The Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence Agency News Bias
The Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence Agency News Bias
By Jon Gold
12/27/2007
Today, sadly, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. The list of suspects is a long one, but for the purposes of this article, I'm going to focus on one. The Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agency or, more commonly known within the 9/11 Truth Movement as, the ISI.
There have been all kinds of reports that say they may have had a hand in it.
Guardian reported: "After the October assassination attempt, Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who is in Dubai where the couple had been living in exile, accused members of the Pakistani security services, the ISI. "I blame government for these blasts," he said. "It is the work of the intelligence agencies."
Elements of the ISI sympathise with the Taliban and it was a possibility that "rogue elements" in the intelligence services were involved in the two attacks. The ISI became one of Pakistan's most powerful institutions under General Zia-ul-Haq, the man who launched an Islamisation campaign and who overthrew Bhutto's father and had him hung. After Gen Zia's death in a mysterious plane crash in 1988, the ISI actively campaigned against Bhutto when she entered politics."
The London Times reported: "But fingers will also be pointed at Inter-Services Intelligence, the agency that has had close ties to the Islamists since the 1970s and has been used by successive Pakistani leaders to suppress political opposition. [...] She accused Pakistani authorities of not providing her with sufficient security and hinted that they may have been complicit in the bomb attack. Asif Ali Zardari, her husband, directly accused the ISI of being involved in that attempt on her life. [...]
Analysts say that President Musharraf himself is unlikely to have ordered her assassination, but that elements of the army and intelligence service would have stood to lose money and power if she had become Prime Minister."
The Washington Post reported: "Even before the official search got underway in Pakistan, U.S. intelligence agencies yesterday were drawing up their own list of possible suspects in the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto -- a list that includes al-Qaeda as well as elements of Pakistan's own intelligence service. [...] But several officials said it is equally plausible that the assassination was carried out with the support -- or at least the tacit approval -- of Pakistani government employees. [...] Although Zinni is skeptical of the notion that Pakistani intelligence backed the assassination, other experts saw the hand of Pakistan's military intelligence arm, the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, which supported the Taliban inside Afghanistan until the U.S. invasion in 2001, and is believed to maintain links to Islamic extremist groups. [...] "I know what many people in Pakistan and Afghanistan believe: They think that the Pakistani military killed her," he said. "I am not endorsing this belief -- or denying it -- but it is a political reality."
Honestly, I don't know if the ISI was involved. The WPost reported, "At the same time, the official said, the rioting and unrest triggered by the slaying threaten the country's stability in a way that directly undermines the government of Musharraf, who had been her chief political rival."
However, Benazir Bhutto has not been a friend to the ISI. Just in the last week, she accused "Pakistan's Military Intelligence" (which I assume is the ISI) of spying on candidates for the election. I'd say they are definitely suspects for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
It is curious though that the ISI's possible involvement in this assassination is getting so much news coverage, and the ISI's possible involvement in the 9/11 attacks got so very little. At least in the United States.
When it was reported that Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh wire transferred $100,000 to Mohammad Atta under the direction of the ISI Chief Lt. General Mahmood Ahmed, the media barely covered it.
When it was reported that Lt. General Mahmood Ahmed "lost his job because of the "evidence" India produced to show his links to one of the suicide bombers that wrecked the World Trade Centre", the media barely covered it.
When it was reported that "a juicy direct connection was also established between Mahmoud and Republican Congressman Porter Gross and Democratic Senator Bob Graham" the media barely covered it.
When it was reported that during the week of 9/11, Lt. General Mahmood Ahmed "held long parleys with unspecified officials at the White House and the Pentagon. But the most important meeting was with Marc Grossman, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs" the media barely covered it.
When Dep. FBI Dir. John S. Pistole testified before the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs that "a continuing investigation, in coordination with the PENTTBOMB Team, has traced the origin of the funding of 9/11 back to financial accounts in Pakistan, where high-ranking and well-known Al Qa'ida operatives played a major role in moving the money forward, eventually into the hands of the hijackers located in the U.S." the media barely covered it.
When an FO official, Sadiq, reported that “Pakistan gave tens of thousands of dollars through its lobbyists in the United States to members of the 9/11 inquiry commission to ‘convince’ them to drop some anti-Pakistan findings in the report" the media barely covered it.
When President Musharraf wrote in his book that Omar Sheikh may have been an MI6 asset, the media barely covered it.
When the Washington Times reported that 9/11 Family Member Lorie Van Auken was "irate" that the June 16 commission narrative of the 9/11 attacks did not even mention the allegation about Ahmed's role in the $100,000 transfer to Mohammed Atta", the media barely covered it.
When 9/11 Family Member Bill Doyle reported to Alex Jones that a source told him part of the 28 pages of the Joint Congressional Inquiry talked about the U.S. funneling money into Pakistan, the media barely covered it.
When Mariane Pearl, wife of slain Wall Street Journal Reporter Daniel Pearl, wrote in her book, "A Mighty Heart" that "I read that the U.S. embassy in Islamabad asked the Pakistani government to hand over Omar on January 21–two days before Danny was kidnapped. The reason given for the U.S. request was that the 1994 kidnapping included an American citizen. But it seems clear to me that the U.S. authorities wanted to follow up on a much more disturbing trail. I read a news report from October that claimed the FBI had found “credible links” between Omar Saeed Sheikh and then director of the ISI Lieutenant General Mahmood Ahmed. It was alleged that it was Ahmed who instructed Omar to wire the $100,000 to Mohammad Atta" the media barely covered it.
When it was reported that Osama Bin Laden had a Pakistani ISI "Handling Officer", a person who looks after the welfare of the source, keeps him motivated and uses him as needed" the media barely covered it.
