U.S. launches "urgent review" of Afghan policy as jihadi threat spreads

Officials described the Pakistan-based extremist network, which the Pentagon calls “the syndicate,” as a loose alliance of three elements. Kashmiri militants, constrained by recent agreements between Pakistan and India, have “leaned over” to assist a domestic terrorist campaign launched by homegrown extremists often referred to as the “Pakistani Taliban,” one official said. The Afghan Taliban — itself divided into several groups — is based in Pakistan but focused on Afghanistan, as are the forces led by warlords Jalauddin Haqqani and his son Siraj, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, among others. Traditional tribal groups in Pakistan’s western, Federally Administered Tribal Areas — FATA — are a third element. Those groups are said to be focused primarily on keeping the Pakistani military and government out of their areas, and assisting the Afghan-oriented parts of the network.

Al-Qaeda, composed largely of Arabs and, increasingly, Uzbeks, Chechens and other Central Asians, is described as sitting atop the structure, providing money and training to the others in exchange for sanctuary. “They are oriented to just keeping the Pakistani military and government out of their areas,” the intelligence official said. “They help the groups who are interested in Afghanistan.”