Courtesy of WikiLeaks, the Guardian and The New York Times have obtained classified
documents pertaining to the killing of civilians in Afghanistan and the duplicity of Pakistani spies. The White House is furious,
condemning the leaks for ‘endangering US and allied servicemen’ on active duty – a statement that seems reasonable until the White House added that the documents pre-dated
President Obama’s assumption of office and that they ‘do not reflect current on-ground realities’. But that makes the allegations contained therein irrelevant or dated.
Judging by the two newspapers’ coverage, the leaks are vague and certainly not novel. It’s obvious that Pakistan is an unwilling ally, and one which has its own ambitions in the region. The New York Times makes the case for systemic Pakistan complicity in regional insurgency. What emerges from its report is the existance of a rogue element, the ‘S Wing’ of the ISI, which has broad autonomy in Pakistan’s ungovernable tribal regions and the volatile border with India.
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