US presses Karzai for arrest of former governor
H1 sends us a link to the report that US investigators are trying to get the Afghan government to arrest a former governor, Ghulam Qawis Abu Bakr, whom they suspect of plotting the deaths of an American lieutenant colonel and his female aide according to the Wall Street Journal.
Details of U.S. findings about Mr. Abu Bakr haven’t been previously disclosed. U.S. investigators allege Mr. Abu Bakr ordered the May 2009 suicide bombing that killed Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Stratton, 39 years old, and Senior Airman Ashton Goodman, a 21-year-old servicewoman working with him, according to a summary of the investigation, shown to The Wall Street Journal by the investigators.
The report also alleges that Mr. Abu Bakr plotted to kill U.S., French and British ambassadors that November, and that he was involved in acts of extortion and corruption.
Mr. Abu Bakr denies the allegations and doesn’t wish to speak to the media, said his son-in-law, Mohammed Iqbal Safi, a member of Afghanistan’s parliament. Mr. Safi said rival government officials were trying to frame his father-in-law, and have “poisoned the Americans’ minds.”
Karzai has declared the case closed and without merit.
“Abu Bakr is being protected because he is connected with the political parties that represent power—in this case, Hezb-i-Islami,” says Jean d’Amécourt, the former ambassador of France, which oversees security in Kapisa.
Sounds like a job for SEALs or Delta. If Obama is as brave as Joe Biden says he is, it looks like it’s time for the US to use extra-political solutions if they honestly believe the guy killed at least two Americans. Not holding my breath, though.
Category: Terror War
Normally I’d be somewhat hesitant because Afghans have a history of feeding us bad intel or in someway manipulating us, to eliminate their rivals. That said, when the US government is united and has backing of others(like France) that is far more credible, especially against one individual.
Being a member of Hezb-i-Islami, though being founded by Hekmatyar, is not in itself worrisome. The party long broke in two. One faction though islamist is political and it’s members sit in the Afghan Parliament and serve in Karzai’s Administration. The other faction is the militant wing who serve Hekmatyar and are rooted in the East and presently are based in Pakistan. They, like the Haqqani Network, are one of the most effective fighting forces and have had alot to do with the fighting in Kunar and Nuristan. The question is which one does he swear primary fealty to?
From the article “Mr. Abu Bakr has met regularly with senior Hezb-i-Islami insurgent commanders in Kapisa, providing them with weapons, police vehicles and lists of people cooperating with coalition troops, according to investigators.” well that seals it. As a side note Kapisa is where the French have been stationed and they have had their own share incidents over the years there. Now we have at least a partial answer as to why.
To add to Cedo’s post above: parts of Kapisa province are only 5-10 miles NE of Bagram. So it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that this guy may also have been responsible for tipping Heykmatyr’s forces to pending US operations near Bagram also, or those which might involve transit through Kapisa province.