{"id":103,"date":"2026-05-28T05:39:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=103"},"modified":"2026-05-28T05:39:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:39:55","slug":"the-not-so-secret-anymore-us-war-in-pakistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=103","title":{"rendered":"The (Not So) Secret (Anymore) US War in Pakistan"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<div>\n<article>\n<header>\n<div>\n<ul><li>December 1, 2010<\/li><\/ul><h1>The (Not So) Secret (Anymore) US War in Pakistan<\/h1><h1>The (Not So) Secret (Anymore) US War in Pakistan<\/h1><h2>Secret cables from US officials in Pakistan confirm that elite US Special Operations Forces have engaged in offensive operations in Pakistan despite repeated US denials.<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<section>\n<time>December 1, 2010<\/time>\n<div>\n<p>Despite sustained denials by US officials spanning more than a year, US military Special Operations Forces have been conducting offensive operations inside Pakistan, helping direct US drone strikes and conducting joint operations with Pakistani forces against Al Qaeda and Taliban forces in north and south Waziristan and elsewhere in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, according to secret cables released as part of the Wikileaks document dump. According to an October 9, 2009 cable classified by Anne Patterson, the US ambassador to Pakistan, the operations were \u201calmost certainly [conducted] with the personal consent of [Pakistan\u2019s] Chief of Army Staff General Kayani.\u201d The operations were coordinated with the US Office of the Defense Representative in Pakistan. A US special operations source told <em>The Nation<\/em> that the US forces described in the cable as \u201cSOC(FWD)-PAK\u201d were \u201cforward operating troops\u201d from the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), the most elite force within the US military made up of Navy SEALs, Delta Force and Army Rangers.\t\t\t\t\n<p>The cables also confirm aspects of a <em>Nation<\/em> story from November 2009, \u201cThe Secret US War in Pakistan,\u201d which detailed offensive combat operations by JSOC in Pakistan. In response to the <em>Nation<\/em> story, Pentagon spokesperson Geoff Morrell called it \u201cconspiratorial\u201d and explicitly denied that US special operations forces were doing anything other than \u201ctraining\u201d in Pakistan. More than a month after the October 2009 cable from the US embassy in Pakistan confirming JSOC combat missions, Morrell told reporters: \u201cWe have basically, I think, <strong>a few dozen forces on the ground in Pakistan who are involved in a train-the-trainer mission<\/strong>.\u00a0 These are Special Operations Forces.\u00a0 <strong>We\u2019ve been very candid about this.\u00a0<\/strong> They are\u2014they have been for months, if not years now, training Pakistani forces so that they can in turn train other Pakistani military on how to\u2014on certain skills and operational techniques.\u00a0 <strong>And that\u2019s the extent of our\u2014our, you know, military boots on the ground in Pakistan<\/strong>.\u201d According to the October 2009 cable, Morrell\u2019s statement was false.\n<p>In one operation in September 2009, four US special operations forces personnel \u201cembedded with the [Pakistani] Frontier Corps (FC)\u2026in the FATA,\u201d where the Americans are described as providing \u201cISR\u201d: intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The support from the US forces, according to the cable, \u201cwas highly successful, enabling the FC to execute a precise and effective artillery strike on an enemy location.\u201d A month later, according to the cable, the Pakistan Army again \u201capproved deployment of US special operation elements to support Pakistani military operations.\u201d To the embassy staff, this was documented in the cable as a \u201csea change\u201d in Pakistan\u2019s military leaders\u2019 thinking, saying they had previously been \u201cadamantly opposed [to] letting us embed\u201d US special ops forces with Pakistani forces. According to the cable, \u201cUS special operation elements have been in Pakistan for more than a year, but were largely limited to a training role,\u201d adding that the Pakistani units that received training from US special operations forces \u201cappear to have recognized the potential benefits of bringing US SOF personnel into the field with them.\u201d\n<section>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h2>Popular<\/h2>\n<span><span>&#8220;swipe left below to view more authors&#8221;<\/span>Swipe \u2192<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<ol>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h3>\n<span>Why Does Pete Hegseth Have to Make His Desperate Need for Masculine Validation Our Problem?  <\/span>\n\n                Why Does Pete Hegseth Have to Make His Desperate Need for Masculine Validation Our Problem?  \n            \n<\/h3>\n<p>\nJasper Craven <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h3>\n<span>GLP-1s and the Limits of Knowing Better<\/span>\n\n                GLP-1s and the Limits of Knowing Better\n            \n<\/h3>\n<p>\nGrace Ginsburg <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h3>\n<span>Trump\u2019s Abraham Accords Fantasy Will Only Cause More Suffering<\/span>\n\n                Trump\u2019s Abraham Accords Fantasy Will Only Cause More Suffering\n            \n<\/h3>\n<p>\nJeet Heer <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>In another operation cited in the cables, the US teams, led by JSOC, were described as providing support to the Pakistani Army\u2019s 11th Corp and included \u201ca live downlink of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) full motion video.\u201d Whether the drones were used for surveillance or as part of a joint offensive is unclear from the documents. While the US government will not confirm US drone strikes inside the country and Pakistani officials regularly deride the strikes, the issue of the drones was discussed in another cable from August 2008. That cable describes a meeting between Ambassador Patterson and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani. When the issue of US drone strikes came up, according to the cable, Gillani said, \u201cI don\u2019t care if they do it as long as they get the right people. We\u2019ll protest in the National Assembly and then ignore it.\u201d\n<p>The ability of US special operations forces to operate in Pakistan is clearly viewed as a major development by the US embassy. \u201cPatient relationship-building with the military is the key factor that has brought us to this point,\u201d according to the October 2009 cable. It also notes the potential consequences of the activities leaking: \u201cThese deployments are highly politically sensitive because of widely-held concerns among the public about Pakistani sovereignty and opposition to allowing foreign military forces to operate in any fashion on Pakistani soil. Should these developments and\/or related matters receive any coverage in the Pakistani or US media, the Pakistani military will likely stop making requests for such assistance.\u201d\n<p>Such statements might help explain why Ambassador Richard Holbrooke lied to the world when he said bluntly in July 2010: \u201cPeople think that the US has troops in Pakistan, well, we don\u2019t.\u201d\n<p>A US special operations veteran who worked on Pakistan issues in 2009 reviewed the Wikileaks cables for <em>The Nation<\/em>. He said he was taken aback that the cable was not classified higher than \u201cSECRET\u201d given that it confirms the active involvement of US soldiers from the highly-secretive, elite Joint Special Operations Command engaging in combat\u2014not just training\u2014in Pakistan. And offensive combat at that. JSOC operations are compartmentalized and highly classified.\n<p>Pentagon spokespeople have repeatedly insisted that the US military\u2019s activities in Pakistan are restricted to training operations. Even after the October 2009 cable and multiple JSOC operations in Pakistan, US and Pakistani officials continued to hold official meetings to discuss \u201cpotential\u201d joint operations. In January 2010 in Washington DC, US and Pakistani military officials gathered under the umbrella of the \u201cUS-Pakistan Land Forces Military Consultative Committee.\u201d According to notes from the meeting, they discussed US military operations in Pakistan aiming to \u201cenhance both US and Pakistan Army COIN [counterinsurgency] capabilities\u201d and \u201cpotential US COIN Center\/Pakistan Army interactions.\u201d Among the participants were representatives of the Special Operations Command, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs\u2019 Pakistan-Afghanistan Coordination Cell, the Office of Defense representative-Pakistan and a Pakistan delegation led by Brigadier General Muhammad Azam Agha, Pakistan\u2019s director of military training.\n<p>A special operations veteran and a former CIA operative with direct experience in Pakistan have told <em>The Nation<\/em> that JSOC has long engaged in combat in Pakistan\u2014which raises a question: How in-the-loop is the US embassy about the activities of JSOC in Pakistan? Just because Ambassador Anne Patterson approves a cable saying that US special ops forces have only done two operations with Pakistani forces and plays this up as a major-league development doesn\u2019t make it true. JSOC has conducted operations across the globe without the direct knowledge of the US ambassador. In 2006, the US military and Pakistan struck a deal that authorized JSOC to enter Pakistan to hunt Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders with the understanding that Pakistan would deny it had given permission. JSOC has struck multiple times inside Pakistan over the years, regardless of what Ambassador Patterson\u2019s cables may say.\n<p>In 2006, twelve \u201ctactical action operatives\u201d from Blackwater were recruited for a secret JSOC raid inside Pakistan, targeting an Al Qaeda facility. The operation was code-named \u201cVibrant Fury.