Some searching queries on WikiLeak

Asif Haroon Raja

The period of WikiLeak revelations covers five years of George W. Bush from January 2004 till December 2008 and one year of Barack Obama from January to December 2009. Looking back in rearview mirror, one sees that significant changes started to occur in American policy in Afghanistan after December 2009 and talk of reconciliation and negotiations with Taliban gained currency. Pakistan also began to figure out prominently and there was noticeable change of attitude of US officials. Karzai too started leaning towards Pakistan. Sudden change of direction of wind was not to the liking of India, Northern Alliance and Jewish lobby in USA since it ran counter to their designs against Pakistan.

This change occurred at a time when anti-Pakistan themes drafted by India had reached maturing stage and had taken the shape of proper charge sheet. The situation had ripened to put Pakistan on the mat. USA and western countries drift towards Pakistan took the juice out of the regular supply of source reports furnished by RAW-RAAM agents who whetted the appetite of US military with concocted stories about Pak Army and ISI. Fearing that what had been collated and disseminated may not become outdated and get washed away in the humdrum of final phase which was favorably inclined towards Pakistan, it was considered expedient to leak the classified information. Other than putting Pakistan and its premier institutions in the firing line, it was intended by master planners RAW and Mossad to tarnish the image of US military as well. 

Soon after the publication of secret documents by WikiLeak, Afghanistan spokesman promptly gave his observations to the press asserting that the documents would help raise awareness on the sanctuaries Pakistan provides for militant groups. He gave this statement under the misplaced impression that documents would surely help in indicting Pakistan on charges of terrorism. He didn’t realize that all those who were collectively digging a hole for Pakistan would themselves fall into it.

It may be noted that among the over 92000 secret documents compiled in five years, there is not a single line written about India. The documents are silent about role of RAW, RAAM and Mossad in destabilizing Pakistan. Nobody in USA and entire western world has noticed these glaring oddities as to how come role of three principal players is missing from the radar screen and US documents are blank. Have RAW agents in huge numbers present in every nook and corner of Afghanistan and moving up and down Pak-Afghan border been grazing grass all these years? It proves the point that not only Indian, Northern Alliance intelligence and Israelis officials had a hand in providing anti-Pakistan information but the trio had also provided copy of documents to WikiLeak. These hands had a definite role in coloring the perceptions of US leaders against Pakistan. It also proves that the US has unjustly treated Israel and India as holy cows and Pakistan a suspect.

It is also a strange coincidence that the clock of leaked documents remained silent from end 2001 till December 2003 and suddenly started ticking from January 2004 onwards. The timings somehow coincided with signing of Indo-Pakistan peace treaty. It is a clear cut indication that Indian leaders inked the treaty with ill-motives and soon after gave a green signal to RAW to trigger covert operations against Pakistan using Afghan soil.

I had penned my thoughts on WikiLeak in my earlier column. I seek answers to some queries related to the leaks.

One; theft of 92000 documents including videos and audios from safe vaults was not a day’s work. It must have taken the thief considerable length of time to steal the desired documents. He must have been moving in and out of store room umpteen times to lift folders containing incriminating documents about conduct of Afghan war. He could not have possibly done so singly but in connivance with some of the persons deputed to act as custodians of top secret documents. Does it imply that the sole super power and its premier institutions have no foolproof system of safety and security of classified documents or they are too careless and irresponsible?     

Two; there must have been a time lapse between the documents whisked away and their publication by WikiLeak. Taking into account the fact that revealed documents cover the period up to December 2009 and not up to June 2010, one cannot rule out the possibility that after the theft during 2009 and January 2010, it took Julian Assange five months to be able to get it published through WikiLeak. It is strange that none among the huge security apparatus learnt about the theft until it was disclosed by WikiLeak. If so, it implies there is no system in existence to carryout spot inspections by duty officers/security officers of files/folders locked up in vaults.

Three; in any military unit/HQ of the armed forces, even loss of one classified document creates a massive stir and the concerned unit doesn’t rest till the missing document is traced and culprit punished.  Rationally, a red alert should have been sounded in USA and all resources geared up to find out all possible details about this embarrassing scandal expeditiously. Oddly, all US officials are in a complacent mood and have adopted a laidback approach, giving an impression to outsiders that the wardens were part of the crime and leak was intentional to corner Pakistan; or else Pentagon wants to cover up its officials who were in league with Assange or Bradley Manning. 

Four; a government which is incapable of safeguarding its top secret documents having a bearing on security and reputation of the nation and its military, will it be able to safeguard its thousands of nuclear warheads and other deadly war munitions?

Five; after such a gigantic theft of classified documents having grave ramifications for US Military’s future conduct in Afghanistan, why has the sole super power not initiated actions to get hold of the thief, the network, insiders and the ones who masterminded the theft?

Six; Julian or Bradley could not have possibly procured voluminous documents on basis of friendship. Afghan National Security might have provided copies of Pakistan specific 180 reports free of cost. For the rest, they must have bribed the handlers of documents so heavily that they agreed to take such a huge risk. If so, who funded Julian/Bradley?

