CIA Officials on damage control mission;WIKILEAKS

[niazikhan2]

ISLAMABAD: As part of the gigantic exercise to control the damage and repair the dents caused by the WikiLeakes to the interests of the United States and its ties with close allies like Pakistan, the US administration has decided to send its top intelligence officer Michael J Morrell to Islamabad on emergency basis. Morrell, deputy chief of CIA, is reaching Islamabad on ‘unspecified’ mission today (Saturday). He will be received by the senior officials of the host counterpart agency and would be taken to the agency headquarters immediately.
Morell, the senior most career agency officer who has been engaged directly in intelligence gathering task and is considered to be an expert on Asia, would be staying in the region for about four days. He will meet the president, the prime minister, interior minister Rehman Malik, and intelligence bosses separately. He has also requested for a meeting with Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. This is the first high profile visit from the United States since the WikiLeaks started causing destruction of inter-state relations through its fiction like bombshell stories.
Michael J. Morell, who will be leading a high-level delegation drawn from various departments, has been chosen for the mission due to his rich background and understanding of the region. He was sworn in as deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency on May 6 this year. A career Agency officer, he has held a variety of leadership positions, including associate deputy director of CIA and director for intelligence. It has been officially stated in both the capitals that relations of the two countries remain unaffected despite the huge leaks but inside brief holders are talking in contrary terms.
Morell’s primary task would be to assure the hosts of US administration’s dissociation with what has appeared in the disclosures and to rebuild trust since the two countries cannot afford a new wave of mistrust at this crucial juncture when US-led ISAF is mulling to work out a strategy to vacate the region. As associate deputy director from July 2006 until May 2008, Morell assisted the Director in the overall leadership of the Agency, focusing on its internal management.
As director for intelligence for the two years prior to his current assignment, he guided the Agency’s all-source analytic arm, which produces strategic and tactical assessments for US policymakers and military commanders. His visit has an added significance since a presidential visit from Pakistan to the United States is being scheduled and an assurance is also available on the table that US President Barrack Hussain Obama will undertake a visit to Pakistan, a promise that was made in the wake of hue and cry in Pakistan last month when Obama, ignoring its ally in so-called war on terror, preferred to land in Mumbai first and then proceeded to New Delhi, the sources added.
It has also been hinted that the US president could not fulfil his commitment of undertaking a sojourn to Pakistan early next year due to the upcoming domestic ‘odds’ and Islamabad will have to content with the vice president of the US. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will be visiting Washington to take part in the efforts for ‘controlling the damage’ before the said visit.
The visits in question would focus on putting effective checks on ‘reoccurring’ of leaks so that smooth sailing in bilateral relations could be ensured, the sources said.
The Afghan situation will figure conspicuously during Morell’s interactions in Islamabad as spymasters of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey have had their marathon deliberations in Ankara last week and a number of developments have taken place during the recent days, the security sources said.



http://old.thenews.com.pk/12-12-2010...ws/e-20070.htm