Guantanamo Bay: Sharbat the shepherd

Excerpts from this assessment file

May 27, 2003
Khairo, Afghanistan

The detainee and his family herd goats for a living and pay to use the property of others for grazing.

Detainee did not receive any military or extremist training. Detainee and his family are nomadic and follow opportunities to find the best grazing grounds. Detainee was harvesting grain for seven days and was away from his home that entire time. He returned from harvesting grain and went to visit his neighbor for some tea before going home. Shortly after this, he was captured.

Detainee was arrested because he was suspected of aiding his brother, Qader, in an IED attack against an Operation Detachment Alpha (ODA) 332 patrol. Qader was captured by AMF about 500 meters from the IED detonation site as he was running away.

The detainee has consistently denied he aided his brother or had any involvement in the attack. To date, there is no information associating detainee with this attack.

Detainee has not altered his story or provided any further information associated with the IED attack in 25 interviews conducted in Bagram, AF, and JTF-GTMO.

Detainee was interviewed 19 times in Bagram without any intelligence gained and consistently maintained his original story that he was not involved in the IED attack aimed at Coalition Forces. The detainee was recommended for release bv three interrogation teams while at Bagram.

Detainee has been interviewed six times since his arrival at JTF-GTMO with no further information or intelligence gained of the detainee and suspected IED associated activity. He has been described as both deceptive and non-deceptive during these interviews. The detainee has not provided any information about the IED attack but only provides information about his shepherding activities.

During an interview at JTF-GTMO on 13 June 2004, the interpreter stated the detainee, “uses tribal dialect and appears to be very uneducated.” Detainee went on to explain in detail how he shepherded. Explaining that he had 300 goats, five sheep, eight camels and two baby camels and how he migrated to other various areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan for grazing purposes. He also explained how he and his brothers shared and lived in tents as they moved. (Analyst note: This detainee’s knowledge of herding animals, which he readily talks about, and his inability to discuss simple military and political concepts tend to support the detainee’s contention that he indeed is just a simple shepherd.)

Detainee was also interviewed by a Federal Law Enforcement Agency with the following comment: “There is little capturing unit information about related incident available at this time. Subject is cooperative but it does not appear that he is being 100% truthful. I believe that the subject is afraid that by giving names he will be found guilty of something. However it is not likely that further interview or interrogation will produce any further information relevant to Law Enforcement Activities. For Law Enforcement purposes, I do not believe this subject should be transferred to GTMO.”

EC Status: Detainee’s enemy combatant status was reassessed on 13 December 2004, and he remains an enemy combatant.

–

Sharbat was transferred to Afghanistan on February 8, 2006.

Links of the week

I don’t care if its the middle of the week. All my diction is dripping with disdain today anyway.

First up, check out the sister and Sepoy’s brilliant summary of the FIA Red Book.  Why hasn’t this book been nominated for the Commonwealth Writers Prize, hainjee?

The strangest music video I have seen in a very, very long time.

The greatest film of all time (/end sarcasm) is sparking a strange political wave in Bahrain. (Via Fahad)

Screw nuclear weapons. Pakistan has a FACE READER on its side.

From Qifa Nabki: the iPhone app store comes to Lebanon.

And now, a special mention for the New York Times, which has a truly ridiculous article about sidewalks and benches in Amman. I kid you not. The streets in question are Wakalat Street (an ode to consumerism, if there was ever one) and Rainbow Street (where Brangelina bought ice cream) and marvels at how ‘benches’ seem to have changed this city.

It also features a quote that I personally found quite hilarious:

If you’re a girl and you’re just hanging out on a regular street or sitting on a sidewalk, it’s considered inappropriate,” said Reem al-Hambali, 20, as she sat in the bright winter sun along the first pedestrian plaza built here. “Everyone will look at you and ask, ‘Why is this girl sitting there?’ But here it’s O.K. We can sit here and it’s normal.

What Amman is this?! Its definitely not the Amman I lived in, where sitting on the street – any street – was perfectly fine. The only time I had a ‘strange’ experience trying to hail a cab in Jordan while sitting on the side of the road was, err, this.

I just blogged to say I hate this

With apologies to Stevie Wonder.

