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I would like to explain from Pakistan's perspective on why the fencing of 2600 km Western border, the flying distance between Moscow and London, is important. Crumpton had told President Bush in 2001 that no army on earth can seal this border then why is Pak doing it?
THREAD https://twitter.com/MichaelKugelman/status/1346135951404314629
THREAD https://twitter.com/MichaelKugelman/status/1346135951404314629
When the US invaded Afghanistan in 2001, the coalition forces dropped about 12,000 bombs on Afghanistan in that autumn but around 40% were dumb or unguided according to an analysis by Carl Conetta of the Center for International Policy. Atleast 10,000 Afghans died in the..
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..air bombing but importantly, it facilitated the escape of thousands of Al Qaeda fighters through the Pak Afghan border which is a labyrinth of 150 valleys. The US forces did not establish blocking points in various military operations such as Anaconda, Valiant Shield,
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Mountain Loin, Snipe, Dragon Fury, Haven Denial, Warrior Sweep, Mountain Viper, Mountain Resolve, and Mountain Sweep which were conducted in the eastern and southern parts of Afghanistan. For example, the battle of Tora Bora started on December 3, 2001.
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In the next four days, B-52s and other high-altitude aircraft dropped 700,000 pounds of explosives on Al Qaeda’s suspected positions. But the US military planners failed to realize that Tora Bora was constructed 15 years before to withstand heavy Soviet aerial bombardment.
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Without the use of land forces, Al Qaeda fighters managed to escape.
General Musharraf was furious after the Battle of Tora Bora in 2001.
“General Franks, what are you doing? You are flushing these guys out and there are 150 valleys for them to move through.
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General Musharraf was furious after the Battle of Tora Bora in 2001.
“General Franks, what are you doing? You are flushing these guys out and there are 150 valleys for them to move through.
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They are pouring in to my country.”
Franks who was commander CENTCOM did not have an answer.
Thanks to the number of routes available on Pak Afghan border as shown in the excerpt from Saleem Shahzad's "Inside Al Qaeda and Taliban”, fighters of AQ managed to escape and...
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![They are pouring in to my country.” Franks who was commander CENTCOM did not have an answer.Thanks to the number of routes available on Pak Afghan border as shown in the excerpt from Saleem Shahzad's "Inside Al Qaeda and Taliban”, fighters of AQ managed to escape and...[6]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eq6wAeLW4AI-ViJ.jpg "They are pouring in to my country.” Franks who was commander CENTCOM did not have an answer.Thanks to the number of routes available on Pak Afghan border as shown in the excerpt from Saleem Shahzad's \"Inside Al Qaeda and Taliban”, fighters of AQ managed to escape and...[6]")
Franks who was commander CENTCOM did not have an answer.
Thanks to the number of routes available on Pak Afghan border as shown in the excerpt from Saleem Shahzad's "Inside Al Qaeda and Taliban”, fighters of AQ managed to escape and...
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..establish FATA as it's strategic backyard. At that time, Pakistan was engaged by India in a ten month military stand off known as Operation Parakram when PM Vajpayee ordered full escalation of forces. India spent ₹8,000 crore, lost 798 soldiers without fighting Pak but..
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..inadvertently assisted in the deployment of Al Qaeda in tribal areas. Pak managed to dismantle Al Qaeda by arresting its leaders incl 750 operatives. Abu Zubaida, Abu Nasim, Ramzi Bin Al-Shibh, Khalid Shiekh, Umer Patak, Abu Musab, Yasir Al-Jaziri are few of the names.
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But not before Sheikh Essa and Tahir Yaldochev managed to organize a militia of 50000 men under the umbrella of Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in 2007. Baitullah Mehsud was declared the Chief of TTP along with Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Molvi Faqir appointed as lieutenants.
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Pakistan launched a series of military operations against Al Qaeda and TTP in FATA. Operation Sherdil in Bajaur under the command of Lt Gen Tariq Khan broke the myth of TTP's invincibility. This excerpt from Nadir Sulaiman's ‘fighting demons’ gives the details of those ops.
