Pakistan’s powerful spy services, Inter-Services Intelligence, just got a little stronger. Prime Minister Imran Khan has given ISI a lead role in tracking people infected with coronavirus. “It (tracking system) was originally (meant to trace) terrorists but we’re using it to tackle corona,” Khan said during the live Ehsaas Telethon to raise funds to support...
Tag: ISIS
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Beyond Baghdadi: Turkey’s Discreet Relationship With ISIS
[This article first appeared in The New Republic, October 30, 2019] The elimination of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi amid the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria is exposing an enduring and underappreciated reality of the Middle East: the Islamic State has always had a special relationship with Turkish National Intelligence Office, known by its...
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Iraqi Intelligence Aided CIA in Hunt for Baghdadi
Sometimes–maybe even often times–the CIA is only as good as its allies. This detailed report from Reuters suggests that an ISIS leader turned by Iraqi intelligence was key to the U.S. raid that ended with Baghdadi’s death. The source was Ismael a-Ethawi, a PHD in Islamic Sciences, who was considered by Iraqi intelligence officials to...
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Trump’s Pressure On Iran May Spark Mideast Conflict
Israeli attacks in three Middle East countries are pushing a volatile region that is already the scene of two long-running wars, closer to a third. The lethal strikes show how the Trump administration has effectively outsourced the military component of its “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. As a result, one U.S. ally–Israel–is attacking in another...
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