The Pakistan-Haqqani Alliance

Photo: Jalaluddin Haqqani. Reuters

Pakistan-Haqqani Ties Threaten To Thwart U.S. -- Ashish Kumar Sen, The Washington Times

Western officials and analysts say U.S. and U.N. pressure is failing to persuade Pakistan to cut its ties to a terrorist network whose attacks coalition forces fear could complicate the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

The Haqqani Network, based in Pakistan’s northwest region, receives financial and logistical support from Pakistan’s military and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, Western officials say.

“The support operation [in Pakistan] for the Haqqanis’ war-fighting is intact,” said a former Western official who spoke on background, citing security concerns.

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My Comment: Pakistan's refusal to cut it's ties with the Haqqani group is a guarantee that bloodshed and mayhem will continue in Afghanistan. This post is a must read for those who want to understand Pakistan's role in the war in Afghanistan, and what is it's relationship with the Haqqani network.

Haqqani Network Labeled As A Terror Group By The U.S. State Department

State Department Blacklists Militant Haqqani Network -- New York Times

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia — In a report to Congress on Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton formally designated the militant Haqqani network — responsible for some of the deadliest attacks against American troops in Afghanistan — as a terrorist organization, two days before a Congressional deadline.

Mrs. Clinton signed the order in Brunei before departing to Vladivostok for the annual Asia Pacific Economic Conference, and State Department officials began notifying senior lawmakers. She issued the report after a last round of internal debate that took place in Washington on Thursday hours before President Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

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More News On The Haqqani Network Being Labeled As A Terror Group By The U.S. State Department

U.S. designates Haqqani network as a terrorist group -- Reuters
Haqqani network designated terrorist organization by U.S. -- Politico/AP
US designates Haqqani group as 'terrorists' -- Al Jazeera
US Designates Haqqani Network as Foreign Terror Organization -- Wall Street Journal
Washington blacklists Haqqani network -- New York Daily News
The Haqqani Network, a family and a terror group -- CNN

Is The Haqqani Network A Terrorist Group?

Mawlawi Jalaluddin Haqqani Leader

Haqqani Network Should Be Designated A Terrorist Group -- Washington Post editorial

TWICE IN the past year, the Pakistan-based Haqqani network has launched attacks against the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and the nearby headquarters of the U.S.-led military coalition. It bombed India’s embassy and staged multiple assaults against hotels known for hosting U.S. nationals. It tried to assassinate Afghan President Hamid Karzai. It has close ties with al-Qaeda. As recently as Saturday, it detonated a truck bombnear a bazaar outside a U.S. base, killing at least a dozen civilians and wounding scores more.

The Obama administration is nevertheless having trouble deciding whether the Haqqani group should be designated as a foreign terrorist organization under State Department guidelines, which would pave the way for tough financial sanctions. That an internal debate reportedly goes on just days before a congressionally mandated Sept. 9 deadline for a decision is another reflection of the incoherence of U.S. policy toward both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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My Comment: I agree. If it walks like a duck. Squawks like a duck. And acts like a duck. It's a duck. In regards to the Haqqani network .... their behavior and actions has always been that of a military organization that uses terror strikes to advance their political goals.

Is The Haqqani Network A Terrorist Group

Jalaluddin Haqqani, right, the Taliban's minister for tribal affairs, points to a map of Afghanistan during a visit to Islamabad, Pakistan, on Oct. 19, 2001, while his son Naziruddin looks on. With their wide-ranging influence, support from Pakistan, and propensity for destabilizing violence, the Haqqanis could by themselves scuttle American aims for a peaceful exit from Afghanistan. (Photo: Reuters)

Obama Administration Divided Over Designating Haqqani Network As Terrorist Group -- Washington Post

Just days before a congressional deadline, the Obama administration is deeply divided over whether to designate the Pakistan-based Haqqani network as a terrorist group, with some officials worried that doing so could complicate efforts to restart peace talks with the Taliban and undermine already-fraught relations with Pakistan.

Early this month, Congress gave Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton 30 days to determine whether the Haqqani group, considered the most lethal opponent of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, meets the criteria for designation — a foreign organization engaging in terrorist activity that threatens U.S. citizens or national security.

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My Comment: The White house may debate designating Haqqani network as terrorist group, but this is not stopping them from killing their commanders .... and in one case last week .... the son of the founder of the Haqqani network.