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![Pakistan launched a series of military operations against Al Qaeda and TTP in FATA. Operation Sherdil in Bajaur under the command of Lt Gen Tariq Khan broke the myth of TTP's invincibility. This excerpt from Nadir Sulaiman's ‘fighting demons’ gives the details of those ops.[10]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eq6x4XjXAAEVkrX.jpg "Pakistan launched a series of military operations against Al Qaeda and TTP in FATA. Operation Sherdil in Bajaur under the command of Lt Gen Tariq Khan broke the myth of TTP's invincibility. This excerpt from Nadir Sulaiman's ‘fighting demons’ gives the details of those ops.[10]")
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Pakistan convincingly defeated Al Qaeda and TTP after clearing 46,000 sqkm area, killing more than 18,000 terrorists and seizing more than 400 tons of explosives. But it came at a huge cost. More than 65000 Pakistanis including 9000 security personnel gave their lives.
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Another interesting aspect is the role of Brigadier General James Mattis who was Commander of the naval expeditionary force designated Task Force 58 which was launched in Afghanistan after 9/11. His call sign was 'Chaos'. When Mattis was told that bin Laden had retreated...
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..into Tora Bora with its undulating terrain, he had planned to emulate the strategy which was used to capture the legendary Native American chief, Geronimo in 1886.
Mattis told @shujanawaz who has shared the conversation in his book "The Battle for Pakistan":
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![..into Tora Bora with its undulating terrain, he had planned to emulate the strategy which was used to capture the legendary Native American chief, Geronimo in 1886. Mattis told @shujanawaz who has shared the conversation in his book "The Battle for Pakistan":[13]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eq60jqhW8AELRrl.jpg "..into Tora Bora with its undulating terrain, he had planned to emulate the strategy which was used to capture the legendary Native American chief, Geronimo in 1886. Mattis told @shujanawaz who has shared the conversation in his book \"The Battle for Pakistan\":[13]")
Mattis told @shujanawaz who has shared the conversation in his book "The Battle for Pakistan":
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Mattis would have encircled bin Laden in Tora Bora and killed him. But when he shared the plan of encirclement with senior commanders in Tampa on the telephone, he was told to ‘DROP’ the idea since the CIA and Northern Alliance had made local arrangements.
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Despite Mattis’s plea to Gen Franks at CENTCOM and requests for troops from CIA leader Gary Bernsten to capture OBL, CENTCOM did not respond. Had Mattis’s plan for Tora Bora been accepted, it is likely that bin Laden would have died in Tora Bora in 2001-02.
Was it intentional?
Was it intentional?
It took CIA another ten years to eliminate bin Laden while US forces expanded the theatre of war by flushing out thousands of Al Qaeda fighters in tribal areas of Pak. More than 312,000 civilians died in America’s War on Terror— more than 100 times the civilian deaths in 9/11.
In hindsight, the only way forward for Pakistan is to fence the Pak Afghan border to avoid any further spill over from Afghanistan. TTP has already merged all it's factions including JuA and HuA under the leadership of Noor Wali Mehsud with 6500 fighters in eastern Afghanistan.
Reference:
1. Tariq Mehmood, The Durand Line
2. Shuja Nawaz, The Battle for Pakistan
3. Brig Gurmeet Kanwal's chapter in ‘Indo Pakistan Military Stand off’
4. Saleem Shahzad, Inside Al Qaeda and Taliban
5. Nadir Suleiman, Fighting Demons
6. Steve Coll, Directorate S
1. Tariq Mehmood, The Durand Line
2. Shuja Nawaz, The Battle for Pakistan
3. Brig Gurmeet Kanwal's chapter in ‘Indo Pakistan Military Stand off’
4. Saleem Shahzad, Inside Al Qaeda and Taliban
5. Nadir Suleiman, Fighting Demons
6. Steve Coll, Directorate S
