US wants to shut down ISI. Compliant Zardari is doing it!

Posted on 20 August 2008. Tags: ISI, Pakistan, US

After trying to totally reformat the Pakistan Army from one that defends the borders of Pakistan to one that is built to fight counter insurgencies, the US in no uncertain terms has dictated that the ISI be pretty much shut down as an entity.

No country of the world has tried to shut down the spy agency of another country. Imagine the US asking Israel to shut down the Mossad or RAW. Would China ever think of shutting down the ISI? The CIA connection…Benazir death, Musharraf elimination, Zardari coronation

WASHINGTON, Aug 19: Now that the political leadership is firmly in control, the United States does not want

The official said the United States also encouraged Britain and Saudi Arabia to get involved in the process that led to Mr Musharraf’s resignation. The Saudis sent their intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz and the British sent their former ambassador in Islamabad, Mark Lyall Grant, to negotiate the terms for Mr Musharraf’s departure.

“He is a free man, he can go where he wants,” said the official when asked if the US administration would allow Mr Musharraf to live in the United States, particularly because it might no longer be safe for him to live in Pakistan.

“Will you let him come to the US?” the official was asked again. “He is free to go where he wants,” he said.

“Will the US give him a visa?” “I don’t see any reason why he would not qualify for a visa. I don’t know where he wants to go,” the official said.

Asked if the US regretted that one of its closest allies in the war in terror was hounded out of power, the official said: “I don’t even know I would put it that way. Pakistan has faced a lot of trouble over the last year, whether it is the end of them, I don’t know. We have to see what the government is able to do now.”US wants Musharraf treated with respect By Anwar Iqbal

Why is the ISI on the target list. Because it has defended Pakistani interests in Afghanistan that may or may not be congruent with American interests. In short ISI is in trouble for defending the country. IMF: Deal or no deal? The lies & the trap! Total incompetence!

“But you did try to prevent him from going to this slippery slope that ultimately led to his departure?”

“We have always encouraged people to respect democracy. We advised him not to impose a state of emergency on Nov 3. He made a lot of decisions … and he is living with the consequences of making those decisions.”

The official explained that instead of getting directly involved in the impeachment dispute, the US administration “let events play out”.

The United States, however, “encouraged” everyone to respect the democratic process, “and let it take its course,” the official said.

He claimed that while the US did not give any advice to the conflicting parties, it kept in touch with the players.

According to the official, the US Embassy in Islamabad played a key role in these negotiations because Washington avoided direct contacts with the players.

“There were no conversations between Washington and Islamabad since Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’svisit” to the US capital last month.

The official also rejected media reports that President Musharraf telephoned President Bush twice during the impeachment crisis but Mr Bush refused to take his calls. “I don’t think it is true that he called twice,” he said.

The US official noted that the Feb 18 elections in Pakistan brought a moderate government which now had to deal with the problems of terrorism, a weak economy and had to build democratic institutions.

“They have to make sure that they will not allow themselves to be distracted by their politics,” the official said.

“We are concerned about what Pakistan is able to accomplish in the war on terror,” he said. “It is important to Pakistan. It is important to Pakistan’s neighbours. It is important to us.”

He said that no senior US official was planning to visit Pakistan in the near future but the US ambassador in Islamabad would stay in touch with all political players. US wants Musharraf treated with respect By Anwar Iqbal

As Ahmed Quraishi put it bluntly, the only entity in Pakistan that defend the ISI was PervezMusharraf. With Mr. Musharraf as a private citizen, the future of the worlds best spy agency is in the doldrums. However all is not lost, other civilians have tried to shut the agency down by placing their own hand picked people to head the service. The Army simply stopped inviting the ISI head to key meetings and began using army personnel not assigned to the ISI to get the job done.