Also the interviewer clearly doesn't know much about the region in general or Pakistan (like most journalists covering Pakistan, which further antagonizes Pakistanis who believe the Western media is maligning them). Anyhu, I haven't even read the whole piece yet when in the first few lines I see that the author has wrongly claimed that Gen. Ehsan was the "commander in chief ", which is incorrect because President Musharraf was the Chief of the Army Staff (the proper title of the man on top), Gen Ehsan was instead the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

"I was co-commander of Peshawar". Who is Charles Homans? It is CORPS COMMANDER!

Very interesting article and Ehsan seems to be very knowledgeable about the delicate situation between the United States and Pakistan. Having said that I totally disagree with Ehsan's comments that there has been greater successes in our collaborative relationship between the ISI and the CIA. I see no basis for this statement seeing as how the only success that we have scene thus far has been the actions of the CIA working on their own like a skillful surgeon eliminating a disease. Until the ISI can demonstrate the ability of accurate intelligence gathering and distance itself from al qaeda ties it will continue to be defined by the embarrassment of Osama Bin Ladin living peacefully undetected in their own backyard and their inability to detect foreign forces crossing their border. It will be interesting to see how this delicate relationship plays out in the next few years.

@ JGULLICKSON: what about Khalid sheikh mohamamd, libi and thousands of others that the americans grilled to get to the information for which they are taking all the credit? Let me refresh your memory they were all caught by ISI (yes, Pakistan's Interlligence services).
secondly, if you call somebody your ally you should learn to trust them.
thirdly, the foreign forces went undetected becoz the technology used is meant to make them undetectable, if pakistanis had detected them than that would've killed the whole purpose of using the staelth heli's won't it?

Shallow interview by a journalist who seems unprepared. Almost reads like a set of questions being prepared in advance and responses mailed back ! Expect better from FP.

Ever since Pakistan joined the proxy war of United States in 1980
this department has been under constant pressure and critcism from sources within and outside the country. In some cases true, in
others fabricated to suit the vested interest of certain parties. In this
interview Charles Homans really wanted to tell General(R) Ehsan ul Haq that ISI has proved a security failure since 09/11 and the two incidents of Abbotabad and Karachi leaves the world no option
but to secure Pakistan's Nuclear Assets. Some how Homans lost his nerve seeing the General's hard expression and started asking
questions that were really not on his agenda. Would he travel to Pakistan and seek interviews with other Director Generals of ISI or
seek help from B Raman and others to rub salt in the wounds that
CIA has been inflicting in the last three years.

I don't assume the ISI as a homogeneous entity and Ehsan ul-Haq better than anybody knows what I mean. But one thing I'm not sure of, and that is if he leads the pro-collaboration sector of ISA or the sector that from our perspective is the rogue one. The way he talks about al-Qaeda and Afghanistan before 9/11 is ridiculous. You don't need to be an intelligence officer to know how closely the ISA, Talibans and AQ work closely together in Afghanistan to take over the entire country from 1995 to 2001.
He has to admit that the ISI cannot continue playing its old game. With this interview you also have to admit that you are either a dysfunctional intelligence service or a rogue one. The choice is yours.

One should NOT expect head of Pakistani ISI to confess to crimes any more than sun to rise in the west.

Another Pakistani ISI Director General Mahmud Ahmad had asked Omar Sheikh (the kidnapper of Daniel Pearl) to send $100,000 from a Dubai bank account to Mohammed Atta (the lead 9/11 hijacker) in 2000, one year before those attacks. Mohammad Atta used that $100,000 for flight training, living expenses and to purchase flight tickets on the day of 9/11 attacks in US and returned unspent $25,000 back to same Dubai account. Musharraf was forced to retire ISI director General Mahmud Ahmad after Wall Street Journal exposed General Ahmad as the chief financier of 9/11 attacks. Pakistani ISI was heavily involved in planning and execution of 9/11 attacks as corroborated by former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham.

Previous US ambassador Anne Patterson to Pakistan, wrote in a secret review in 2009 that ‘Pakistan's Army and ISI are covertly SPONSORING four militant groups - Haqqani‘s HQN, Mullah Omar‘s QST, Al Qaeda and LeT - and will not abandon them for any amount of US money‘, as diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks show.

Ambassador Patterson had NO reason to mislead her own State Department and U. S. government.

Nobody forced it but Pakistan’s democratic government of its own free will, facilitated relocation of Osama bin Laden from Sudan to Afghanistan via Karachi in 1996.

Nobody forced Pakistani Army and Intelligence to create what ex-CIA official Bruce Reidel called ‘this jihadist Frankenstein’ monster in 1990s. Pakistani Army and Intelligence chose to do so with the full financing provided by Pakistan’s democratic governments at the time.

Sandy Berger, Clinton’s national security advisor told 9/11 Commission in 2004 that 'Pakistani Army was the midwife of Taliban'. UN report on Bhutto killing released on 4/15/2010 confirmed this fact when it noted that "The PAKISTANI MILITARY ORGANIZED AND SUPPORTED THE TALIBAN TO TAKE CONTROL OF AFGHANISTAN IN 1996“.

Declassified DIA Washington D.C., "IIR (intelligence Information Report) Pakistan Involvement in Afghanistan," dated November 7, 1996 states how "Pakistan's ISI is heavily involved in Afghanistan," and also details different roles various ISI officers play in Afghanistan. Stating that Pakistan uses sizable numbers of its Pashtun-based Frontier Corps in Taliban-run operations in Afghanistan, the document clarifies that, "these Frontier Corps elements are utilized in command and control; training; and when necessary combat“.

Declassified U.S. Department of State, Cable "Pakistan Support for Taliban" from Islamabad dated Sept. 26, 2000 states that "while Pakistani support for the Taliban has been long-standing, the magnitude of recent support is unprecedented." In response Washington orders the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad to immediately confront Pakistani officials on the issue and to advise Islamabad that the U.S. has "seen reports that Pakistan is providing the Taliban with materiel, fuel, funding, technical assistance and military advisors. [The Department] also understand[s] that large numbers of Pakistani nationals have recently moved into Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban, apparently with the tacit acquiescence of the Pakistani government." Additional reports indicate that direct Pakistani involvement in Taliban military operations has increased.

In some cases true, in
others fabricated to suit the vested interest of certain parties. In this
interview Charles Homans cdl really wanted to tell General(R) Ehsan ul Haq that ISI has proved a security failure since 09/11 and the two incidents of Abbotabad and Karachi leaves the world no option
but to secure Pakistan's Nuclear Assets.

Pakistan's former head of Inter-Services Intelligence discusses 9/11, bin Laden and Pakistani security. One should NOT expect head of Pakistani ISI to confess to crimes any more than sun to rise in the west. Another Pakistani ISI Director General Mahmud Ahmad had asked Omar Sheikh (the kidnapper of Daniel Pearl) to send $100,000 from a Dubai bank account to Mohammed Atta (the lead 9/11 hijacker) in 2000, one year before those attacks. Mohammad Atta used that $100,000 for flight training, living expe take a peek I don't assume the ISI as a homogeneous entity and Ehsan ul-Haq better than anybody knows what I mean. But one thing I'm not sure of, and that is if he leads the pro-collaboration sector of ISA or the sector that from our perspective is the rogue one. The way he talks about al-Qaeda and Afghanistan before 9/11 is ridiculous. You don't need to be an intelligence officer to know how closely the ISA,