No New Year’s Day to celebrate
No Baitullah Mehsud to scare, he’s been droned away
No end to stereotyping
No songs for Musharraf to sing
In fact here’s just another ordinary day

No one is sane
No peace looms
No weddings can run till the next day’s noon
But what it is, is something true
Made up of these three words that I must say to you

I just blogged to say I hate this
I just tweeted to say I know you do too
I know you’ll retweet that too
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart

No summer’s high
No electricity in July
No NRO left on which to write
No autumn breeze
No falling leaves
Not even time for drones to fly in Quetta’s skies

No Younis Khan
No sanity
No giving thanks to all the rants Blackwater brings
But what it is, though old so new
That TTP scares you like no three letters could ever do

I just blogged to say I hate this
I just tweeted to say I know you do too
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart

If you’d like to sing along, here’s the original, saccharine Stevie Wonder song:

Lost in translation

What I hope to never do again at 1 AM: simultaneously reading and translating an interview with Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani. You can read some of the excerpts here, including the quote of the week:

“….The American public trusted Obama, and voted him into power. Hence Obama should save his country from the fire that Bush had shoved it in.”

Reads of the week and imploding dreams

First, a little heads-up on my current state of mind, brought to life by this Pearls Before Swine comic

Moving on to this week’s must-reads:

Lights Off, Diyas On Huma Imtiaz writes for Newsline about Diwali celebrations in Karachi amidst loadshedding

The curious case of Rehman Malik Rabia at the Grand Trunk Road blog wrote the best sentence ever on Rehman Malik – and points out the most disturbing part of the IIU students protesting when the much-loved (/end sarcasm) minister visited the campus after it had been attacked by two suicide bombers.

You see, in a way Rehman Malik is the perfect symbol of the Pakistani civilian government – bumbling, inept, hated by all, and a distraction from the deeper dysfunction that you have to listen a bit harder to hear

Take a Chance on Me? Faiza S. Khan points out how not attending Mamma Mia! (which was being staged in Karachi) has become such a debatable topic

سب کی چھٹی Mohammed Hanif takes a look at what’s being discussed while educational institutions in the country are closed

اور اگر آپ کو تاریخ میں دلچسپی نہیں ہے تو آپ سابقہ کشمیری مجاہد اور تحریک طالبان کے موجودہ روح رواں الیاس کشمیری کے حالات زندگی پڑھ سکتے ہیں۔ کشمیری صاحب سے پوچھا گیا کہ جب کشمیر اور افغانستان فتح ہو جائے گا تو کیا جہاد ختم ہو جائے گا۔ انہوں نے فرمایا نہیں اس کے بعد ہندوستان سے حیدرآباد اور جوناگڑھ واپس لینے کے لیے جہاد ہوگا۔ اور اس کے بعد؟ ان کا کہنا تھا کہ دنیا میں کسی نہ کسی جگہ تو جہاد کی ضرورت ہوگی پھر ہم وہاں جہاد کریں گے۔

A tale of two Pakistans Hanif again, pointing out the differences of life in and out of the culture bubble

Held by the Taliban The David Rohde series in the New York Times was one of the first things I read in the morning all this week. The five part series details Rohde’s kidnapping in Afghanistan, being shifted to Waziristan and his eventual escape seven months later.

Bashar al Assad believes in Syria. (Photograph taken April 2008 in Damascus)

Shadowland A brilliantly written article by Dan Belt in National Geographic about Syria and the man who runs it – Bashar al Assad. Gripping, gritty and grim, it highlights every point almost too perfectly.

This is the kind of article I dream to someday write. As Syria News Wire put it, Shadowland – which the blog calls the best article on Syria in a decade – “should be compulsory reading for every journalist flying into Damascus International Airport.”

Amen to that.

Reads and rants of the week

I was going to post an update on my life, but then I realized no one wants to read that. There’s nothing fun about descriptions of crying while babysitting my cat or sitting in the dark during an electricity blackout discussing the merits of the various kinds of Cornettos. That’s not what you come to this blog for. (Well, according to the stats most people are here for pictures of giant rabbits, Michael Jackson and Bilawal Bhutt0-Zardari) But anyway, here’s the list of things you should read.

Firstly, the brilliant George Packer piece on Richard Holbrooke and the war in Afghanistan. I think I’m going to end up re-reading this several times during this week.

The Masood Hasan op-ed published in The News last Sunday. Masood Hasan is always incredibly acerbic, but it was worth reading the paper just for this quote:

Wearing the flag of Pakistan on their imported designer suits impresses nobody, because this kind of patriotism is not worth a rat’s ass.