Seven; while lot of hue and cry has been made over 180 anti-Pakistan source reports, western media, think tanks and analysts are quiet about 91820 reports, videos and audios portraying inhuman barbarities of American and coalition forces against people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Why the champions of democracy and human rights are tight lipped and why US officials are downplaying this security lapse as if nothing significant has happened?

Eight; why these documents came to light at a critical time when occupation forces in Afghanistan are in dire strait; war on terror has become highly unpopular; demand to end the war is surging; Taliban are carrying out daily attacks and inflicting deaths/ injuries to ISAF troops? July has been the worst month in which 66 ISAF fatalities took place. What is the hidden motive?     

Nine; is it that the real motive is to put the entire blame of US defeat in Afghanistan at the doorsteps of Pakistan? If so, what next?

Ten; notwithstanding sinister designs of adversaries of Pakistan, 70% of revealed documents are uncorroborated and unverified, while remaining 30% are also debateable and one-sided as claimed by US officials. However, 5-10% reports are based on hard facts, which cover in minute details the atrocities of US and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. What if still to be revealed 15000 documents are also exposed which are more harmful for USA?

While it is a reality that no US think tank, newspaper or official has ever written a single sentence on Indo-US-Israeli-Afghanistan nexus and their designs against Pakistan, Wikileak has lifted the curtain. Although under US pressure head of this website has attempted to minimize the damage by telling an Indian news reporter that all reports less the ones pertaining to Pakistan were unreliable, it cannot be denied that US military has suffered the most from this disclosure. What is most worrisome for US military operating in Afghanistan is the exposure of names of their Afghan informers and some within Taliban ranks working as double agents? Their fate is sealed since the Taliban would never spare them. This factor will further shrink US battle intelligence capability, thereby compounding their problems during ongoing testing times.

Thanks to few upright people in USA and western countries as well as whistle blowing independent websites, the world is now getting more educated about deepening mess in Afghanistan. Sooner than later, pieces would start falling in right places and real picture would emerge, which had been kept hidden all these years.

There have been occasional reporting of use of excessive force by ISAF in Afghanistan, about torture tales in Gitmo, Bagram Base and Abu Gharib jails, but none could imagine the scale and gruesome nature of atrocities against Afghans as disclosed by WikiLeak. 150 bombing incidents on civilians killing mostly women and children had never been reported. There could be many more incidents purposely not recorded by the ones maintaining logs. Wedding ceremonies, funerals, children school buses and passenger buses have not been spared by trigger happy Yankees. Jets, gunship helicopters and drones have caused maximum casualties. Logs have also indicated use of Blackwater to capture or kill marked Taliban. Hands of American civil and military leaders are dripping in blood of innocent Iraqis and Afghans. Wikileak has provided incriminating material for their trials for committing war crimes.  

There were strong reasons for sacked Gen McChrystal to restrain his swashbuckling cowboys from firing indiscriminately and causing large scale civilian fatalities. Hawks in Obama Administration had constantly pushed him for quicker results without caring for human destruction. Irked by their haughty behavior, he decided to call it a day. Is there some connection between WikiLeak-Rolling Stone-McChrystal? Moreover, is there a connection between Times Square incident, visit of three rasping top US leaders to Islamabad in July, WikiLeak revelations, Cameron’s derogatory remarks and Karzai’s diatribe?

WikiLeak has inadvertently provided a golden opportunity to Pakistan to expose the hidden designs, subversive activities and black deeds of occupation forces in Afghanistan and to blunt their smear campaign. The world is now eagerly looking towards whistle blowing websites like WikiLeak to throw light on following ambiguities:

1. Other than the declared objectives of USA, what was the hidden motivation to occupy Afghanistan?
2. What was the purpose behind setting up a huge intelligence centre at Jabal-al Siraj near Kabul comprising six intelligence agencies?
3. How did Osama bin Laden and whole lot of Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders’ laird in Tora Bora slip out in December 2001, which subsequently became the key cause of US intractable troubles in Afghanistan?
4. Is Osama dead or alive and if alive where is he located?
5. How did defeated, ousted fugitive Taliban managed to regroup so speedily and started hitting back at occupation forces from 2003 onwards?
6. Details of harrowing atrocities committed by Northern Alliance warlords against captured Taliban and Pakistani prisoners after the fall of Taliban regime in December 2001.
7. Details of $3 billion spent by CIA to win the loyalties of corrupt and ruthless Afghan warlords to help form a government in Kabul under puppet Hamid Karzai.
8. Details of profits earned from illegal drug trade in Afghanistan and who all shared the profit to run covert operations against Pakistan and Iran.
9. Particulars of tens of Pakistan specific training camps and intelligence setups of RAW and Mossad in Afghanistan and their methods of indoctrination of suicide bombers.
10. Idea behind Af-Pak policy and why did it fail to kick off.
11. How come 16000 foreign troops coupled with 9000 Afghan troops backed by jets, helicopters and artillery failed to overpower few hundred ill-equipped Taliban in Marjah in February-March which has jeopardised US offensive drive in southern and eastern Afghanistan?