Carlotta Gall has a terrific piece in the Times today, interviewing a former Islamist militant, who maintains that the Pakistani military is behind much of the terrorist activity in south Asia. This is not new, but the level of detail is fascinating. Take, for instance, this tidbit about how the Pakistani military–using a retired general, as is often the case–helped reorganize the Taliban after the U.S. defeated them in 2001:

    Maj. Gen. Zaheer ul-Islam Abbasi, a former intelligence officer who was convicted of attempting a coup against the government of Benazir Bhutto in 1995 and who is now dead, was one of the most active supporters of the militant groups in the years after Sept. 11, the former commander said.

    He said he saw General Abbasi several times: once at a meeting of Taliban and Pakistani militant leaders in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province as they planned how to confront the American military in Afghanistan; and twice in Mir Ali, which became the center for foreign militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas, including members of Al Qaeda.

    There were about 60 people at the Taliban meeting in late 2001, soon after the Taliban government fell, the former commander said. Pakistani militant leaders were present, as were the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, and Muhammad Haqqani, a member of the Haqqani network.

    Several retired officials of Pakistan’s premier spy agency, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, were also there, he said, including a man known as Colonel Imam but who was actually Brig. Sultan Amir, a well-known trainer and mentor of militants, and General Abbasi. The militant groups divided Afghanistan into separate areas of operations and discussed how to “trip up America,” he said.

This is entirely outrageous, of course–and mega-dumb on the part of the American policy-makers, of both parties, who funded these activities through hefty, no strings attached, military aid to the Pakistanis. President Obama has been more prudent about this than his predecessor–in part because of the amped-up intelligence capability that his predecessor provided–but it is now time to set the reset button. The military aid spigot has to be turned off; the economic aid spigot has to be reevaluated (although I’m told that the Pakistanis has spent only a fraction of the economic aid, because they don’t like the precautions we build into the grants). President Bush said on September 14, 2001, that our enemies were those who funded and harbored terrorists. Pakistan does both. The Pakistani military has played us for suckers for a decade. It’s time to cut them loose.

Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2011/07/04/pakistan-is-not-our-ally/#ixzz1RA13Vczg
----
TURKMAN:

Pakistani Generals had never thought Taliban backed by their Divisions of Army disguised as Taliban could be defeated by USA in Afghanistan. It was never thought that Northern Alliance could muster up enough support for USA either. When facing defeat, Pakistani Troops and Mercenaries, the Taliban near the Border had fled to Pakistan however, thousands of them went under siege of General Dostum of Northern Alliance in Qandoz. Pakistan had begged Pres. Bush for their rescue. Instead of permitting their air-lift, USA should have let Gen. Dostum take care of them and should have bombed whole Pakistan Army to Stone Age for that cheating, instead of keep bombing Taliban only. USA had thought, may be those Divisions of Pak Army were renegade and the Generals are on USA's side. 9 years later, Pakistan is still, lying, cheating, blackmailing, back-stabbing, thankless Beggar living off USA and paying Bounty to its Pakistani Mercenaries called Taliban for every US Soldier they kill.  Now we are talking about a Military that had only 16 Tanks before USA started building it, building its Basis, started its Air Force and Navy that it did not had in 1950's. The thankless 'Nmak Hraam' country that has been living off Charity of USA Aid since 1953 and Loans since 1955. "LaanaTollah ...!" ... "Disciple of Satan ...!"
------