The United States on Friday formally designated the Afghan Haqqani militant network as a terrorist organization, after a long-debate on the complex issue involving several implications.
Washington says the group, allegedly operating out of its base in Pakistani tribal areas, is responsible for some of the deadliest attacks against American troops in Afghanistan in recent years. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is traveling in Asia, made the State Department designation for the group as a foreign terrorist organization, two days before a Congressional deadline on the issue. 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, The New York Times reported Friday on its website.
The top U.S. diplomat 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. According to the Times, Secretary Clinton and others have already discussed the issue with their counterparts in Pakistan, and the administration’s special envoy, Marc Grossman, is expected to formally inform Pakistan’s leaders on Friday. A Pakistani embassy spokesman, reacting to the development, said: “This is an internal matter for the United States. It is not our business.
The Haqqanis are not Pakistani nationals. We will continue to work with all international partners including the U.S. in combating extremism and terrorism.” In the months leading up to the decision, several State Department and military officials argued that designating the organization would “help strangle the group’s fund-raising activities in countries like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates and pressure Pakistan to open a long-expected military offensive against the militants.”
On the other hand, many other senior officials, including several in the White House, expressed deep reservations that blacklisting the group could further damage badly frayed relations with Pakistan, undercut peace talks with the Taliban and possibly jeopardize the fate of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only American soldier known to be held by the militants, added the report. In the past few days, however, supporters of designating the group apparently eased most concerns or put forward contingencies to mitigate the risks and potential consequences. “This shows that we are using everything we can to put the squeeze on these guys,” said one administration official who was involved in the process, and who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
While spokeswomen for the National Security Council and State Department declined to comment on the decision, four administration officials said late Thursday that the government was going ahead with the designation, the newspaper reported. Critics have contended that a designation by the Treasury Department or the United Nations could achieve largely the same result as would adding the network to the much more prominent State Department list, with far fewer consequences.
But many senior counterterrorism officials as well as top American military officers, including Gen. John R. Allen, commander of American and NATO troops in Afghanistan, have said that designating the organization should be a top priority. “F.T.O. designation could reduce a critical capability of the Haqqani Network by increasing the cost of doing business, reducing access to capital, and constraining the network’s financial resources, thereby limiting their freedom to operate in a local, regional, and international context,” Jeffrey Dressler, senior Afghanistan analyst for the Institute for the Study of War, a research organization here said in a paper issued this week, referring to foreign terrorist organizations.
According to Dressler, the Haqqani network’s business interests stretch from Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the Persian Gulf, and include car dealerships, money exchanges and construction companies, import-export operations, and smuggling networks.
Haqqani Taliban are wreaking havoc on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, hence the terrorist label. What is ominous is that as America gets ready to leave Afghanistan, it is about to heap scorn on Pakistan and declare it a supporter of terror, perhaps not today, but in six months to a year. And just like the last time sanctions will be slapped on Pakistan once U.S. has no need of us.
It is time, Pakistan made a clean break with U.S. only allowing them passage to exit Afghanistan, nothing more. A serious course correction is needed by our politicians and military. Stop with the begging bowl already, take charge of country's affairs and stop depending on handouts. The country has enough resources to survive on its own, provided we do not fight futile wars – our own or others. Time to make an honest effort to repair relations with India. Also we need to stay out of Afghanistan now and forever. It is a crucial time as all hell is about to break lose from Washington, serious efforts to break up the country are already afoot. Don't let them succeed, put an end to military operation in Baluchistan and bring all the young exiles home. Get rid of foreign agents, who may be inflaming shia/sunni situation by cold blooded murders.
Wonderful. Blame foreign agents for killing Shias!! Don't pretend that hate and intolerance are not taught to schoolchildren. Salman Taseer's killing was celebrated across all sections of society, even by lawyers.
India.US, Afghanistan and the West don't need to fire a single bullet to eliminate Pakistan as a threat to the civilized world. They just have to sit back and see,
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