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Fearing a backlash, U.S. looks for a way to root militants out of Pakistani madrassa
haqqani from A1
cused of sheltering al-Qaeda in Pakistan’s border region, and of using suicide bombings and other brutal tactics to exert control over a key Afghan corridor fromKhost to the capital of Kabul. At the same time, U.S. officials believe the network is being protected by Pakistan’s powerful intelligence service, which has long-standing ties to the group. The Haqqani network poses
“themost significant threat to the political and economic heart of Afghanistan,” themilitary official said. “And they still benefit from not being under enough pres- sure.” Pakistani officials insist they
have raided themadrassa, known asManbaUlom, several timesand found no evidence ofmilitant ac- tivity behind its ornate gates and high walls. But U.S. officials dis- pute that assertion. “It’s a focal point for Haqqani
operations,” said a U.S. intelli- gence official. Beyond the ma- drassa’s use for recruitment, training and planning, the official said, “there is a strong likelihood that seniorHaqqani leadersmeet there on a regular basis.” Theofficialandothers spokeon
the condition of anonymity, say- ing they were not authorized to speak by name about U.S. intelli- gence on Haqqani or suspicion that the network is supported by the government of Pakistan. The Haqqani network is con-
sidered part of the Taliban insur- gency, and a key ally of al-Qaeda. But, rather than focusing on de- veloping overseas terrorist plots or ruling all of Afghanistan, the network seeks to oust U.S.-led forces from provinces on the country’s eastern edge and exert mafia-style control. Thegroupwas foundedby Jala-
luddinHaqqani, aprominentmu- jaheddin fighter in the CIA- backed effort to expel the Soviets from Afghanistan. But the com- mander, now in his 70s and in poor health, has yielded day-to- day control to his son. Sirajuddin Haqqani is consid-
ered a terrorist by the United States, which has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. He has
admitted in interviews to plan- ning the 2008 attack on the Sere- na Hotel in Kabul, as well as an assassination attempt that year on Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Since then, the network has
been linked to the suicide bomb- ing of aCIAbase inKhost, carried out a brazen attack on a shopping district inKabul,andheldhostage a U.S. soldier, Spec. Bowe Berg- dahl, who disappeared in Paktika province in June of last year. The Haqqanis have been care-
ful to remain exporters of vio- lence, however, refraining from attacks in Pakistan that might jeopardize the network’s sanctu- ary in the country’s tribal belt. U.S. intelligence officials re-
main convinced that Pakistan’s support forHaqqani goes beyond indifference. Secret diplomatic cables made
public by theWikiLeaksWeb site this month reflect a widely held American view that Islamabad sees the Haqqani network as a group that can be trusted to exert Pakistani influence in Afghani- stan. “They continue to provide
overt or tacit support for proxy forces (including the Haqqani group . . .),” said a February 2009 cable. Subsequent memos were more stark, saying that there was little hope of Pakistan moving militarily against its proxies, and that “in the case of the Haqqanis, it is not clear the Pakistani mili- tary could achieve a decisive vic- tory even if itwanted to.” In a recent interview in Islam-
abad, a senior Pakistani intelli- gence official denied that the In- ter-Services Intelligence director- ate, the country’s spy agency, sup- ports Haqqani. But the official acknowledged that the group’s history with the ISI and the re- straint it shows towardIslamabad have earned it special status.
“The lethality of the Haqqani forces is still very high” —Senior U.S. military official
tants as they make their way to and fromthemadrassa. “No one in any Haqqani mili-
tant location should feel safe,” the U.S. official said. Militants who are protected inside the com- pound “might very well not get very farwhen they leave.”