Top Commander Of The Haqqani Militant Network Killed In Airstrike

Mullah Dadullah, right, in September 2011. His death is expected to have an impact on the fighting in the Bajaur tribal agency. Reuters

Afghan Sources Confirm Badruddin Haqqani , Top Commander Of Militant Network, Killed In Airstrike -- NBC News

Afghanistan's intelligence agency says its operatives have confirmed that a top commander of Haqqani militants behind some of the biggest attacks on Western and Afghan government targets in Afghanistan has been killed.

Agency spokesman Shafiqullah Tahiri said Sunday that Badruddin Haqqani was killed in an airstrike in Pakistan, The Associated Press reported. He said the strike took place last week but did not give more details. He would not say whether the agency's sources have seen the body.

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More News On The Death Of Badruddin Haqqani

CIA drones kill warlord's family and Taliban chief -- The Guardian
Pakistani Taliban Commander Killed in Drone Strike in Afghanistan -- ABC News
Pakistani Militant Leader Dies in Airstrike, NATO Says -- New York Times
Senior Haqqani leader Badruddin Haqqani killed, says family -- Khaama Press
Afghans: Militant leader Badruddin Haqqani is dead -- USA Today/AP
Drone strike may have killed Haqqani network leader -- Reuters
Afghans: Sources confirm Badruddin Haqqani is dead -- The State
Taliban deny report of Haqqani commander's death -- FOX News/AP
Badruddin Haqqani 'is alive and healthy,' Taliban spokesman says -- Long War Journal

My Comment: The Taliban are saying that he is still alive, but Afghan intelligence sources and the Haqqani family themselves are saying that he is dead. I guess we will have to wait a few more weeks to find out if he is dead or alive.

Pressure Grows To Label The Haqqani Group A Terrorist Network

Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of the Haqqani network, points to a map of Afghanistan during a visit to Islamabad. Reuters

Pressure Grows On White House To Label Haqqani Terrorists -- The Hill

The top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate Intelligence panels on Friday formally demanded that the Obama administration “immediately” label the Pakistani-based Haqqani Network a terrorist organization.

The group has claimed responsibility for many attacks on NATO forces and the U.S. embassy in Kabul, but the administration has been reluctant to label them terrorists as it pursues negotiations with insurgents in Afghanistan.

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More News On US Lawmakers Wanting The State Department To Label The Haqqani Network As Terrorists

Lawmakers want Haqqani declared a terror group -- AP
Lawmakers want US to declare Haqqani a terror network -- AFP
US lawmakers want Pakistan's Haqqani Network to be dubbed terrorists -- New York Daily News
Terrorist Label Sought for Pakistan-Based Haqqani Network -- Bloomberg Businessweek

My Comment: This is long overdue.

Haqqani Network Now Targeted By US Forces

Jalaluddin Haqqani (R), the Taliban's Minister for Tribal Affairs, points to a map of Afghanistan while his son Naziruddin (L) looks on, during a visit to Islamabad, Pakistan, in this October 19, 2001 file photo. – Reuters Photo

U.S. Pegs Haqqani As Most Lethal Foe -- Washington Times

Network operates in Afghan shadows.

The family criminal enterprise known as the Haqqani Network conducts terrorist attacks inside Afghanistan by keeping in constant phone contact with its suicide bombers before and during attacks.

This level of sophistication, coupled with hands-on terrorist operations, is one reason the U.S. now considers Haqqani its most lethal enhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifemy, even more so than al Qaeda and the Taliban.

The network is operating out of a safe haven across the border in the town of Miram Shah, Pakistan, with near impunity and little to fear from NATO troops or Islamabad.

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Haqqani Network Now Targeted By US Forces

US after Haqqani network -- Hindustan Times
Military operations weaken Haqqani network, analysts say -- Central Asia Online
Afghans, NATO launch 'new push against Haqqanis' -- Vancouver Sun/AFP
US forces 'massing on Afghanistan-Pakistan border' -- The Telegraph
Hunting for Haqqanis, US deploys troops along N Waziristan border -- Times of India

My Comment: Realizing that Pakistan will do nothing about the Haqqani network .... the US is now stepping up to diminish their influence.

A Militant Hit Squad Gone Rogue?

