U.S. Still Using Illegal Private Spy Ring in Afghanistan and Pakistan

U.S. Still Using Illegal Private Spy Ring in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Top military officials have continued to rely on a secret network of private spies who have produced hundreds of reports from deep inside Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to American officials and businessmen, despite concerns among some in the military about the legality of the operation.

Gen. David D. McKiernan was replaced last May as the top commander in Afghanistan.

Earlier this year, government officials admitted that the military had sent a group of former Central Intelligence Agency officers and retired Special Operations troops into the region to collect information — some of which was used to track and kill people suspected of being militants. Many portrayed it as a rogue operation that had been hastily shut down once an investigation began.

But interviews with more than a dozen current and former government officials and businessmen, and an examination of government documents, tell a different a story. Not only are the networks still operating, their detailed reports on subjects like the workings of the Taliban leadership in Pakistan and the movements of enemy fighters in southern Afghanistan are also submitted almost daily to top commanders and have become an important source of intelligence.

The American military is largely prohibited from operating inside Pakistan. And under Pentagon rules, the army is not allowed to hire contractors for spying.

Read the full story here

Ah, not surprised the US govt. is operating against the rules here like usual. How much bloodshed will it take before people learn that they cannot get away with the same old tactics used in the past?

I made the last part I quoted bold for a reason... we're not supposed to be doing this - simple as that. And who knows what else is going on, I mean if this information is being widely known and it's easily available for the public eye, and they're admitting to tracking suspects down and killing them, what do we not know?

I guess I'm just tired of all the war. Not much else to say other than it needs to stop. It wont though, and that is what is keeping us from evolving into a better species.