U.S.military officials credit the
drone campaign with putting pressureontheHaqqaninetwork, but argue that the impact on the group’s ability tomount attacks in Afghanistan has beenminimal. “I don’t know what that 100
means,” said the senior U.S. mili- tary official, referring to the CIA’s asserted body count. The official noted that U.S. forces in Afghani- stan had killed a similar number ofHaqqani fighters in a two-week stretch earlier this year. “The numbers game is not a
goodway tolookat this thing,” the official said. “Thekey is the lethal- ity of the Haqqani forces is still very high.” Frustrated by their adversary’s
“Both sides should be grateful
to [Jalaluddin]Haqqani,” thePak- istani intelligence official said. “He was the creation of the CIA and ISI” and the “CIA’s best com- mander. We created the monster together.” Over the past year, the CIA has
sought to weaken the Haqqani network with a barrage of Preda- tor strikes. The agency has launched at least 107 drone at- tacks so far this year, twice the the number in 2009, according to the LongWar Journal, aWeb site that reports on the wars in Afghani- stan and Iraq. U.S. officials said thatmore than100Haqqani fight- ers have been killed this year. Most of the strikes have been
concentrated in and around Miram Shah, including some within blocks of theHaqqanima- drassa. In 2008, there were re- ports that the structure itself had been hit, but U.S. officials in- volved in the Predator program insist thatwas not the case. Because the madrassa is at-
tended by children and also func- tions as a mosque, U.S. officials said the CIA has concluded that the risks of a direct strike are too great. Instead, the agency has fired on suspected Haqqani mili-
resilience,U.S. commanders over- hauled their approach in the east- ern provinces of Afghanistan where Haqqani fighters are con- centrated. Rather than relying on remote
forts to stop Haqqani incursions, the U.S. military is deploying more surveillance drones and he- licopter assault teams that can track fighters across jagged trails. Seeking any way they can to
detect cross-border traffic more quickly,
theU.S.military has even sent dozens of tethered balloons equipped with cameras thou- sands of feet into the sky. Most significantly,U.S. officials
said that the number of Special Forces missions targeting Haqqani fighters had increased sixfold over the past year and that the raids are taking a toll. U.S. military officials note that
there has not been a Haqqani-or- chestrated attack in Kabul in 10 months, and the Afghan parlia- mentaryelectionsearlier thisyear also passed without a large-scale strike. Even so,U.S. forces have had to
fend off at least five Haqqani as- saults onmilitary outposts in the past fivemonths, including aDec. 5 attack on Forward Operating Base Lightning inGardez.
millergreg@washpost.com
RAFIQ MAQBOOL/ASSOCIATED PRESS
HOLIDAYS INAWARZONE: Pvt.Michael Ball of Spokane,Wash., wears an elf hat as he looks out from a bunker at Combat Outpost Fortress, in Afghanistan’s eastern province ofKonar.
Afghanistan
war deaths Total number of U.S. military
deaths since 2001 and names of the U.S. troops killed recently in the Afghanistan war, as announced by the Pentagon:
1,427Fatalities 1,107
In hostile actions:
In non- hostile actions:
320
Tallies may be incomplete because of lags in reporting.
l Sgt. James A. Ayube II, 25, of Salem, Mass.
l Spec. Kelly J. Mixon, 23, of Yulee, Fla. The two soldiers were assigned to 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, based in Vilseck, Germany. They were killed Dec. 8 in Balkh province.
l Lance Cpl. Michael E. Geary, 20, of Derry, N.H.; 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Killed Dec. 8 in Helmand province.
l Staff Sgt. Stacy A. Green, 34, of Alexander City, Ala.; 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Killed Dec. 10 in Helmand province.
l Spec. Ethan L. Goncalo, 21, of Fall River, Mass.; 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment, Massachusetts Army National Guard, based in Worcester. Died Dec. 11 in Kabul of noncombat injuries.
l Cpl. Sean M. Collins, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii.
l Spec. Patrick D. Deans, 22, of Orlando.
l Cpl. Willie A. McLawhorn Jr., 23, of Conway, N.C.
l Spec. Kenneth E. Necochea Jr., 21, of San Diego.
l Spec. Derek T. Simonetta, 21, of Redwood City, Calif.
l Spec. Jorge E. Villacis, 24, of Sunrise, Fla. The six soldiers were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based at Fort Campbell, Ky. They were killed Dec. 12 in Kandahar province.
All troops were killed in action in Afghanistan unless otherwise indicated.
Total fatalities include two civilian employees of the Defense Department. They also include service members killed in other locations involved in Operation Enduring Freedom, including Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Pakistan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey; Uzbekistan; and Yemen.
A full list of casualties is available online
at6washingtonpost.com/nation
SOURCE: Defense Department’s
www.defenselink.mil/news
THE WASHINGTON POST
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