Showing posts with label NDS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NDS. Show all posts

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Breakaway Taliban Faction Aided by NDS


A breakaway Taliban faction is being helped by the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS). The NDS is Afghanistan's version of the U.S. FBI and CIA combined. The faction supported by the NDS and the main stream Taliban have recently clashed causing casualties on both sides. Infighting among Taliban factions is not a new occurrence; however, the NDS provided support to a Taliban faction is not a commonplace event. In recent days the NDS has been supporting the 'Renouncers' - with weapons, safe passage, intelligence support, and medical support. This seems to happen most in Helmand province which the Afghan government has great difficulty in controlling. Read more in a news report entitled "Afghan Government Quietly Aids Breakaway Taliban Faction", The New York Times, June 19, 2017.


Sunday, January 3, 2016

Intelligence News

Logo of the NDS
An examination of the story behind the resignation in early December 2015 of the chief of the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) will point to the discord found within the National Unity Government (NUG) and the divide between those who favor increased dialogue and reconciliation (some call it appeasement) with the Pakistan government and those who accuse Pakistan as the source of all problems with the insurgency (which, of course, they are!). The NDS chief resigned at the same time that President Ghani was in Islamabad attempting to reopen the dialogue with Pakistan and re-start the postponed peace talks that would resolve the conflict with the Taliban. Thomas Ruttig of the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) provides this analysis for us in Political Cleavages over Pakistan: The NDS chief's farewell, December 23, 2015.

CIA and Tora Bora 2001. Gary Berntsen, the CIA head of operations for eastern Afghanistan in 2001, recounts the battle of Tora Bora, missed opportunities, and inability of DoD to react to quick-changing situations. Read "Remembering the battle of Tora Bora in 2001", PRI, December 22, 2015.

CIA's Top Stories of 2015. The Central Intelligence Agency has listed its top stories for the past year. Jedburghs, Area 51, Saigon, William F. Buckley, research tools, and more.

Task Force Longhorn. A short article published on Army.mil tells us about the success that the members of the 303rd Military Intelligence Battalion, 504th Military Intelligence Brigade has been having since they deployed to Afghanistan in September 2015. The Fort Hood Soldiers report to Task Force ODIN - a theater-wide military intelligence team supporting U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan. The task force's multi-functional teams or MFTs help facilitate actionable intelligence at the lowest echelon. The MFTs are comprised of human intelligence, signal intelligence, and analysts that provide a multi-disciplined approach to intelligence exploitation. Read more in "Task force already successful in Afghanistan intel mission", www.army.mil, December 15, 2015.

Got a TS Clearance? The Chinese are the only ones that have you on a database. Doyle Quiggle gives us something to think about in "The Cognitive Delusions of a Top Secret Clearance", Small Wars Journal, December 26, 2015.

Russia & Taliban Sharing Info? A CNN report says that the Taliban and Russia are sharing intelligence about the Islamic State. Russia is worried about jihadists based in Russia's Caucasus region and former Soviet republics going off to fight in Syria . . . and then returning. The article explains the many reasons that (if true) Russia would cooperate with the Taliban. (CNN, Dec 25, 2015).

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Intelligence News

Afghan Intelligence Chief Resigns. The chief of the Afghan spy agency - National Directorate of Security or NDS - has resigned amid policy differences with President Ghani. Rahmatullah Nabil submitted his resignation on Thursday, December 10, 2015. Nabil's deputy -Massoud Andrabi - has been appointed as acting chief. One constant source of friction between the NDS chief and President Ghani is the approach to Pakistan. Afghanistan's neighbor has been supporting the various insurgent groups for years - in the belief that an unstable Afghanistan is much better for Pakistan than a strong country that could possibly ally with India and/or make demands on the disposition of the Durand Line. Mr. Nabil has been heading the NDS for about five years. See "Afghanistan intelligence chief resigns amid row", BBC News, December 10, 2015. Read also "Afghan Spy Chief Quits After Denouncing Talks With Pakistan", The New York Times, December 10, 2015. See also a report from Khaama Press, Dec 11, 2015.

Problems with Drones. Thomas Ricks writes about "5 big problems with the drone programs" in Foreign Policy, December 10, 2015.

LTG (Ret) Flynn to Write Book. A high-ranking U.S. Army intelligence officer, Michael T. Flynn, will soon be writing a book on how to win the global war against radical Islam. Flynn served as the intelligence officer for the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), as the G2 for ISAF in Afghanistan, and is the a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. He is at odds with the Obama administration in their handling the fight against Islamic terrorism and the conflicts in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. Read "Michael T. Flynn Inks Deal With St. Martin's Press", GalleyCat, December 9, 2015.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Afghan Spy Chief Explains Problems

The head of the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) says that with the departure of Coalition forces there is now a vacuum in the intelligence-gathering field. In testimony before the lower house of the Afghan parliament the NDS chief says that loss of intelligence is a result of inadequate manpower and a lack of technology. The drones, SIGINT, surveillance balloons, HUMINT networks, and intel fusion capability that the Coalition had when there were 150,000 ISAF troops spread across the country is now gone. Read more in "Afghan spy chief laments intelligence vacuum as foreign troops leave", Reuters, December 17, 2014.

Monday, October 20, 2014

More on the Detained Haqqani Network Leaders

There are new developments on the detention of the senior Haqqani Network leaders by the National Directorate of Security (NDS). Originally it was reported by the NDS that they were detained in Khost province; however, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the detention took place in a Persian Gulf nation and they were then flown to Afghanistan. It would appear that the support the Haqqani Network has received in the past by Gulf nations may be eroding ever so slightly. Read more in "Haqqani Leaders Detained in Persian Gulf not Inside Afghanistan", The Wall Street Journal, October 19, 2014.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

NDS Arrest two Haqqani Leaders

The Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) has arrested two senior leaders of the Haqqani Network in eastern Khost province. This, if true, is likely a major blow to the Pakistan-based militant group. The Haqqani Group receives support, protection sanctuary, and operational assistance from the Pakistan intelligence service. Read more in "2 Haqqani leaders arrested by Afghan intelligence", Stars and Stripes, October 16, 2014.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Torture in Afghanistan

A writer from the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), Kate Clark, has posted a passage on torture in some of Afghanistan's detention centers. Read "The Trouble with Torture: NDS, Special Forces and the CIA", AAN, March 29, 2012.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Torture in Afghan Prisons? The National Directorate of Security (NDS) Says No!

There are constant allegations of torture and inhuman practices taking place in the prisons and detention centers run by the Afghan Ministry of Interior (MoI). These allegations are rejected by the Afghan intelligence service - The National Directorate of Security (NDS). Read more in "Afghan intel service: No torture at our prisons", Boston Globe, March 20, 2012.