Wikileaks Diplomatic Cable Dump - News and Discussion

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 02 Dec 2010 07:29

The US cables from Pakistan show US diplomats as under-informed idiots. These so called "Ambassadors" are respectable looking gora aadmis who are merely moles to mine local info and send to bosses in DC disguised as "advice" or "considered opinions"

Part of my growing up (over 40 years) has been the gradually breaking down of all the views I had of the US as a great leader in this world. It may have been -in the 1960s. The US is heading down and apart from the military damage it can do to us it gradually needs to be pushed aside to where it belongs.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Dec 2010 07:31

Shiv there is a saying

Classified Waste = Sacred poop.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 02 Dec 2010 07:45

Diplomats Noted Canadian Mistrust Toward U.S

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/world ... anada.html

In early 2008, American diplomats stationed in Ottawa turned on their television sets and were aghast: there was an “onslaught” of Canadian shows depicting “nefarious American officials carrying out equally nefarious deeds in Canada,” from planning to bomb Quebec to stealing Canadian water supplies.

“The degree of comfort with which Canadian broadcast entities, including those financed by Canadian tax dollars, twist current events to feed longstanding negative images of the U.S. — and the extent to which the Canadian public seems willing to indulge in the feast — is noteworthy as an indication of the kind of insidious negative popular stereotyping we are increasingly up against in Canada,” the cable said.

ShivaS · Post by **ShivaS** » 02 Dec 2010 08:16

Absolutely agree with Shiv the US institutions have been completely destoryed (Lamented this during illegal wire tapping. Heabus corpus suspension)
As Austin Powers would say Yeah baby Yeah baby

sanjeevpunj · Post by **sanjeevpunj** » 02 Dec 2010 08:50

US is pointing towards India and telling the world that we are afraid of Pakistan! Guys we got to disprove this. Comeone where is the man who can take us forward!

wig · Post by **wig** » 02 Dec 2010 08:56

Pakistan making small nukes to target India

While India’s Ministry of External Affairs reserved its comments on Wednesday, the second instalment of the US State Department cables, accessed and leaked by whistleblower website WikiLeaks, reveal a worrying web of rogue elements inimical to India active in Pakistan.

The cables convey US officials’ fears that rogue elements within the Pakistani government, and not Islamic militants, pose the greatest threat to Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.

US diplomats in Islamabad were told Pakistan was working on producing smaller, tactical nuclear weapons that could be used on the battlefield against Indian troops.

“The result of this trend is the need for greater stocks of fissile material.Strategic considerations point Pakistan in the direction of a larger nuclear force that requires a greater amount of fissile material, Pakistani officials argue,” according to a cable cited by Britain’s Guardian newspaper, which had access to the leaked cables.

In its secret and less than flattering analysis of India’s military contingency plans, codenamed Cold Start, the U.S. found that the Indian army was incapable of launching a rapid offensive against Pakistan as envisaged by the plan.

“It is the collective judgment of the mission that India would likely encounter very mixed results. Indian forces could have significant problems consolidating initial gains due to logistical difficulties and slow reinforcement,” according to one of the messages from the US Embassy in New Delhi.

The US ambassador to India, Tim Roemer, however, warned in February that for India to launch Cold Start, would be to “roll the nuclear dice,” according to the Guardian, Indian leaders no doubt realise that, although Cold Start is designed to punish Pakistan in a limited manner without triggering a nuclear response, they cannot be sure whether Pakistani leaders will in fact refrain from such a “response.”

In a February. 4, 2009, cable, the US ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, wrote that “our major concern is not having an Islamic militant steal an entire weapon but rather the chance someone working in GOP (government of Pakistan)facilities could gradually smuggle enough material out to eventually make a weapon.”

The Russians shared concerns that Pakistan was “highly unstable,” according to a report in the Guardian. Yuri Korolev, from the Russian foreign ministry, told US officials: “Islamists are not only seeking power in Pakistan but are also trying to get their hands on nuclear materials.”

The New York Times reported that less than a month after U.S. President Barack Obama assured reporters in 2009 that Pakistan’s nuclear materials ‘will remain out of militant hands,’ Patterson was writing that she was not quite sure and was actually deeply worried.

Patterson said in a May 27, 2009, cable that Pakistan was dragging its feet on an agreement to have the U.S. remove a stockpile of highly enriched uranium. She wrote to senior U.S. officials that the Pakistani government had concluded that, “The sensational international and local media coverage of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons made it impossible to proceed at this time.”