\u201d Which raises another issue: the activities described in the October 2009 cable very closely align with what a US military intelligence source, a US special forces source and a former Blackwater executive told <em>The Nation<\/em> in November 2009, namely that JSOC was running an operation in Pakistan where \u201cmembers of an elite division of Blackwater are at the center of a secret program in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives, \u2018snatch and grabs\u2019 of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan.\u2026 The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help direct a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA predator strikes.\u201d The arrangement, which involved a web of subcontractors, allowed the Pakistani Frontier Corps\u2014the force cited in the cable\u2014to work with JSOC operators while simultaneously denying that Americans were involved. From the <em>Nation<\/em> article, \u201cThe Secret US War in Pakistan,\u201d in November 2009:\n<blockquote><p>A former senior executive at Blackwater confirmed the military intelligence source\u2019s claim that the company is working in Pakistan for the CIA and JSOC, the premier counterterrorism and covert operations force within the military. He said that Blackwater is also working for the Pakistani government on a subcontract with an Islamabad-based security firm that puts US Blackwater operatives on the ground with Pakistani forces in counter-terrorism operations, including house raids and border interdictions, in the North-West Frontier Province and elsewhere in Pakistan. This arrangement, the former executive said, allows the Pakistani government to utilize former US Special Operations forces who now work for Blackwater while denying an official US military presence in the country. He also confirmed that Blackwater has a facility in Karachi and has personnel deployed elsewhere in Pakistan. The former executive spoke on condition of anonymity.\n<p>[\u2026]\n<p>According to the executive, Blackwater works on a subcontract for Kestral Logistics, a powerful Pakistani firm, which specializes in military logistical support, private security and intelligence consulting. It is staffed with former high-ranking Pakistani army and government officials. While Kestral\u2019s main offices are in Pakistan, it also has branches in several other countries.\n<p>[\u2026]\n<p>Blackwater operatives also integrate with Kestral\u2019s forces in sensitive counterterrorism operations in the North-West Frontier Province, where they work in conjunction with the Pakistani Interior Ministry\u2019s paramilitary force, known as the Frontier Corps (alternately referred to as \u201cfrontier scouts\u201d). The Blackwater personnel are technically advisers, but the former executive said that the line often gets blurred in the field. Blackwater \u201cis providing the actual guidance on how to do [counterterrorism operations] and Kestral\u2019s folks are carrying a lot of them out, but they\u2019re having the guidance and the overwatch from some BW guys that will actually go out with the teams when they\u2019re executing the job,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can see how that can lead to other things in the border areas.\u201d He said that when Blackwater personnel are out with the Pakistani teams, sometimes its men engage in operations against suspected terrorists. \u201cYou\u2019ve got BW guys that are assisting\u2026and they\u2019re all going to want to go on the jobs\u2014so they\u2019re going to go with them,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, the things that you\u2019re seeing in the news about how this Pakistani military group came in and raided this house or did this or did that\u2014in some of those cases, you\u2019re going to have Western folks that are right there at the house, if not in the house.\u201d Blackwater, he said, is paid by the Pakistani government through Kestral for consulting services. \u201cThat gives the Pakistani government the cover to say, \u2018Hey, no, we don\u2019t have any Westerners doing this. It\u2019s all local and our people are doing it.\u2019 But it gets them the expertise that Westerners provide for [counterterrorism]-related work.\u201d\n<p>The military intelligence source confirmed Blackwater works with the Frontier Corps, saying, \u201cThere\u2019s no real oversight. It\u2019s not really on people\u2019s radar screen.\u201d<\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=98\">Why Does Pete Hegseth Have to Make His Desperate Need for Masculine Validation Our Problem?<\/a><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>* * *\n<p>In November 2009, Capt. John Kirby, the spokesperson for Adm. Michael Mullen, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told <i>The Nation<\/i>, \u201cWe do not discuss current operations one way or the other, regardless of their nature.\u201d A defense official, on background, specifically denied that Blackwater performs work on drone strikes or intelligence for JSOC in Pakistan. Captain Kirby told <em>The Nation<\/em> if it published the story it would \u201cbe on thin ice.\u201d The US embassy and Pakistan\u2019s interior Minister Rehman Malik both denied Blackwater was operating in Pakistan.