Intelligence reports offer dim views of Afghan war: report

[Elmore Furth]

Source: Reuters

Two new classified intelligence reports on the war in Afghanistan say there is a limited chance of success unless Pakistan hunts down insurgents operating from havens on its Afghan border, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The National Intelligence Estimates offer a more negative assessment than a review of the U.S. war strategy that the Obama administration is set to unveil on Thursday.

The intelligence reports -- one on Afghanistan and one on Pakistan -- say that although there has been progress in the war, Pakistan's unwillingness to shut down militant sanctuaries in its lawless tribal region remains a serious obstacle, The New York Times reported.

The Times said the findings of the intelligence community were provided to some members of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees last week and were described by a number of U.S. officials who read the executive summaries.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BE0UZ20101215

[Citizen Worker]

1. Will the person or persons responsible for releasing these classified National Intelligence Estimate

be pursued as vigorously as Julian Assange? Any bets?

[Roy Rolling]

2. Intel Reports Reveal Grim Afghan War Outlook

Source: CBS News

President Barack Obama's Afghanistan war plans took two major hits this week: First, his longtime adviser and chief diplomat in the region, Richard Holbrooke, passed away unexpectedly. Now, two classified intelligence reports, one each on Afghanistan and Pakistan and intended for congressional committees, had their contents leaked to The New York Times and their findings are not good.


The reports, called National Intelligence Estimates, represent the consensus view of 16 domestic intelligence agencies without military input, the Times reports. Members of the House and Senate committees who read the reports described them to the Times.


The NIEs claim there is limited chance of success in Afghanistan unless Pakistan hunts down insurgents operating with seeming impunity from safe havens along their porous border, something the government in Islamabad has been dragging its feet on for years.


Military officials took immediate steps to downgrade the NIEs findings, the Times reports. Military intelligence commanders have traditionally been somewhat hostile to their domestic counterparts, even as they work together closely in the Afghan theater, referring to them as armchair quarterbacks who never spend time in the field.


Regardless, many military commanders could not tell the Times the findings in the NIE were inaccurate.



Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20025700-503543.html

---

Wow, that's a surprise. The "what, me worry?" approach to fighting two wars at once is not working. :sarcasm:

[HereSince1628]

3. From what 16 Domestic Intelligence Agencies?

Here is the list of intelligence agencies of the United States given on Wikipedia (hey, it's a start).

When you subtract defense related agencies, there are not 16 left on the list. I know that Intelligence Agencies are secretive, but anyone know which ones are missing from the list?



United States
Main article: United States Intelligence Community

* Office of the Director of National Intelligence
* Independent Agencies
o Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

* United States Department of Defense
o Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency (AF ISR) AIA
o U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations
o Army CID (CID)
o Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
o Marine Corps Intelligence Activity <3>
o Military Intelligence Corps (United States Army) <4>
o National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
o National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
o National Security Agency (NSA)
o Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)
o Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI)

* United States Department of Energy
o Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence

* United States Department of Homeland Security
o United States Secret Service
o Coast Guard Intelligence <5>
o Office of Intelligence and Analysis
o Coast Guard Investigative Service

* United States Department of Justice
o Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Directorate of Intelligence
o Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of National Security Intelligence (DEA)

* United States Department of State
o Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR)

* United States Department of the Treasury
o Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence

[somone]

4. The outlook is grim for Karzai & Co.

which is why they'll be leaving soon - for a secure and luxurious life in the West. They know what'll happen to them when the Taliban shows up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai was the fourth and last President of the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan... When the Taliban were about to enter Kabul Ahmad Shah Massoud offered Najibullah twice to flee Kabul. Najibullah refused believing the Taliban would spare his life. General Tokhi, who was with Dr. Najibullah until the day before his torture and murder, wrote that when three people came to both Dr. Najibullah and General Tokhi and asked them to come with them to flee Kabul, they rejected the offer after losing their trust in Ahmad Shah Massoud who knowingly fired rockets at the UN compound where Najibullah and Tokhi had taken refuge. This proved to be a fatal mistake. Tokhi was with Najibullah at the UN compound when he was taken away by the Taliban, beaten and brutally murdered. His blood-soaked body was hung in public in Aryana Square in Kabul, Afghanistan on September 27, 1996. His brother Shahpur Ahmadzai was also with him throughout this whole ordeal at the UN compound and was eventually executed along with him.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. No one could have foreseen...

:argh: