Monday, August 24, 2009

A Schoolbus for Shamsia

Jalil spoke tentatively at first, but his story was electrifying. Jalil and eight other Afghans, he said, were paid to throw acid on the girls by an intelligence officer working for the government of Pakistan. This was not some vague assertion; Jalil provided names, details and places. The camera zoomed in on his face. A few weeks before the attack, Jalil said, he was contacted by one Major Tahir, an officer with the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, the Pakistani spy agency. The ISI helped create the Taliban in the mid-1990s and has maintained a close association ever since. Jalil and Major Tahir had known each other for years, he said. Jalil said that Tahir offered a sliding pay scale: $2,500 for killing a teacher; $3,700 for burning a school; $1,200 for spraying acid on school girls.
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11 comments:

  1. anandAugust 24, 2009 at 2:11 PM

    Molly everyone knows that the Pakistani ISI and Saudis helped create Al Qaeda in 1988 and the Taliban in 1994 to promote their agenda. Parts of the Pakistani establishment backed to Taliban until very recently. Many Afghans strongly insist they still are.

    One major reason Afghans hate the Taliban so much and are fighting them so hard is the perception that they are Pakistani/Saudi proxies.

    None of this is probably a surprize to any of the regular commentators on this blog.

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  2. anandAugust 24, 2009 at 2:13 PM

    I suspect most of you are aware that the ISI sent Mohammed Atta a wire transfer a month before 9/11. One might argue that the ISI wanted Atta and Al Qaeda to attack India rather than America; but no reasonble person can deny the connections.

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  3. vzaAugust 24, 2009 at 2:48 PM

    What a thoroughly depressing story.

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  4. vzaAugust 24, 2009 at 3:44 PM

    What a thoroughly depressing story.

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  5. r.s.August 25, 2009 at 7:00 AM

    <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="">The supposed ringleader</span>
    <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style=""> </span>
    <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style=""><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I don’t have anything to do with the attack,” Jalil said. “I was tortured into making that confession.”</span>
    <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style=""> </span>
    <p style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="">“I didn’t even know about the attack — God is my witness,” Jalil said. “I have two daughters, and both of them are in school.”</span><span> </span>

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  6. r.s.August 25, 2009 at 7:46 AM

    "After the attack, a man from the Taliban came to the mosque and spoke. He said they had nothing to do with the attack. Criminals did this."

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  7. flemingAugust 25, 2009 at 9:28 AM

    So clearly r.s., any time a person is accused of a crime, and they deny it, they are innocent.  Correct?  Is that what you are saying? Because he claims innocence he MUST therefore be innocent?  Do you find most criminals readily admit to their crimes?  You see here in the US we have lawyers who try and find out whether someone is guilty of a crime EVEN WHEN they deny it.  Does that seem crazy to you?  Is there no need for prosecution?  Just imprison those who admit guilt and let the rest go free......

    Also, since he has two daughters, he clearly cannot lie or commit such crimes.  Man, that is cool.  Anybody who has children can kill people and deny they did it and we MUST believe them -- because they have children.   Wow, parent killers, whoda tthunk it!!! HAHAHA

    And, he CLAIMS he was tortured, so that also must be true. Isnt it weird, though, how we let people out of jail who were "tortured" and let them tell everyone about it?  Gosh, that seems stupid of us, doesnt it?  But I forgot, we are stupid and immoral compared to your wonderous bretheren. 

    Hey, tell me, when are "your people" going to introduce a fantastic new drug, or a great new car, a superb new technology, or perhaps launch a space mission. Arent you folks a bit overdue for something like that? LOL

    Do you also suspect that the Mossad pulled off 9/11, and that all the joos were warned of the coming attack?  If so, I have some great condos in Miami for you!! LOL LOL

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  8. anandAugust 25, 2009 at 11:20 AM

    Actualy Flemming, I believe these guys were tortured. The ANP does that. And if they believed that these guys threw acid at girl faces . . . and they clearly did . . . their instinct would have been to beat the crap out of them (Flemming, I think we can both agree that everyone would feel that type of urge to some degree even if we had the self control not to do what we wanted.)

    I know this doesn't sound PC, but those guys threw acid at girl faces for going to school. Excuse me for not complaining that the ANP might have beeten the crap out of them.

    Clearly these guys didn't do it on their own. Some Taliban, Hekmatyur, Haqqani or Pakistani put them up to it. Who is the question. The locals clearly believe that there was a Pakistani hand, but this needs to be carefully investigated.

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  9. anandAugust 25, 2009 at 11:28 AM

    R.S. there are many different Taliban groups. Clearly some were upset about the attack. It clearly hurt the Taliban among the Afghan people. However, one Taliban linked faction must have been behind this.

    There are some "local Taliban" that are potentially open to running in Afghan elections, and restrict themselves to attacking the ANP, ANA, and ISAF. These are some of the people negotiating with the GIRoA and McChrystal.

    The really bad guys are Mullah Omar's Quetta Shura Taliban and Haqqani.

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  10. vAugust 25, 2009 at 6:22 PM

    Lets heat up the Af-Pak so more death and destruction can be be accomplished,  that is what you are dealing with here.  If you do not recognize it that is because you are too stupid, and you cannot see that wherever the US has shoved its head these types of atrocities occur.  Your too busy believing the bullshit,  and reading the bullshit that is supposed to get you upset - and you have no fucking idea of what has been historically done by "counterinsurgency" operations.

    http://www.statecraft.org/

    All of this is written so Obama can get his fucking war on,  and some of you idiots want to bless it, have blessed it - god damn group of imbeciles! You don't know what these fuckers are capable of,  you are ignorant mouthpieces and full of grade A one hundred percent bullshit!

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  11. vAugust 25, 2009 at 6:27 PM

    You do not even recognize the fucking instrument used,  the same one filled with war loving assholes - that never found a war they did not like, and never found one they were not used for in this fashion.  Forget all the other horse shit that flowed though this yellow "journalistic" piece of trash? Oh oh...falll all over yourselves, reinforce the garbage that you have swallowed on both a conscious and unconscious level.  Than watch the murdr and mayhem escalate,  oh boy its going to be a good one for you asswipes that like that.

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