A senior Pakistani official warned that if word leaked out, the local press would “certainly portray it as the United States taking Pakistan’s nuclear weapons,” Patterson wrote.

The cables also reveal the George W. Bush administration’s opposition to Pakistani plans to release Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme who also ran the world’s largest nuclear blackmarket.

Richard Boucher, then assistant secretary of state for South Asia, wrote on April 10, 2008, that the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad should “express Washington’s strong opposition to the release of Dr. Khan and urge the Government of Pakistan to continue holding him under house arrest.”

“The damage done to international security by Dr. Khan and his associates is not a closed book,” Boucher wrote. But Khan was released 10 months later.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101202/main1.htm

wig · Post by **wig** » 02 Dec 2010 08:58

There are 120,000 to 130,000 people directly involved in Pakistan’s nuclear and missile programmes... and there is no way to guarantee that all are 100 per cent loyal and reliable” (Cable conveying the Russian view on safety of nuclear arms in Pakistan)

“Indeed a Pakistani military leader said his army was no match for the Indian army...and hence Pakistan needed more nuclear weapons” (Quotes Chinese vice foreign minister He Yafei)

“There is no chance that Pakistan will view enhanced assistance as sufficient compensation for abandoning support to these (terrorist groups) including the Afghan Taliban and LeT. (The then US envoy in Islamabad Anne Patterson reporting to Washington)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101202/main1.htm

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 02 Dec 2010 09:10

Brazil's nuke sub ambition a 'white elephant': Ambassador Clifford Sobel:

For more than two decades, Brazil has been pushing to obtain or build a nuclear-powered submarine. In December 2008, Brazil and France signed a deal that called for France to transfer technology to build four diesel-powered attack submarines and develop the non-nuclear part of a nuclear-propelled submarine. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and other top officials have said the discovery of massive oil reserves off Brazil's southeastern coast warrant investment in a more robust Navy to protect the riches.

Ambassador Clifford Sobel, who ended his three-year service as ambassador in August 2009, wrote that efforts such as the nuclear-powered sub were 'politically popular white elephants'. "There is no threat, for example, to Brazil's maritime oil deposits," Sobel wrote. "But Brazilian leaders and media have routinely cited oil discoveries off the coast as an urgent reason for better maritime security."

Doubts aside, Sobel said a stronger Brazil would be positive from a U.S. perspective. "A Brazilian military that is more capable and deployable can support U.S. interests by exporting stability in Latin America and be available for peacekeeping elsewhere," he wrote.

Rangudu · Post by **Rangudu** » 02 Dec 2010 10:09

I have a theory about some cables that might be seen as bad news for India. One of the cables released today has Hamid Karzai admitting that he has given sanctuary to Baloch freedom fighter Barhamdagh Bugti. His recent whereabouts were not mentioned there. It is quite possible that a yet to be released cable mentions a different location for Mr. Bugti, perhaps across a different border of TSP.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 02 Dec 2010 10:26

wig, That report is contradictory. Roemer says Cold Start wont work for many reasons and could trigger TSP nukes. At same time he says India is cautious in her response to 26/11. Appears to be one confused Amby.

Raja Ram · Post by **Raja Ram** » 02 Dec 2010 10:35

ramana,

Contraditory cables are possible. Remember these are like daily logs that are sent out just recording views, tidbits, summary notes, prep notes. So it is quite possible that they may seem contradictory.

The analysis typically gets done at SD or the Min. There is also local analysis, that is more detailed and they are sent across in a different format. Sometimes, they are hand delivered back or in person briefings.

Roemer's cable on the US assessment on Cold Start is likely to be a point in time summation of it by the Mission in India. There could be more detailed reports on the same that the Mission would have put together. This will go as input to the SD where based on other corraborations, e.g. mission inputs on this by their Pak mission, China mission, Nepal Mission, Bangladesh Mission, CIA inputs, Tech Int inputs, shared information from other allies like the UK etc., the overall assessment of the Indian Cold Start doctrine, the political intent to pursue it will be put together for the President/ Secretary of State.

