US Duped by Afghan Drug Clan into Seizing Rival

[bigtree]

A "high-ranking" member of al-Qaida was seized during a recent US mission in Afghanistan which left five people dead. But the Americans were set up: The tip-off as to his location came from a drug clan who wanted to get rid of a rival.

The American forces were tricked by a drug clan into taking out a rival as part of an operation to seize an al-Qaida member. Now German soldiers are paying the price for the operation's civilian casualties.

The raid took place on March 21 in Kunduz province, where German forces are helping with security and reconstruction. A US liaison officer asked the German reconstruction team to keep the Kunduz airport clear but said nothing about the impending mission. Around half an hour later, a Hercules transport aircraft landed at the airfield, together with a whole fleet of combat and transport helicopters, which then took off for the nearby town of Imam Sahib.

There, the Americans stormed a guesthouse belonging to the local mayor, who had previously been friendly towards German forces, killing his driver, cook and bodyguard, as well as two of his guests. The US commandos also seized four people. According to the US military, one of those captured was the "target" of the operation, a "high-ranking" member of the terrorist organization al-Qaida.

However, sources in the intelligence community have told SPIEGEL that the US forces were apparently used by a drug clan to take out one of its rivals, who was reportedly one of the men who was killed or detained. The tip-off regarding the location of the al-Qaida terrorist had come from a source close to a member of the Afghan government in Kabul who is reputed to be deeply involved with the illegal drugs trade in Afghanistan . . .

read: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,616244,00.html

[tekisui]

1. What a f'in mess.

We are in quicksand over there.:-(

[BeFree]

2. Shoot

They didn't torture the guy first? Cuz, if they tortured the guy then he'd a told the truth. Instead he used the US Army as a weapon against his foe. Smart. Next time one of those bastids comes forward with info like that they need to waterboard him first.

Or it could be that a single US officer who was involved in the trade ordered the hit. But our officers would never be involved in that trade. Our soldiers are not like the Russians who were sent home badly beaten. And all the money the DoD gets is well accounted for, all except a coupla trillion.

[bigtree]

3. well, you can trust the president to sort this out

. . . except for the part where he's escalated the whole thing. It's not like we're relying on the Afghans (or the Pakistanis) to determine where we exercise our military force, except for where the president promised to 'consult' with their governments before engaging in these strikes and raids.

[BeFree]

5. They don't trust us

...these 'governments' that Obama's gonna consult with first don't trust the US. So, Obama gets them on the phone and tells them we are gonna attack one of their citizens?

I just don't see how that's gonna work.

[ima_sinnic]

4. is that "enemy combatant" now in Gitmo waiting to be charged with something?

or has he been renditioned somewhere that likes torturing "the truth" out of people?

the tragedies and injustices are just beginning in Obama's folly. YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK! WAR BEFORE HEALTH CARE!

the "change" we voted for :eyes:

[Judi Lynn]

6. K, R, and thanks. n/t