SECRET PAKISTANI AIRLIFT AIDED TALIBAN, AL QAEDA FIGHTERS

The DrudgeReport ^ | January 20, 2002

[mrustow]

Anyone knowing operations in this war would realize that the administration is not micromanaging this fight like Clinton did during his regime. It has been refreshing that the mil is let loose enough to succeed.

And faith can be a lovely thing. meanwhile, back on planet Earth, there is no way the U.S. military would have been involved in an action of this sort, without White House clearance. As for the military being let loose, that explains our having shot Mullah Muhammad Omar the first week of the campaign. Oops! Wrong again! JAG lawyers vetoed the military men, and Omar is still at large, three months later.

That's right: a bunch of lawyers tell our generals if they are to squat to pee, or if they may stand.

[ironman]

" That was the only cliche George Bush could remember when he was with his speech writer. "

Your reporting is about as good as Hersh's.

[Pericles]

It is hard for some to accept that some in our govt are covered with the dirt of al-Qaeda. We were and in some cases still are in bed with them.

After all if we can escort Albanian rebels out of harms way in FYROM can't we have allowed the escape flights? Or am I the only one that remembers the Albanian rescue?

Read the following, it will send chills through you: The West's attempts this week to impose a cease-fire, which would allow the NLA fighters in Aracinovo to retreat and political negotiations to resume, have further radicalized the Macedonian Slav population and resulted in a dramatic rise in support for paramilitary organizations. On Monday night, buses carrying 200 NLA fighters left Aracinovo, a village 5 miles from the center of Skopje where a pitched battle raged for three days last weekend. The fighters were retreating toward Lipkovo, deep in rebel-held territory, and were escorted by lightly armed American troops from Camp Able Sentry, which usually provides logistical support to KFOR in neighboring Kosovo. The NLA withdrawal was part of a deal brokered by European Union envoy Javier Solana and NATO representative Pieter Fieth on Sunday.

Could history have repeated itself?

[Woodkirk]

This is old news -- Debka reported this the night that Konduz fell. -- but it still raises a lot of questions.

[muawiyah]

The Taliban were NEVER allies of the US government, nor even of the Mujahaddin Army. They came into existence AFTER the Soviet occupation ended.

[timestax]

If this is true, it's time to get out of this Godforsaken nation , as the cards are stacked against the USA!

[j2r2]

Well, as others have said, there have too many reports about this from non-DEBKA and non-Indian and non-Hersh sources. MSNBC, WSJ and others have had people write about this.

And everyone of Rumsfeld's statements on this have been like a greased egg. Every one of them.

Here is another source about this, from the San Francisco Chronicle of January 6, 2002: Pakistani President Musharraf caught in political quagmire from which this quote, never later challenged, appears:

It was, after all, the Pakistani intelligence services and military advisers who helped the Taliban in its drive for power in Afghanistan, and who continued to support its forces until well after the first U.S. bombs dropped in October.

Many of these advisers were airlifted out of the northern Afghan city of Kunduz just before it fell to the Northern Alliance -- an operation described quite matter-of-factly by Pakistani officials in background briefings.

[mikeIII]

If this is true, it's time to get out of this Godforsaken nation , as the cards are stacked against the USA!

Yes. We should! Today, the Defense Dept. stated that there was "no indication" that there was a ground attack on the chopper incident.

Remember also that the Pakistanis were supplying arms to the Taliban well after the war started!

[Sawdring]

Thank you.

[timestax]

Yes. We should! Today, the Defense Dept. stated that there was "no indication" that there was a ground attack on the chopper incident. Remember also that the Pakistanis were supplying arms to the Taliban well after the war started! 89 posted on 1/20/02 3:01 PM Pacific by mikeIII [ Post Reply

Well, you know the old saying that =blood is thicker than water" and all those Arabs have what kind of blood==Answer==Arab! Time to get out now! It's costing lifes, and $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!!!

[Donna Lee Nardo]

I read a similar report back somewhere on the Internet in November!!! I also read it here on FR during November. They were supposedly using C-17 cargo planes, I believe. The article intimated that the U.S. had to know about it because we controlled the airspace even at that time. So, Debka or not, the story was already told in November -- 2 months ago.

[AmericaUnited]

If I were to flub as badly as he did on his last revelation I would presently be selling pencils on a street corner

Amen to that! Hersh reminds me more and more of just a senile old idiot who just flat out makes stuff up.

[muawiyah]

What are you talking about? The Taliban did not come into existence until AFTER the Russo-Afghan War. Osama Bin Laden is the AlQeada founder, financier and leader. He fought in the Russo-Afghan War, but he is not a Taliban.

This is not a minor difference like between the SS and SA. It is a real difference involving substantially different traditions and authorities.

[muawiyah]

No doubt there are Pakistanis on all sides in this thing. It's a big country. We must also note that there are Indians on all sides as well.

None of these people can be trusted.

[BenR2]

FWIW, Rumsfeld said this morning on Meet the Press that he has seen no indication that this happened, and that he likely would have known about it, if it did.

Or, he may be stonewalling to hide what would amount to the most spectacular strategic misjudgment thus far in the current war on [some?] terrorists!

Sounds to me like GWB has perhaps inherited the family trait of softheadedness that is the reason Saddam Hussein is still in power today? (Hope I'm wrong; but my gut instinct tells me otherwise.

There were reports of this going on during the siege, although Bush's kneejerk defenders in this forum discounted them out of hand, of course.)

[Jthro]

I remember that it was Hersh, who reported in his column that dozens of U.S. Special Forces members were killed early on in some raids. His assertions were proven to be bogus. There may have been an air lift provided by Pakistan, but I seriously harbor extreme doubt that Prsident Bush would knowingly allow Taliban and al qaeda personnel to escape via this air lift.

[BenR2]

I propose a new major network talk show with Seymour Hersh and Debka representatives called

I suggest you do a thorough study of DEBKA's accuracy.

Despite a few admittedly hilarious stories put out by DEBKA, they are respected in many corners (beyond our own little parochial Free Republic).

I have personally challenged (by email) WND's Joseph Farah on his publication's fondness for DEBKA's stories. He actually responded personally, and let me have it with both barrels. He makes NO APOLOGY for his reliance on DEBKA. In fact, as a professional newsman with over 20 years' experience, I highly doubt that Farah'd jeopardize the credibility of his Web site by relying so much on a any news source that proved to be consistently unreliable.

I know it's vogue to trash DEBKA in here, but it simply shows one's ignorance to do it without having one's tongue firmly planted in cheek. DEBKA puts out LOTS of stories that pan out FAR AHEAD of the lamestream mainstream -- not just the few bonehead ones we all joke about.

By the way, I like it in here, but sometimes we should realize that not every intelligent person is a FReeper. (Just most of them. LOL.)

Please note that I am NOT defending Seymour Hersh in my post -- but, rather, only making a case for a more mature attitude towards DEBKA in this forum.

[angkor]

Indian intelligence officials tell Hersh that they number the escaped officials and fighters at four or five thousand

4,500 / 20 flights = 225 passengers per flight
4,500 / 50 flights = 90 passengers per flight
4,500 / 200 flights = 22.5 passengers per flight

Do you think the Pakistan Air Force pulled its 10 operational C-130Bs for the airlift? With a carrying capacity of 90 persons, that would still require 50 flights, or 5 round trips each. Or did they use their single Antonov An-26?

Also, does the Kunduz airport support C-130B landings?

You're right, it time to stop exaggerating. Let's see your facts and numbers.