This is what is normal SOP.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 02 Dec 2010 10:57

Shiv has lamented about the decline in American morality in its forign policy.Perhaps "morality" in foreign policy is really an anchronism,but there is the element of trust and a very elegant diplomatic code of conduct that used to be practised in the last century.WW2 to large extent destroyed much of that ,but if the so-called "self-appointed" leader of the world's democracies,the US,plays dirty,throwing diplomatic trust into the garbage bin,then it loses its moral authority as a global leader and gives democracy a dirty name.

The revelations of the US ambassador that no matter how much money you give the Paki military,they will never relent in using terror against India,should be an eye opener to the GOI,if it need to be opened at all.Pak's diabolic acts speak louder than any expose.Will the US however learn anything from its diplomats on the spot? Clinton's open "embrace" of pak not too oing ago shows her to be a woman without any morals ior prinnciples at all,a creature even worse than her husband,who allowed global N-proliferation to thrive thanks to China,NoKo and Pak.Where does all this now leave India?Alone and under great risk from both the PRC and Pak,now the acknowledged fastest producer of N-weapons.

PS:Israel has had a very pragmatic approach to doing business worldwide,even with "enenmy" states.It has had relations with Iran going back thousands of years from the days of Cyrus the Great.Even when it had no official relations with India,there were abck channels that existed.It should be expected that the Israelis and Pakis have strong contacts as Israel would be most "upset" if the Paki establishment actively supported anti-Israeli entities like Hamas/Hiz,etc.,especially with WMD material.The Pakis on their part would also not want the Israelis to attack their N-facilities in a JV with India.

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 02 Dec 2010 17:21

http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/20 ... H1415.html

INDIA: “WE ARE NOT EXPECTING ANYTHING GOOD”
-------------------------------------------
¶8. (C) Alisherzai blamed India for helping to train and fund extremist groups fighting against the Government of Pakistan. He said that India also helped support the Taliban in Pakistan, explaining “They (India) will never let a chance to harm Pakistan go.” Alisherzai summed up his feelings about India by saying, “We are not expecting anything good from them.”
THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM

¶11. (C) Alisherzai grew up in the FATA bordering the Afghanistan provinces of Khowst and Paktya. His father served in the British military and insisted that his son attend school. Alisherzai says that at the age of five he walked 8km to school everyday. He has six children, all living in the U.S. and all graduates of George Mason University. SMITH

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 02 Dec 2010 17:41

in almost every interview, any paqui always says "india hates us, they are against us, they are trying to destroy us"... implication... we are nice people, its those yindoos who have made us like this
this repeated a million times a day has sunk into the american consciousness as the self evident truth
ergo unkil keeps saying to us - be nice, dont upset munna, give them kashmir na?, dont be naughty...

yet to 99.99% of indians, the flow of hate comes west to east across the indus

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 02 Dec 2010 17:51

Some sensational allegations about Berlusconi taking kickbacks from Putin and claims that Russia is run like a "mafia state".Well,one wouldn't expect anything less from Russia's Cold War rival,but
Berlusconi does run Italy like the Godfather!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Berlusconi took Putin kickbacks, cables allege
Russian PM allegedly promised Italian leader cut of energy contracts, WikiLeaks cables say

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/de ... leptocracy

WikiLeaks cables condemn Russia as 'mafia state'
Kremlin relies on criminals and rewards them with political patronage, while top officials collect bribes 'like a personal taxation system'

PS:With so many of our MPs having criminal cases against them,this sounds exactly like India!

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 02 Dec 2010 18:14

italy and russia will be almost exactly like india
even holier than thou unkil has murky secrets
only the scandies come out almost clean (but not entirely)

sanjeevpunj · Post by **sanjeevpunj** » 02 Dec 2010 20:10

Honest men are few in global politics. Dr Man Mohan Singh carved that image for himself, and is respected (perhaps also secretly feared) by Obama. We should support him if he takes a decision to go to war with Pakistan.I am all for him, even if he is old so what.He is honest, he is economically clear in his approach as to what will help India at grassroot level. His weakness is that he moves carefully and slowly forward, and that is not really a weakness.We got to watch and wait for his decisions.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 02 Dec 2010 21:07

Immediately after 26/11, the British shared intelligence on LeT with the ISI, and later with Zardari.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-emba ... nts/180720

8. (S) We received a readout from the UK Embassy on their meetings/calls over the weekend. High Commissioner Brinkley and UK COS met President Zardari on Sunday, November 30; during the meeting FM Miliband called Zardari. UK passed the same Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) info to Zardari that they previously had passed to ISI.

