amazon books intellectually dishonest and protecting STEVE COLLS MASSIVE INACCURACIES AND FALSE CLAIMS-A.pdf

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from Agha H Amin on October 6, 2022
bought this book in kabul for 98 dollars
Ghost Wars- The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan,
and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10,
2001, written by Steve Coll, published in 2004 by Penguin
Press
Reviewed by Major Agha H Amin (retired)
I first saw...

2. amazon books
intellectually dishonest
and protecting STEVE
COLLS MASSIVE
INACCURACIES AND
FALSE CLAIMS
amazon books intellectually dishonest and protecting STEVE COLLS MASSIVE
INACCURACIES AND FALSE CLAIMS
• October 2022
• DOI:
• 10.13140/RG.2.2.12955.95523
• Project:
• INTELLECTUAL DISHONESTY
• Agha H Amin

3. Ghost Wars- The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan,
and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10,
2001, written by Steve Coll, published in 2004 by Penguin
Press
Reviewed by Major Agha H Amin (retired)
I first saw Ghost Wars with my friend Professor Rasul Amin at his
Kabul office in Kolala Pushta in July 2004.
I read the book in 2004-2005 and made notes but was unable to
write a review for various reasons.
So this book review 1 years late but still relevant as Ghost Wars
is still relevant and will remain relevant for many years to come ,
or lets say many decades to come !
On page-6 Coll analyses that US had no Afghan policy beyond a
vague wish for peace and prosperity.
Colls narrative is a stark analysis of US CIAs failures as a credible
intelligence agency in ignoring Ahmad Shah Massoud in at least
the initial phase in Afghanistan in 1992-94.
Coll proceeds smoothly in his analysis but on page.60 makes two

4. major factual errors , which were unnecessary and avoidable !
This is just like Stephen Cohen thoughtlessly stating in his
famous book Pakistan Army that there were no All Muslim units in
British Indian Army , an absolute distortion of history !
So here on page.60 we find Steve Coll stating fallaciously “
Mohammad Zia ul Haq was a young captain in a Punjabi unit of
Britains Colonial Army when London’s exhausted government
finally quit India in 1947”.
Now why does Mr. Coll state such absolute nonsense , based on
no facts in an otherwise brilliant book ?
Because he has heard that Pakistan Army and British Indian Army
were Punjabi shows !
The harsh fact Mr Coll is that 13 Lancers in which Zia was
commissioned had only one third Punjabis ! Its class composition
when Zia joined in 1945 was a Pathan Squadron , a Muslim
Rajput Squadron , again non Punjabi and one Punjabi Sikh Squadron ?
So how does this make 13 Lancers a Punjabi unit ?
And why Steve Coll has to produce such non factual statements ?
Zia was sent on an adverse report in 1945-46 to Guides Cavalry
which at that time had Sikh , a Dogra and a Pathan Squadron .
These two facts are probably unknown to Coll ?
Coll states on page.60 that His father had been an Anglophilic
civil servant ? Zias father was a head clerk or something like that
and not a civil servant who in India and Pakistan are officers of
grade 17 and above.
On page.64 converts Akhtar Abdul Rehman into son of a Pathan
medical doctor from Peshawar , while Akhtar Abdul Rehmans
father was a Jullundhur Pathan from East Punjab.Pathan by race
but a Punjabi by language and upbringing ! Just as much as
Eisenhower may be a German !
Coll highights that Akhtar Abdul Rehman was a champion boxer
and wrestler but probably does not know that Abdul Rehman had
near zero war record !
ISI civilian Sohail Naqvi in an interview with me in 2000-2001
while I was editor Defence Journal and he was serving at SMS
recounted that Rahman was known to his neighbours in Pakistan
Military Academy in early 1960s as wife basher, whose neighbor
officers complained that they were disturbed from his frequent
wife bashing !

5. Incidentally Pakistani generals have a notorious wife bashing
tradition.Pakistani general K.M Sheikh serving as ambassador at
Tokyo broke his wife Shehla Legharis arm in early 1960s !
On page -65 Coll shifts ISI headquarters to Pindi from Islamabad
! It is an Americans privilege to do anything he feels like from
changing class composition of 13 Lancers or Guides, to location of
ISI headquarters.
On page.65 Coll fallaciously states that ISI was staffed down the
line by army officers and enlisted men.
In reality ISIs major cadre and its backbone are its civilian staff
who have no connection with the army at all.Armed forces
personnel join ISI on deputation periods of 2 to 5 years and
revert to their parent services.
On page-70 Coll quotes CIA station chief Hart making an
interesting remark about Soviets in Afghanistan attacking
Pakistan.Thus Coll quotes Hart as stating “ the fuckers haven’t
got the balls”.
Ironically the same was true for US forces in Afghanistan
in 2001 to 2014 .Proving to be the same fuckers as stated
by Hart in not having the balls to attack Pakistan despite
knowing that Pakistan was supporting Afghan insurgents.
History does repeat itself Mr Coll !
On page-73 Colls claim of Saudi Air Force providing air
cover to Karachi is also highly questionable ! In 1971
Indian air force was attacking Karachi at will, so where
was this air cover Mr Coll ? And the source Badeeb that
you quote from ORBIS appears to be a chronic liar !
Interestingly Indian Air Force managed to hit a civilian
house in Karachi belonging to Pakistans future army chief
Generals Begs brother, I think a colonel or major in the
army !
On page-103 Coll quotes Pakistans ISI chief General Akhtar as
stating his strategy as Kabul must burn !
Now this was one nonsense gimmickal phrase of Akhtar.
I asked my distant relative and close friend Colonel Salman who
was teacher of all who mattered in Afghan War from Massoud to
Haqqani , Hekmatyar down to Mullah Omar and OBL.
Salman known as Colonel Faizan in Afghanistan had the following
to state :---