When it was reported that “A Pakistani tribal militant group responsible for a series of deadly guerrilla raids inside Iran has been secretly encouraged and advised by American officials since 2005.” […] “Pakistani government sources say the secret campaign against Iran by Jundullah was on the agenda when Vice President Dick Cheney met with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in February”, and that "Pakistan policy is essentially being run from Cheney's office" the media barely covered it.
I understand that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is devastating news, and that it will probably create a lot of problems for Pakistan, however, I also understand that the murder of 2,973+ people on 9/11 was ALSO devastating news, and created A LOT of problems for America and the rest of the world.
What I don't understand is why the media has a bias against reporting on the Pakistani ISI's alleged role in the 9/11 attacks. Media, maybe you can explain this to us.
Pakistan government offers new explanation for Bhutto death
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapc...day/index.html
Pakistan: Fractured skull killed Bhutto
- Story Highlights
- Benazir Bhutto died after hitting head on car's sunroof, Pakistan government says
- Former prime minister earlier said to have died from bomb shrapnel or bullets
- NEW: Pakistan People's Party official says government explanations are "pack of lies"
- U.S. official names Taliban leader as suspected plotter
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Benazir Bhutto died from a fractured skull caused by hitting her head on part of her car's sunroof as a bomb ripped through a crowd of her supporters, a spokesman for Pakistan's Interior Ministry said Friday.
"When she was thrown by the force of the shockwave of the explosion, unfortunately one of the levers of the sunroof hit her," said spokesman Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema.
The explanation is the latest from the Interior Ministry. It initially said Bhutto was killed by shots fired by the bomber, and then, via the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan, it said the cause of death was a shrapnel injury.
But Farzana Raja of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party told CNN the government's explanation is "a pack of lies," she told CNN. Raja also accused the government of a "total security lapse."
At a news conference, Cheema showed images of Bhutto in a car, standing up through an open sunroof, looking out at the crowd as she was about to be driven away.
When the gunshots rang out and the explosion occurred, Bhutto "fell down or perhaps ducked" and apparently hit her head on a lever, Cheema said, adding that the lever was stained with blood. http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/...tabs/video.gifWatch the shots, then a blast »
The blast killed at least 28 more people and at least 100 were wounded.
The Interior Ministry also revealed Friday that it had proof showing that al Qaeda was behind Bhutto's assassination.
Cheema said the government had an intelligence intercept in which an al Qaeda militant "congratulated his people for carrying out this cowardly act."
However, that claim has not appeared on radical Islamist Web sites that regularly post such messages from al Qaeda and other militant groups.
The Interior Ministry told Pakistan's GEO-TV that the suicide bomber belonged to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi -- an al Qaeda-linked Sunni Muslim militant group that the government has blamed for hundreds of killings.
U.S. officials believe that a Taliban leader, Baitullah Mahsud, may be the person behind the assassination.
Bhutto was laid to rest in a chaotic funeral at her ancestral home of Garhi-Khuda Baksh on Friday after violent scenes erupted across Pakistan following her death a day earlier. http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/...tabs/video.gifWatch video from Bhutto's funeral procession »
Hundreds of thousands of people in the surrounding streets almost brought the procession to a standstill before it finally reached the Bhutto family's mausoleum.
The throngs of her grieving supporters crushed up against the flag-draped coffin, while minor scuffles also broke out. http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/...abs/photos.gifSee images of Pakistan mourning Bhutto. »
Violence erupted in Pakistan in the hours before Bhutto's funeral started, with at least nine people reported killed and banks, train stations and cars torched.
Bhutto's body arrived in the hours before dawn at Garhi-Khuda Baksh after a long journey by plane, helicopter and ambulance.
The opposition leader's family -- her husband Asif Ali Zardari and three children -- accompanied the body aboard a Pakistani Air Force C-130 transport plane to Sukkor but traveled by bus from there to Larkana and on to Garhi-Khuda Baksh.
Another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, told CNN on Friday that he had planned to attend Bhutto's funeral, but was advised not to by Zardari, who cited security concerns.
The prime minister's office has launched a judicial inquiry and the Ministry of the Interior is setting up a police inquiry, according to Information Minister Nisar Memon.
Memon said no decision had been made to postpone parliamentary elections scheduled for January 8.
Bhutto, who was campaigning for the elections, had completed an election rally and was leaving the rally site, Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh Park, at the time of the attack. http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/...tabs/video.gifWhat impact could Bhutto have had in Pakistan? »
Her father and former prime minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was hanged in the same northern city in 1979.
As a shocked Pakistan absorbed the news of Bhutto's death, authorities called for calm and asked residents to stay inside.
In Sindh province, where Karachi is located, police said demonstrators had burned a dozen banks, set two train stations on fire, along with three trains. Since Thursday, 240 vehicles have been burned.
Because of the violence, paramilitary forces in Sindh were told to "shoot on sight" anyone causing civil disturbances, a spokesman for the Pakistan Rangers said.
But by Friday morning, Pakistani media reported an uneasy calm had spread across the shaken country, now marking a three-day period of mourning declared by President Pervez Musharraf.
Bhutto led Pakistan from 1988-1990 and 1993-96, but both times the sitting president dismissed her amid corruption allegations. She was the first female prime minister of any Islamic nation.
A terror attack targeting her motorcade in Karachi in October killed 136 people on the day she returned to Pakistan after eight years of self-imposed exile.
Bhutto had been critical of what she believed was a lack of effort by President Musharraf's government to protect her. http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/.element/img/...nteractive.gifView timeline »