October 27, 2001

U.S. refused executed Afghan rebel's call for air strikes

By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES

American military forces turned down requests from Afghan opposition leader Abdul Haq for air-strike support against Taliban militia, which then captured and executed him, U.S. government officials said yesterday.

The U.S. Central Command told Mr. Haq, a veteran fighter against the occupying Soviet army during the 1980s, that it could not provide air cover for him inside Afghanistan near Jalalabad because of worries about injuring civilians in any bombing strikes against pursuing Taliban forces, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The command, which is in charge of military operations in Afghanistan, told representatives of Mr. Haq it would intervene to support the anti-Taliban leader only if he was being chased by armored vehicles, the officials said.

The Taliban forces that captured him Thursday in an area between Jalalabad and Kabul traveled by non-armored vehicles, the officials said.

He was reportedly executed yesterday after a short trial in Kabul, according to news reports from the region.

The Pentagon's deputy director of operations, Rear Adm. John Stufflebeem, told reporters yesterday that he had no information on any U.S. forces knowing about or aiding Mr. Haq.

"I have no reports that the Central Command in any way was aware of this, much less responded to it," Adm. Stufflebeem said.

A spokesman for the Central Command near Tampa, Fla., also said he had no information about the incident.

Adm. Stufflebeem also said he had no information about a news report from Kabul that a U.S. helicopter was in the area when Mr. Haq was captured.

According to other U.S. officials, Mr. Haq entered Afghanistan from Pakistan on Sunday and traveled to Jalalabad.

Lightly armed and traveling with only a few security guards, Mr. Haq had asked through intermediaries in the United States for the American military to conduct air strikes on roads between the town of Isaroq and Jalalabad. The requests were turned down.

Later he fled on horseback and was encircled and later captured near the town of Sorodi, the officials said.

Officials said he was working to create a southern front against the Taliban by rallying local tribesmen against the extremist Taliban regime.

Mr. Haq also was trying to prompt defections among the Taliban militia.

He may have run afoul of Pakistan's ISI intelligence service, which is said to be close to the Taliban and wary of any opposition forces that might create instability along Pakistan's northern border with Afghanistan.

Mr. Haq was a member of the majority Pashtun tribe and officials said it was hoped he would play a role in a future post-Taliban government.

By contrast most of the Northern Alliance anti-Taliban forces are Uzbeks and Taijiks, ethnic minorities in Afghanistan.

One U.S. official said Mr. Haq was not a major opposition figure and that his loss was not a setback.

Another official also questioned the utility of the U.S. government backing Mr. Haq since he recently urged Taliban leaders not to defect and said he would negotiate an end to U.S. bombing raids. "That had a real negative impact on our operations," this official said. Mr. Haq is the second Afghan opposition leader killed in the past two months.

Last month, suicide bombers posing as a television news crew killed Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Masood as he prepared for an interview.

Adm. Stufflebeem said he did not know what effect Mr. Haq's death would have on U.S. efforts to oust the Taliban militia from power.

He said U.S. military forces bombed several terrorist training camps and caves during raids on Thursday, and also fired several cruise missiles.

Britain's government, meanwhile, announced yesterday that it is sending 600 special-operations commandos to Afghanistan.

The commandos will target Taliban supplies, military positions and key officials as well as Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network.

-- Anonymous, October 27, 2001

Answers

Opposition Leader's Death a Blow to U.S. Strategy

2300 GMT, 011026

Summary

A prominent Afghan fighter who opposed the Taliban has been killed, apparently, while attempting to encourage defection and revolt among Afghan Pushtuns. The death of Abdul Haq demonstrates the difficulties in Washington's strategy of whittling down support for the Taliban, and it will discourage further Taliban defections.

Analysis

Taliban fighters captured and killed opposition figure Abdul Haq on Oct. 26. Haq, an ethnic Pushtun, reportedly infiltrated Afghanistan from Pakistan several days earlier in an effort to encourage other Pushtun leaders to desert the Taliban. Haq was a key player in the U.S. strategy of eroding support for the Taliban regime among ethnic Pushtuns. Although details of his capture and death remain unclear, his reported execution will set back efforts to encourage further Taliban defections.

This turn of events bodes ill for U.S. efforts to build an anti-Taliban coalition inside Afghanistan, which -- along with maintaining external support for its military activities -- is key to winning the war.

Related Analysis:

Success Against Taliban Hinges on Pakistan - 25 October 2001

Kashmir: Islamabad's Distraction Threatens U.S. Forces - 24 October 2001

Afghan War Will Shape Future U.S. Military Structure - October 23, 2001

Haq was a hero of the Afghan-Soviet war in the 1980s, when he commanded forces fighting the Red Army in and around Kabul. After the collapse of a Moscow-backed Aghan government in 1992, Haq became security minister in an interim mujahideen government, but he quit politics and moved to the United Arab Emirates when civil war broke out later that year. He relocated to Peshawar, Pakistan, in 1999, when the Pakistani government began attempting to rein in the hard-line Taliban regime. In recent weeks, he has worked to build support for a post-Taliban government involving exiled King Mohammed Zahir Shah.

The circumstances of Haq's death remain sketchy. The Daily Telegraph reported Haq crossed into eastern Afghanistan close to the city of Jalalabad on Oct. 21 with 100 armed men -- enough for personal protection but not for significant military operations. Haq apparently intended to encourage revolt and defection from the Taliban among eastern Pushtun tribes

Taliban spokesmen say that on Oct. 24 or 25, Haq's forces were detected, surrounded and attacked. Haq was captured as he attempted to escape the area and was then executed.

The Taliban's Bakhtar news agency said Haq was traveling with several Americans and that U.S. helicopters and jets bombed Taliban positions in attempts to aid an escape. This is possible -- and if true, would decrease the already low perception of U.S. abilities in Afghanistan, as trying and failing to extricate an operative is more embarrassing than not even trying.

Two things, however, are clear. First, U.S. intelligence operations have serious shortcomings in Afghanistan. Second, Haq's death will hinder further efforts to slash away Taliban support.

Whether Haq had specific support and mission planning from Washington is irrelevant. He was likely a key cog in Washington's strategy of encouraging defections from the Taliban. Haq and tribal chief Hamid Karzai were the two major Pushtun leaders Washington hoped could encourage defections and revolt. Karzai left Pakistan last week to work with Pushtuns near Kandahar, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Haq's secret entry into Afghanistan may have been compromised in several ways. He may have been betrayed by sources within Pakistan, specifically at his base of operations in Peshawar. Or one of the Pushtun tribesmen he visited in Afghanistan may have attacked him or alerted other Taliban fighters. In either case, inability to successfully sneak operatives into Afghanistan will handicap U.S. efforts.

Haq's death is a body blow to U.S. attempts to destabilize the Taliban. Washington has lost a key asset, other Pushtun organizers likely will be less willing to operate in Afghanistan and wavering tribal leaders will be less willing to defect. Further, any operatives -- like Karzai -- who are already in Afghanistan will likely have to keep their heads down and restrict their activities.

-- Anonymous, October 27, 2001