CIA’s Afghan man to run NDS

Karzai's last meet with Nabil (left  from top) as NDS director

“Mr. President we need to immediately stop this,” US defense secretary told Afghan President over the telephone on 18 August. Leon Panetta was talking to Hamid Karzai about the so-called ‘green on blue’ attacks, an increasingly worrying issue which could damage his boss’s reelection bid in just three months. 

President Obama has one chilling order to the men in-charge in Pentagon and Langley – I want no more news of American soldiers killed by their Afghan mentees until end of November!

Karzai told Panetta he would do whatever he could to mitigate the crisis.

Three days later, Martin Dempsey landed in Kabul with a practical proposal – remove Rahmatullah Nabil, director of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS).

In the eyes of American officials, Nabil had failed to prevent the infiltration of subversive elements into the ranks of ANA and ANP. Some even think the NDS has been compromised.

For Afghans though, Nabil had prevented several high-profile terrorist attacks in Kabul and other major cities such as Herat.

In an effort to circumcise any political risks associated with an abrupt removal of NDS director, the Afghan President was advised to introduce a new director along his defense and interior nominees to the Parliament.

While Karzai quickly accepted the idea to fire Nabil, he was unsure who could better lead the Afghan spy agency.  

This was addressed by Senator Graham Lindsey who met Karzai in Kabul on 23 August. Assadullah Khaled.

Mr. Khaled, a young thuggish CIA man in the Afghan power hierarchy, is Karzai’s advisor and minister for tribal and southern affairs. Khaled has made no secret of his ties to CIA. His family has been hosted in a house near Langley in Virginia – kept somewhat isolated from the Afghan community. He once bluntly told a group of Kandahari elders: Karzai and I are equally paid from one place.

The last two names Karzai has shared with his closest henchmen are: Assadullah Khaled for NDS and Bismillah Khan for the interior.

There is a risk some MPs, particularly pro-Iranian groups, would reject Khaled’s appointment at the NDS.

Both Karzai and CIA know how to handle the MPs: dollars and promises of positions in the government. Influential MPs such as Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayaf, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Haji Zahir and Yonus Qanooni are among the top recipients.

Khaled is most likely to get the NDS job. However, whether or not he and his CIA masters would cease green on blue attacks is difficult to guarantee. Afghan security institutions are either contaminated or antagonized deeply. Re-befriending them and winning their hearts and minds again can’t be achieved easily and with intelligence means only.