9. (S) Zardari's response was positive; he said ISI had to follow up and this was an opportunity. He criticized the Indians for statements that pushed Islamabad to make a defensive response and "made my job harder." Zardari said he thought it was not possible that terrorists could have launched attack boats from Karachi and the operation could not have been implemented without insider help from Indians.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 02 Dec 2010 21:09

^^^ there is a clear pattern here of separate handling of political and military power centres. Also a recognition that the politicians are probably kept in the dark by the military

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 02 Dec 2010 21:10

Some realism - Feb 21, 2009
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-emba ... nts/193196

9. (C) President Zardari and PM Gilani recognize Pakistan's greatest threat has shifted from India to militancy concentrated on the Pak-Afghan border but is spreading to NWFP and beyond. The Army and ISI, however, have not turned that corner. We should press the GOP on the need to stop using militant/tribal proxies as foreign policy tools. It is now counterproductive to Pakistan's own interests and directly conflicts with USG objectives in Afghanistan--where Haqqani's network is killing American soldiers and Afghan civilians--and the region--where Mumbai exposed the fruits of previous ISI policy to create Lashkar-e-Taiba and still threatens potential conflict between nuclear powers. However, we should preface this conversation with a pledge to open a new page in relations. Chief of Army Staff General Kayani, who headed ISI from 2004-2007, in particular wants to avoid a reckoning with the past, and we will not shift Pakistani military/ISI policy without his support.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 02 Dec 2010 23:02

Lalmohan wrote:in almost every interview, any paqui always says "india hates us, they are against us, they are trying to destroy us"... implication... we are nice people, its those yindoos who have made us like this
this repeated a million times a day has sunk into the american consciousness as the self evident truth
ergo unkil keeps saying to us - be nice, dont upset munna, give them kashmir na?, dont be naughty...

yet to 99.99% of indians, the flow of hate comes west to east across the indus

This is a fake. The current generation living in that af Pak region have limited knowledge of India. Their only contact is Bollywood. This entire line keeps repeated with Pak, when Kerry visits Z, or quote from the US amb in Pak.
This is a well planned - image creation and also propaganda to suggest conflict.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 02 Dec 2010 23:06

Lalmohan wrote:^^^ there is a clear pattern here of separate handling of political and military power centres. Also a recognition that the politicians are probably kept in the dark by the military

That is a good catch.
This is a client state and some of its policy is run by other powers and the civilian govt has no clue to it.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 02 Dec 2010 23:09

sanjeevpunj wrote:US is pointing towards India and telling the world that we are afraid of Pakistan! Guys we got to disprove this. Comeone where is the man who can take us forward!

This is part of the propaganda they are working on to reset the perception in the world.
Inside all these poop they may be working on something sinster for India.

Satya_anveshi · Post by **Satya_anveshi** » 03 Dec 2010 00:32

Not sure if this was posted before

Robert Gates Downplays Significance of WikiLeaks Cables

Robert Gates claims that the classified diplomatic cables recently released by the website WikiLeaks will not do any serious damage to foreign policy.

The U.S. defense secretary said that the leaks put the United States in an "embarrassing" and "awkward" diplomatic position, but that foreign policy will not suffer.

Gates told reporters: "The fact is governments deal with the United States because it's in their interest, not because they like us, not because they trust us and not because they think we can keep secrets," The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Meanwhile, other U.S. politicians like Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have been claiming that the leaked documents could endanger relations with U.S. allies.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 03 Dec 2010 00:50

Pakistan Security Brief - December 2, 2010
Pakistan Security Brief – December 2, 2010

ISI director told parliament that India, Russia, and UAE were supporting Balochistan insurgency; President Zardari asked UAE to provide his family refuge in the event of his death; NATO supply truck attacked in Mardan; ANP confirms Chief of Army Staff General Kayani offered party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan the position of president.

