Daily brief: top Qaeda leader reportedly “killed” in drone strike in Pakistan

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Top al Qaeda leader killed?

Western news sources report that an alleged CIA drone strike in northwest Pakistan has recently killed a top al Qaeda operative, though not Osama bin Laden or his top lieutenant Ayman al Zawahiri (MSNBC, AP, CBS, ABC). It is still unclear who the leader is or when or where this strike took place; there have been several reports in regional press in the last few days of drone strikes in Ladha, South Waziristan, and earlier this week there was a reported strike in North Waziristan as well (Geo TV, Geo TV, Pajhwok, FP). The Pakistani military issued a statement yesterday saying that no strike occurred, however; it would be the first time since Pakistani military operations in South Waziristan began in mid-October that a U.S.-operated drone fired in that tribal region, if confirmed (Dawn).

And in light of speculation that U.S. drone strikes may expand to Baluchistan, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar became the first Pakistani official to admit publicly to the existence of the Quetta shura, a group of Afghan Taliban leaders based in the Baluch capital city of Quetta (Dawn). Mukhtar said that the Pakistan security forces have been taking on the Taliban in Quetta, and that the shura "no longer poses any threat."

More investigation, more confusion

The group of five Northern Virginia men arrested in Sargodha, Pakistan earlier this week reportedly came into contact via YouTube with an al Qaeda-linked Pakistani militant, who encouraged the friends to come to Pakistan for training before going to wage jihad in Afghanistan (New York Times, McClatchy). Upon arrival in Pakistan on November 30, the men allegedly tried to join a radical Islamist school in Karachi and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa group in Lahore, but were rejected from both. Pakistani officials also indicated that the group had contact with the mainly India-oriented extremist organizations Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Mohammed (Washington Post).

Police also arrested the father of one of the men, who owned the house at which the five were staying; a team of FBI investigators is currently in Pakistan questioning the men, alongside Pakistani police (Wall Street Journal,Los Angeles Times). Though the men have not been charged with a crime and were arrested before reaching their apparently intended destination, their detention has caused renewed worry over the radicalization of U.S. Muslims (Washington Post, AFP). The case has also involved a "deradicalizer," an expert at prying young recruits away from extremist groups (CNN).

The politics of election

The United Nations’ chief envoy in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, will reportedly not renew his contract when it expires in March 2010 (AP, BBC, AFP). Eide ran into controversy the August 20 Afghan presidential elections, and was accused of not being aggressive enough in pursuing allegations of election fraud.

U.S., British, and U.N. officials have expressed a desire to see Afghan parliamentary and district council elections, currently scheduled for May 2010, delayed out of concern that they will be more corrupt than the presidential contest (Telegraph, Wall Street Journal). U.S. and British commanders also reportedly fear that the need to secure an election would lead to high casualties and distract from ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the country with little tangible gain.

And as part of their increased efforts in Afghanistan, U.S. commanders are seeking to reassure wary Afghan tribal leaders that U.S. forces will remain committed to protecting Afghan civilians and leaders who have cooperated with American forces against the Taliban (AFP).

Back in Blackwater

In today’s must-read, James Risen and Mark Mazzetti describe the involvement of the contracting firm formerly known as Blackwater, now Xe services, in CIA missions in Iraq and Afghanistan (New York Times). Originally brought on to provide security for CIA agents in Afghanistan in early 2002, Blackwater contractors reportedly "began accompanying C.I.A. case officers on missions" as their roles changed in the country (Washington Post, AP).

Moving the machines of war

The first group of U.S. soldiers to receive their orders for deployment to Afghanistan, a battalion of U.S. Marines, are expected to reach southern Afghanistan next week, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Mike Mullen (AP). Combat engineers are working overtime to prepare the logistics for the rapid troop increase, made difficult by the lack of military or other infrastructure in Afghanistan and the country’s isolated location and mountainous topography (AFP).

As part of the effort to secure funding for the troop deployment, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify next week before a joint hearing of two House of Representatives appropriations subcommittees that control Pentagon and State Department spending, respectively (Reuters). While Congress is not expected to refuse money for the deployment, any supplemental funding could come with caveats placing firmer timelines on troop withdrawals.

Cricket diplomacy

Four Pakistani cricket players have finally received visas to play in the third edition of the Indian Premier League, after initially being told they had missed the deadline for application (Daily Times). 11 cricketers played in the first Indian Premier League edition in 2008, but Pakistan did not allow their players to go to India for the second earlier this year because of tensions between Islamabad and Delhi.

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Editor’s note: today’s AfPak Channel Daily Brief was prepared by Andrew Lebovich, a research associate at the New America Foundation, and Katherine Tiedemann.