Hi Yupette,
If you didn't see the front page of today''s NY Times, you should:
Pakistanis Tell of Motive In Taliban Leader's Arrest
Officials Say Spy Agency Sought to Squelch Militants' Peace Talks With Afghans
By Dexter Filkins
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
When American and Pakistani agents captured Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's operation commander, in the chaotic port city of Karachi last January, both countries hailed the arrest as a breakthrough in their often difficult partnership fighting terrorism.
But the arrest of Mr Baradar, the second-ranking Taliban leader after Mullah Mohammad Omar, came with a beguiling twist: both American and Pakistani officials claimed that Mr. Baradar's capture had been a lucky break. It was only days later, the officials said, that they finally figured out who they had.
Now, seven months later, Pakistani officials are telling a very different story. They say they set out to capture Mr. Bradar and used the C.I.A. to help them do it, because they wanted to shut down secret peace talks that Mr. Baradar had been conducting with the Afghan government that excluded Pakistan, the Taliban's longtime backer.
"We picked up Baradar and the others because they were trying to make a deal without us," said a Pakistani security official, who, like numerous people interviewed about the operation, spoke anonymously because of the delicacy of relations between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the United States. "We protect the Taliban. They are dependent on us. We are not going to allow them to make a deal with Karzai and the Indians."
Yupette, it's been obvious to me for years that Bin Laden and the senior Taliban commanders are worth more alive than dead to the New Democrats and NeoCons who are ruining American with warfighting in the Middle East. I'm voting for Ron Fisher for Congress. Ron will help get us out of fighting ruinous wars with Third World nations.
Joan 22207