Jalaluddin Haqqani (R), the Taliban's Minister for Tribal Affairs, points to a map of Afghanistan during a visit to Islamabad, Pakistan while his son Naziruddin (L) looks on in this October 19, 2001 file photograph. REUTERS/Stringer/Files

Dreaded Militant Hit Squad Goes Rogue In Pakistan -- Yahoo News/Reuters

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A blindfolded man stands on explosives, trembling as he confesses to spying for the CIA in Pakistan. Armed men in black balaclavas slowly back away. Then he is blown up.

One of his executioners -- members of an elite militant hit squad -- zooms a camera in on his severed head and body parts for a video later distributed in street markets as a warning.

Al Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban and the Haqqani network -- blamed for a September 13 attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul -- picked the most ruthless fighters from their ranks in 2009 to form the Khurasan unit, for a special mission.

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My Comment: The Khurasan unit is made up mostly of Arabs and Uzbeks .... operating in a region where they are the foreigners. I am sure this is not going over well with the locals, but it is illustrative on how concern militant groups like the Haqqani network are with spies and informers.

The Dangerous Rise Of The Haqqani Network

An image from an as-Sahab video showing Maulavi Jalaluddin Haqqani, who leads a militant network in Pakistan’s western tribal areas. Photo from Chandler's Watch

The Haqqani Network: Al-Qaeda’s Dangerous Patron -- Washington Post

Across Afghanistan’s eastern border, in Pakistan’s tribal areas, lies one of the most formidable obstacles to the success of the U.S. strategy in the region: the Haqqani network.

The insurgent group was part of the CIA- and Pakistan-backed mujaheddin alliance that fought against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and its founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, served as a minister in the Taliban government before its fall in 2001.

Today, the Haqqani network is considered the most dangerous insurgent force fighting U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan. It has maintained ties with militant organizations spanning the border, including al-Qaeda, part of an alliance that has helped make the Haqqani group particularly worrisome for U.S. officials.

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More News On The Haqqani Network

ISAF airstrike kills senior Haqqani Network commander involved in Kabul hotel attack -- Long War Journal
Afghan 'Sopranos' could thwart peace -- AFP
Kabul hotel attack: What is the Haqqani network? -- CNN
There is connection between ISI and Haqqani network: McCain -- Economic Times
The Haqqani Nexus and the Evolution of al-Qa’ida -- Don Rassler and Vahid Brown, Combating Terrorism Center

Why Is The Haqqani Insurgent Group Effective Against U.S. Troops In Afghanistan

Haqqani Insurgent Group Proves Resilient Foe In Afghan War -- Washington Times

KHOST, Afghanistan — The United States knows where to find the most feared insurgent family in the Afghanistan war.

Troops can point to the downtown Khost mansion owned by its patriarch, Jalaluddin Haqqani; the million-dollar blue-tile mosque he built for the city’s residents; and his base of operations 20 miles away in Pakistan. They are aware of his trucking and warehouse businesses, his sons who command about 3,000 fighters, and their sophisticated training camps that conduct courses in withstanding interrogation and firing rockets across borders.

Defeating the Haqqanis is another matter.

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My Comment: What makes this network formidable are their safe sanctuaries in Pakistan, and protection from Pakistan's intelligence agencies. Take this away from them, and they become just another rag-tag group of insurgents .... unfortunately for us and for Afghanistan .... Pakistan has zero interest to change the dynamics in this battlefield.

Calling The Haqqani Network For What It Is .... A Terrorist Network

U.S. May Label Pakistan Militants As Terrorists -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The new American military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David H. Petraeus, is pushing to have top leaders of a feared insurgent group designated as terrorists, a move that could complicate an eventual Afghan political settlement with the Taliban and aggravate political tensions in the region.

General Petraeus introduced the idea of blacklisting the group, known as the Haqqani network, late last week in discussions with President Obama’s senior advisers on Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to several administration officials, who said it was being seriously considered.

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My Comment: If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck .... it is a duck. The Haqqani network is a terrorist organization through and through .... nothing less and nothing more.

But on a side note, I find it distressing that this criminal organization, with its safe havens in Pakistan, are permitted to cross the Afghan border and cause the destruction and mayhem that they do in neighboring Afghanistan. It seems that our priority is to not antagonize our Pakistani allies while they quietly support this terrorist group, instead of planning on how to make their life as miserable as possible.