Bin Laden killed in Pakistan
Osama Bin Laden is dead. Unlike President Obama who scored a major foreign policy achievement before the election season, the Pakistani leadership is in a tough situation. It is now known that Bin Laden was found and killed in a compound in Abbottabad, near Islamabad, a garrison town of Pakistani military. Pakistani government in a statement on Ministry of Foreign affairs website welcomed the news, but highlighted the operation to be in line with“declared US policy that Osama bin Ladin will be eliminated in a direct action by the US forces, wherever found in the world.” and stressed its resolve to fight terrorism and eliminate it from Pakistani soil. (full statement)
The statement reflects the dilemma Pakistani government is now facing. In a recent rift with the US, Pakistani civilian and military leaders criticized the scale of American intelligence operations in Pakistan using unmanned aircraft, causing major strains between Washington and Islamabad. The operation in Abbottabad, as reported in the media, has not been consulted with Pakistani authorities, most likely in fear of failure. There, on the other hand, Pakistan is charged with tacit support for terrorist groups awarded by the Pakistani intelligence – ISI and members of the military which is seen as one of the obstacles to a more active engagement in denying safe havens for insurgents. What will happen now is unclear. As the news regarding this special operation unfolds, certainly there will be more questions as to why one of the most known faces in the world managed to survive there for so long. The compound was reportedly eight times bigger than other residences with massive walls topped with barbed wire for protection. It is plausible, that Pakistani leadership for the time being will scale back its criticism for the US operations on its territory in light of its questionable role in all of this. However, recent endeavors to bolster its regional influence in ending the war in Afghanistan involving intense talks with the Afghan government, might in turn be escalated, as the killing of Osama Bin Laden undermines the justification for further US presence in Afghanistan – thereby providing a potential for reinforcing its interests (involving the future of Afghan state, the role of India, and the size of the Afghan army) in forging the endgame for the conflict with its neighbor. The outlook for Islamabad is mixed, and depends on the nature of Pakistan’s support for Bin Laden or the lack there of – factors unknown to the overall public so far. What is clear, the operation will have some impact for the diplomatic dynamics in the region with potential internal consequences for the leadership in Islamabad. Whether Pakistan’s standing should improve or falter is still an open question.
AB
Comment on Gitmo leaks
Source: boston.com
Having read some of the reports regarding leaked detainee dossiers prepared by the Bush administration, one must ask oneself about their significance to overall debate over Guantanamo prison facility in Cuba. The fact of the matter is the reports do not reveal striking information on torture practices, or the mistreatment of detainees that have previously infuriated public opinion worldwide, providing more insight to cases reported before.
My sense is that the evidence found in the files will be subjectively used by advocates of both solutions debated in the past – either to close or maintain the Gauntanamo Bay prison. An advocate of the former will pick evidence on the questionable grounds for incarceration, while an advocate of the latter will most likely refer to the case of Abdullah Mehsud, who after release from Guantanamo plotted a number of attacks against the US and Pakistani forces in the region. Personally, I am not appalled. In in a very special way, leaked information reveals the operational side of the detainment process, and reflects the conduct of the Bush administration in two wars it waged to fight terrorism. Detailed dossier files present flawed grounds, if there were any, for the assessment of a number of Gitmo detainees or their subsequent release – examples here. Gitmo files unquestionably reveal incomplete evidence, assumptions, innuendos or flawed conclusions based on detainees’ intransigence facing interrogators were the core of the evaluation process of many terrorist suspects, providing more questions on the existence of the facility.
Irrespectively to what we decide to pick as a reinforcement of our opinion, the leaks evoke the same questions related to the Patriot Act or other security measures implemented after 9/11 – the dilemma of security vis-a-vis democracy, civil liberties, and values promoted at home and abroad. The Obama administration inherited these dilemmas from its predecessors, but to date has not acted with full determination to resolve the problem Guantanamo poses for the US and it’s standing in the world. The US still has not managed to develop policies that address the problem of terrorist incarceration, or their subsequent fate, such as efforts towards their deradicalization. These matters are extremely difficult, but this is no excuse for avoiding any action. I agree with the administration and its denouncement of leaks, as both illegal and outdated. The latter element might indicate that something is being done. This administration promised to devote its efforts to improve America’s standing in the world. So far, as pointed out in an elaborate piece in The Washington Post, these efforts where subject to unending internal deliberations between the White House and Congress, lack of coordination and sheer determination to resolve the issue. The dossier files serve as a great source of knowledge about the aftermath of 9/11 through histories of detained terrorist suspects – a tremendous documentation for scholars and analysts. But they also should serve decision-makers as both, a warning and a motivation to face these issues with more determination.