WikiLeaks Cables

In 2008, the director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, reportedly gave a closed session parliamentary briefing alleging that India, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were all involved in supporting Balochi insurgents. During the briefing, Lt. Gen. Pasha showed parliamentarians pictures and video depicting brutally “inhumane an un-Islamic” activities carried out by militants in the region. Pasha also told the parliament that India had established nine training camps for the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) along the Afghan border while the UAE and Russia were also providing “arms and funding” to the BLA.[1]

Sudip · Post by **Sudip** » 03 Dec 2010 01:14

pgbhat wrote:http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/20 ... H1415.html
INDIA: “WE ARE NOT EXPECTING ANYTHING GOOD”
-------------------------------------------
¶8. (C) Alisherzai blamed India for helping to train and fund extremist groups fighting against the Government of Pakistan. He said that India also helped support the Taliban in Pakistan, explaining “They (India) will never let a chance to harm Pakistan go.” Alisherzai summed up his feelings about India by saying, “We are not expecting anything good from them.”
THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM

¶11. (C) Alisherzai grew up in the FATA bordering the Afghanistan provinces of Khowst and Paktya. His father served in the British military and insisted that his son attend school. Alisherzai says that at the age of five he walked 8km to school everyday. He has six children, all living in the U.S. and all graduates of George Mason University. SMITH

The cable also says

"¶10. (C) Alisherzai is from the Kurram Agency, one of the seven tribal agencies that make up the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) along the Afghanistan border. As such, he is able to offer an insider’s view of life along the Pakistani-Afghan border. His observation that intelligence and support provided by the local population has been essential to the success of Pakistani military operations is worth noting, as are his suggestions as to how we might counter the growth of extremism in the region. However, his insights about larger regional issues (ie: Iran, India, Saudi Arabia) appear to be much more limited. End comment.
BIOGRAPHIC NO"

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 03 Dec 2010 02:01

According to google trends guess who is most interested in Wikileaks...?
(See the link: todays link)

Here is one story :
Who's Most Interested In WikiLeaks? Pakistan, Says Google Trends

US or India does not come in top 10 .. (After Pakistan it is Azerbaijan, Lebnan, Italy etc..)

BTW from the above story:

Internet users in Pakistan led the way in Google searches for the term "WikiLeaks" in the build-up to and the first two days of releases of secret diplomatic cables.

Google Insights for Search through Monday show that people in Pakistan and Italy seem to have had the most interest in the first batch of documents.

This isn't the first time Pakistan has dominated in making a certain search query. The Muslim nation has been repeatedly noted for topping all other countries in the Google Insights rankings for sex-related and p***graphic terms. Google is the most-used search engine in every major country, except for China and Russia.

Several other European countries did a lot of searching for WikiLeaks, including Turkey, Poland, Israel and Spain. The U.S. doesn't crack the top 10; Americans do lead the way in searching for "cables." The overall interest in searching for cables is way lower than for "WikiLeaks."

There's good news for the five newspapers which received special access to the documents. Google searches worldwide for the websites of the N.Y. Times, the Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El Pais have skyrocketed since this weekend's release of the first documents. Comparing them, the Guardian and El Pais are attracting the most searches.

Most of the searches for WikiLeaks and related terms came from men between the age of 35 and 44, according to Yahoo! Clues data spanning Nov. 24 through Tuesday. More than two out of every three searches on Yahoo for "WikiLeaks" in the U.S. over that time were from men, suggesting women might not care too much about the embassy cables.

Illinois, California, New Jersey and Texas were the top-searching states.

Rangudu · Post by **Rangudu** » 03 Dec 2010 03:00

Loads of good stuff on Indian views on Afghanistan here

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 03 Dec 2010 03:01

One implication of the Roemer cable on Cold Start etc is that what GOI is saying/passing off as restraint is being undermined by Roemer and his staff as incapability and escalatory(contradictory). In other words he is undermining the host country(India) and worse telegraphing the TSP about capabilities.

I don't see how he can be any longer effective in India.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 03 Dec 2010 03:05

Satya_anveshi wrote:Not sure if this was posted before

Robert Gates Downplays Significance of WikiLeaks Cables
Robert Gates claims that the classified diplomatic cables recently released by the website WikiLeaks will not do any serious damage to foreign policy.

The U.S. defense secretary said that the leaks put the United States in an "embarrassing" and "awkward" diplomatic position, but that foreign policy will not suffer.

Gates told reporters: "The fact is governments deal with the United States because it's in their interest, not because they like us, not because they trust us and not because they think we can keep secrets, " The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Meanwhile, other U.S. politicians like Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have been claiming that the leaked documents could endanger relations with U.S. allies.

Robert Gates has the same problem as Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory!

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 03 Dec 2010 03:12

Rangudu wrote:Loads of good stuff on Indian views on Afghanistan here

Someone please post the text in the Af-Pak thread..

