklisting the group could further damage badly frayed relations with Pakistan, undercut peace talks with the Taliban and possibly jeopardize the fate of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only American soldier known to be held by the militants.” New York Times, September 7^th. State Department officials worked quietly behind the scenes to diffuse the potential anti-American consequences of such a designation.

Still, up to the last minute, internal U.S. doubts lingered. “Critics of designating the group a terrorist organization say the action could drive a wedge between the United States and Pakistan, just as the countries are gingerly recovering from months of grueling negotiations to reopen NATO supply routes. Pakistan closed the routes through its territory after an allied airstrike near the Afghan border last November killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

“These same critics say such a move would appear to bring Pakistan a step closer to being designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. American officials say Pakistan’s main spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, is secretly aiding the insurgents. Pakistani officials have said the agency maintains regular contact with the Haqqanis, but deny that it provides operational support… Two Pakistani officials said last week that the decision was ‘an internal American issue.’ American analysts believe that Pakistan would be reluctant to publicly protest the designation, because to do so would substantiate American beliefs that Pakistan supports the Haqqanis.” NY Times.  The Haqqani are clearly our enemies these days, but we built their capabilities a long time ago.

I’m Peter Dekom, and as politicians rattle sabers and speak of building a military that no one would ever defy, I wonder if they have actually ever read a history book or understand how bad our experience with unintended consequences from knee-jerk military responses has really been in recent years?