6. Akhtar Abdul Rehman was not a particularly brilliant man
and had memorized some phrases like Kabul must burn .
He had limited operations to Kabul because he wanted
publicity. I was it as a narrow way of waging guerrilla war.
It may be noted that the pioneer of Afghan operations was
Brigadier Raza Ali a special forces officer with an
outstanding service profile.Akhtar Abdul Rehman
developed a personality clash with Brigadier Raza Ali and
sidelined him and placed him in logistics. Akhtar Abdul
Rehman preferred artillery officers who were narrow in
mindset and knew little about guerrilla warfare.
Akhtar Abdul Rehman inducted Brigadier Yusuf because he
was a non commando and was controllable.
Yusuf had no concept of guerrilla warfare but his induction
did not matter as the basic team of SSG commando officers
was intact and ran the real show.
According to Colonel Salman Akhtar Abdul Rahman bears a
great deal of blame for Afghanistans failure as he had
simply no North of Hindu Kush strategy !
All these failures escape the Solomons sagacity and wisdom of
Steve Coll !
On page 166 Coll performs an ingenious US change of race and
converts ISIs Colonel Imam who was a Punjabi from Chakwal into
a Pathan .
On page 253 Penguin Book editors fail in detecting spelling
mistake of word wrecked as wracked !
If we believe Colls statement that CIA was created to prevent
another Pearl Harbour then 9/11 was a grand intelligence failure
of CIA ! But Mr Coll no one was held accountable !
Steve Colls glorification of Coffer Black is questionable !
Coffer Black glorified in Steve Colls Ghost Wars also joined
Blackwater after his retirement.as Vice President
It is common knowledge that Coffer was the main reason for
USA ’s phenomenal intelligence failure against Al Qaeda.
Coffer’s ideas about intelligence revolved around abduction and
elimination ! Black’s limited mentality may be imagined from the
fact that he told Gary Schroen a seasoned CIA professional that
he wanted Usama Bin Laden’s severed head shipped to him in dry
ice.Schroen retorted that he could not find dry ice in Afghanistan

7. ! Schroen states that he was shocked to hear in his three decade
long career that an intelligence professional wanted a man dead
rather than captured alive.Black also told Gary to severe Laden’s
head with a machete !The CIA itself it may be noted later
dismissed Black for inefficiency !
The fact that Coffer Black was appointed as Coordinator for
counter terrorism with the rank of Ambassador at large in
October 2002 speaks volumes for the quality of US policy in the
so called war on terror.
On page 336 Coll again performs another masterly trick in change
of ethnicity when he converts Aimal Kansi’s ethnicity into Baluch
from Pashtun ! I don’t think that New York Times Book Reviews
noted this despite all claims of total wisdom !
On 349 Coll starts traffic at Salang Tunnel whereas as far as I
know Salang was closed and inaccessible to traffic in 1994-2001
and Shibar Pass was used.
On page 371 again Coll Turns Aimal Kansi into Baluch !
And once again on 373 ! My question is what made it so difficult
for Coll to find Kansi’s ethnicity ?
Colls information and assessment about Nawaz Sharifs firing
Pakistan Army Chief Karamat on page 437-38 is totally incorrect
and flawed.
Actual facts are as below :---
In September 1998 then Army chief General Karamat started
pressurizing the political leadership to include the army in the
political decision making .
Nawaz had done his homework well.With the ISI firmly under the
prime ministers command under Lieutenant General Ziauddin one
senior officer Zulfiqar presently chairman WAPDA had been sent
to Ukraine to find details of kick backs given to General Jahangir
Karamat in the Ukraianian tank deal with Pakistan.
Full evidence was prepared of Jahangirs complicity in taking kick
backs.Once Karamat asserted his political ambitions Nawaz
threatened him with prosecution for taking kick backs !
Thus Jahangir Karamat’s unceremonial exit from power ! USA’s
likely agent of change had been removed !

8. On page 438 Coll demonstrates his total lack of knowledge about
Corps of Engineers as an arm of service which never produced
army chiefs !
Does Mr Coll not know that US Armys most eminent leaders Lee ,
Meade and Mac Arthur were from Corps of Engineers !
On page 475 Mr Coll performs yet another magicians trick in
raising social status of Generals Musharrafs father from a cypher
clerk into an Imperial bureaucrat.
Musharrafs father was promoted to officer rank long after 1943 to
which Coll refers. And this happened in 1960s or so. There is thus
simply no question of Musharraf having been an officer in 1943.
Why cannot US authors stay out of making unnecessary stories
about events without serious hard work and efforts ?
Again on page 475 Coll is wrong in saying Pakistans leading
military academy , because Pakistan unlike USA had only one
officer candidate training school .
On page 486 Colls questionable claims about Angela Duile and
Marwans conversations are un supported with any references.
But Col can do it because he is an American prophet.
On page 504 Coll thrusts a battle honour on General Mahmud into
assigning him with the glory of being the frotline commander at
Kargil ! Whereas Mahmud hardly went within 100 km near the
fighting in Kargil and over saw the operation from safety of his
corps headquarters in Pindi , while Pakistani army men were
cowardly abandoned to be picked and buried by Indians as non
army Mujahids !
By and large Colls book is extremely interesting back ground
history , but limited analytical value and misses the larger parts
of the overall strategic picture about why Pakistan acted as it did
and why US policy about Afghanistan was so myopic.
Coll also misses the point that many offers were made by many
parties to the US for eliminating OBL but at heart the Americans
were just not interested in eliminating Bin Laden despite all token
claims that Colls sources in CIA made and were transmitted into

9. Colls book.