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 03 Dec 2010 03:15

Ambassador John Doe of America to Prince Abdullah al Shwarma al Halumi: Your Highness, say something! Are you feeling ill?

Rangudu · Post by **Rangudu** » 03 Dec 2010 03:19

ramana

I agree. The Cold Start cable makes him persona-non-grata. But I doubt if GoI will do the right thing.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 03 Dec 2010 03:22

You will see he gets the cold shoulder for his Cold Start as hot gas statement.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 03 Dec 2010 05:08

I suppose this has been seen already?
http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/20 ... CO614.html

David Coleman Headley
---------------------

¶11. (S) In December, an FBI-DOJ team briefed Pakistani
officials from the ISI, Ministry of Interior, FIA, IB, and
MFA on the David Coleman Headley investigation, providing
them with tear-line information on Headley's statements to
U.S. authorities. ISI officials said they had very little
information to identify the Pakistanis mentioned in the
statements. They discussed their investigation into First
World Immigration Service, a business front used by Headley
and his co-conspirators. The ISI said while they would not
grant direct FBI access to co-conspirator Major (retd.)
Abdurrehman Syed, who was in ISI custody, the FBI could
submit questions for Syed through the ISI. The FIA and
Ministry of Interior informed the FBI that it would be
difficult to introduce Headley-related evidence in the
government's prosecution of the Mumbai defendants, including
because Headley's statements to U.S. authorities would be
treated as hearsay with little evidentiary value in court.

tear-line was a new word for me -
"A physical line on an intelligence message or document separating categories of information that have been approved for foreign disclosure and release. Normally, the intelligence below the tear line is that which has been previously cleared for disclosure or release."

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 03 Dec 2010 05:18

http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/20 ... AWAR2.html
2009-01-03, from Peshawar

9. (S) XXXXXXXXXXXX confided that ISI, (Note: Pakistan’s military intelligence. End note), during the in camera session of the parliament recently, had briefed lawmakers and senior GOP officials concerning the virtues of some taliban elements versus the “real militants.” They reasoned small numbers from some of the militant groups could be useful in future operations in Kashmir or elsewhere. XXXXXXXXXXXX said although not everyone present agreed with the assertion it was this line of reasoning that contributed to his fear of the future.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 03 Dec 2010 05:21

http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/20 ... I2178.html
ABU DHABI 2005-05-16
MbZ = Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed

5. (C) Ambassador asked about MbZ's visit the week before to
Lahore to meet with Pakistani President Musharraf. MbZ
chuckled and asked why the USG "always" convinced the
Pakistanis to delay news of the capture of senior Al Qaeda
operatives such as Abu Faraj al Libbi. MbZ went on to
congratulate Washington for its decision to allow U.S. firms
to bid for contracts to provide F-16s and other defense
technology to Pakistan. It was important to support
Musharraf as he battled the terrorists, he emphasized. While
the Indians had and would continue to balk at the decision,
the region needed Musharraf to stay strong. There was no
alternative leader in sight, MbZ opined. Besides, he
continued, the F-16 decision would not tip the military
balance between India and Pakistan. Even if it had, India's
strength as a stable democracy would ensure that it would not
ever be in as "risky" a situation as its neighbor. MbZ then
slapped his knee and said "you,ll never guess what Musharraf
asked me...he asked me whether the UAE had received approval
for the Predator!" (Note: the USG's inability to meet the
UAE's request for an armed Predator remains a sore point for
MbZ, although he has not directly raised the issue with us
for some time.)

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 03 Dec 2010 05:23

The man who knows too much

pgbhat · Post by **pgbhat** » 03 Dec 2010 07:45

This whole arrest warrant thing on Assange reminded me of this scene from the movie "The Contender".

Raja Ram · Post by **Raja Ram** » 03 Dec 2010 08:40

The scientific advisor to the GOI, Dr. Saraswat yesterday has poured cold water on Cold Start yesterday at a convocation in Chennai. He claims that there was no Cold Start, and India will never resort to retributive actions of that sort ever. He also went on to add, that after Mumbai also we did not do it because India is not that sort of a country that will take offensive steps.

Dr. Saraswat - is the same person who headed our ABM defence programme recently

There you go folks - either it is a deception by the GOI in the wake of the leaks or it is a true reflection of intent of the GOI. Truth lies in the eyes of the beholder I suppose!