Making Deals in the Dark

Ahmed Walid Karzai is a perfect example. He's a known figure in the narco world in Afghanistan and is the brother of the President Karzai, who himself is accused of being corrupt. Walid is reportedly on the payroll of the CIA. Why is the CIA involved in this? The Agency as I understand it operates in the shadows. As you well know a lot of bad things happen in the shadows, so it's a good thing they're there. But a U.S. official tells me some really good things happen in the dark too.

Often intelligence operatives learn about America's enemies from people we'd never suspect and they (the informants) are precluded from admitting they are informing. So to those of us who only know half of the story, sometimes the picture is a little suspicious, but another U.S. official said, "on the dark side of the intelligence world, we are not inclined to break our promises because of aspersions that have cast on the charater of some of the people we deal with."

That official is very clearly stating that once you start breaking your word in the intelligence world, you're worthless.

The stakes are pretty high right now for the U.S. The 9-11 attacks on the U.S. were the deadliest since the war of 1812. They were planned and generated in Afghanistan, with the help of elements in Pakistan. The Taliban and Al Qaida reside there and almost any CIA officer you talk to will probably tell you just high big a priority it is to take those organizations down. The only way to do it is from the inside says more than one expert. Drones alone won't do it. But infiltrating them can.

Iraq is a different matter. It was a war that was started based on faulty intelligence, but once you're in it, you're in it and America is still in that one.

According to the statistics from the National Counter Terrorism Center 6,298 have been killed worldwide in terrorist attacks this year. 13,267 have been wounded and 954 were taken hostage. Just since October 9th, 458 people have been killed and 1019 injured in Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran.

And a U.S. source says until the organizations behind the attacks are neutralized through shadowy deal making, diplomacy, and drones the toll will continue to grow. And we may see more arrests here in the states --if we're lucky.