And this:

The prime minister thunders as drones waltz in Pakistani airspace. No one will dare mess about with Pakistan’s virginal sovereignty, he roars. I am sorry to shatter the dream, but this ain’t no virgin. In fact it’s been had by just about everybody and the rates hit rock bottom years ago. So shout as much as you like. No one is fooled.

Also, Newsweek redeems itself whenever it runs stories like this one: The Taliban in Their Own Words, comprised of quotes from Taliban leaders on their lives post-9/11. Reads like an unbelievable film script.

Writing in the Guardian, Dan Gillmor proposes 22 new rules of news.

On a personal note, I am fairly upset that I never ran into a Hollywood A-list couple while walking on Rainbow Street in Amman. I saw that road being built,  inhaled the dust, walked over the mountains of sand amassed at the site, broke in a pair of heels there, used it about 10 times a day and the only celebrity encounter I had was finding someone who resembled Saddam Hussein.

Meanwhile, I continue to be amused at the critique of the Emanuel Ungaro S/S show and Lindsay Lohan’s role as artistic advisor. I compiled some of the comments for a desk story today (mental note: repeat to anyone who thinks they got a bad review) and my favourite so far is by Hilary Alexander:

My heart goes out to Lindsay Lohan. Right now, she is getting a taste of just how brutal the fashion jungle can be when the claws are unsheathed. . .and it is not a pleasant experience. Judging from some of the comments I heard as I left the Ungaro show this afternoon, she can expect a savaging.

404 error: Page Inspiration not found

For the past several weeks, I have been writing, writing, writing. (That’s my standard response now for when someone asks me what I’ve been upto). Hundreds and thousands of words: articles, captions, blog posts later – I am all out. On a Friday evening, with one more day of work to go, and two deadlines looming like one of em pesky drones.

Alright, that’s the end of that bout of whining. For now – here’s what I’ve been writing for the Zeitgeist Politics this week: discrimination and revenge at borders (inspired by Shah Rukh Khan and the hours I’ve spent at embassies, ministries and in visa lines), whether Web 2.0 can bring transparency to Pakistani politics and Pakistan’s latest #securityfail.

Off to look for inspiration in a cup of tea.

From The Zeitgeist Politics: Pakistan gets surveyed

A couple of surveys have been released about Pakistan recently. The first, was an Al Jazeera commissioned survey done by Gallup Pakistan; which delivers a fairly interesting insight into the way prospective voters are viewing issues about Pakistan.

The second is a survey done by the Pew Global Attitudes Project (h/t Foreign Policy’s AfPak channel) which is a more comprehensive survey ranging across a number of issues.

Read the rest at the Zeitgeist Politics

Random Sunday reading

Alright then. This week has been quite dramatic, what with Mehsud dying or surviving et al. I’ve crossed over to Zeitgeist Politics for a bit (read: hijacked from a friend) which is where I’ve been posting about Mehsud and the fight at the Taliban shoora meeting.

If you’re done with poring over the Sunday papers, here’s some other food for thought:

Al Jazeera commissioned a survey on Pakistan on several key issues – including how popular President Zardari really is and what Pakistanis think of the Taliban and the military operation.

Mohammed Hanif  writing about life back in Pakistan. [Guardian]

Foreign Policy’s Twitterati list. Also check out their lists for world’s worst daughters and sons. Can someone do a Pakistani version please?

Marvi Memon’s tweets. Huma blogged about this MNA’s Twitter addiction here and how impossible it is to understand what she tweets.

An ode to the genius of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

One must take a break from the ongoing reality show of ‘Is Mehsud dead or not?’* I’ve been meaning to post this for a few days now, but it hadn’t been uploaded to YouTube…

Ladies and gentlemen of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and elsewhere: you know how we’ve all been trying to copy Benazir Bhutto’s accent for decades now? Ali Saleem (now known as the infamous Begum Nawazish Ali) came close but couldn’t quite get it. But now we have a winner: Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who in this now legendary speech has not only been able to copy her accent down to the letter, but has delivered a resoundingly blood curdling speech that makes me wonder if he is being brainwashed, is having a terrible time at Oxford or like Simba, he just can’t wait to be King.

Enjoy the show.

*If he isn’t, I feel terribly sorry for whoever’s idea it was to have Dawn’s main headline read ‘Good riddance, killer Baitullah’.