\n<p>In January 2010, on a visit to Pakistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, appeared to contradict that line, telling a Pakistani TV station, \u201cThey [Blackwater and another private security firm, DynCorp] are operating as individual companies here in Pakistan,\u201d according to a DoD <span>transcript<\/span> of the interview. As Gates\u2019s comments began to make huge news in Pakistan, US defense officials tried to retract his statement. As the <i>Wall Street Journal<\/i> <span>reported<\/span>, \u201cDefense officials tried to clarify the comment\u2026telling reporters that Mr. Gates had been speaking about contractor oversight more generally and that the Pentagon didn\u2019t employ [Blackwater] in Pakistan.\u201d The next day, Pakistan\u2019s senior minister for the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), Bashir Bilour, said that Blackwater was operating in Pakistan\u2019s frontier areas. Bilour told Pakistan\u2019s Express News TV that Blackwater\u2019s activities were taking place with the \u201cconsent and permission\u201d of the Pakistani government, saying he had discussed the issue with officials at the US Consulate in Peshawar, who told him that Blackwater was training Pakistani forces.\n<p>Since the<em> Nation<\/em> story originally ran, Blackwater has continued to work under the Obama administration. In June, the company won a $100 million global contract with the CIA and continues to operate in Afghanistan, where it protects senior US officials and trains Afghan forces. Earlier this year, Blackwater\u2019s owner, Erik Prince, put the company up for sale and moved to the Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Whether Blackwater or former Blackwater operatives continue to work in Pakistan is not known. What is clear is that there is great reason to believe that the October 2009 cable from Ambassador Anne Patterson describing US special operations forces activities in Pakistan represents only a tiny glimpse into one of the darkest corners of current US policy in Pakistan.\n\n<div>Like this blog post? Read all Nation blogs on the Nation\u2019s free iPhone App, NationNow.<br\/>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"57\" height=\"57\" alt=\"NationNow iPhone App\" class=\"wp-image-102\" src=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/688f957f03e244e324bc9ddc28ec785c.png\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=100\">Jim Crow Just Suffered a Temporary Setback\u2014in Alabama<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<footer>\n<ul>\n<li>\n\n                Submit a correction\n            \n<\/li>\n<li>\n\n                Send a letter to the editor\n            \n<\/li>\n<li>\n\n                Reprints &amp; permissions\n            \n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h2><i><span>Your support makes stories like this possible<\/span><\/i><\/h2>\n<p><span>From illegal war on Iran to an inhumane fuel blockade of Cuba, from AI weapons to crypto corruption, this is a time of staggering chaos, cruelty, and violence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Unlike other publications that parrot the views of authoritarians, billionaires, and corporations, <\/span><i><span>The Nation <\/span><\/i><span>publishes stories that hold the powerful to account and center the communities too often denied a voice in the national media\u2014stories like the one you\u2019ve just read.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Each day, our journalism cuts through lies and distortions, contextualizes the developments reshaping politics around the globe, and advances progressive ideas that oxygenate our movements and instigate change in the halls of power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This independent journalism is only possible with the support of our readers. If you want to see more urgent coverage like this, please donate to <\/span><i><span>The Nation<\/span><\/i><span> today.<\/span><\/p> <\/div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span> Jeremy Scahill<svg>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>Jeremy Scahill is the author of the best-selling <em>Blackwater: The Rise of the World\u2019s Most Powerful Mercenary Army<\/em>, published by Nation Books. Nation Books released his second book, <em>Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield<\/em>, in 2013. He is the writer, with David Riker, and a producer of the documentary feature film\u00a0<em>Dirty Wars<\/em>, released by IFC Films in 2013.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=96\">Drones? Europe\u2019s Automakers Are Taking Orders.<\/a><\/p><br\/>\n<\/div>\n<input\/>\n<input\/>\n<\/footer>\n<\/article>\n\n\n\nAd Policy\n<!-- <a class=\"inifiniteLoader\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/images\/new_infi_loader.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a> -->\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Nation Magazine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The (Not So) Secret (Anymore) US War in Pakistan - Atlas Living Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/atlaslivingmedia.com\/?p=103\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The (Not So) Secret (Anymore) US War in Pakistan - 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