Bangladesh and the CIA

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sytoha/tags/bangladesh/

1. Bangladesh became independent in 1971, having broken away from Pakistan.

In 1971, Pakistan was the chief ally of the CIA in the region.

CIA director Bush had wanted Pakistan to keep control of Bangladesh. (Cached)


2. Bangladesh's first president wanted Bangladesh to be socialist and secular.

The CIA does not like socialist governments; the CIA tends to promote Islamism.

Bangladesh's first president was Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, head of the Awami League.

He faced many difficulties including famine, corruption and opposition from Islamists and the CIA.

He was assassinated in 1975.

Reportedly, the CIA organised the assassination.[25] [26]

Photo of Bangladesh: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knobil/sets/1441852/

3. The CIA, with Pakistan's General Zia ul-Haq as its foremost ally, and Saudi Arabia as its principal source of funds, openly recruited Islamic holy warriors in the 1980s. ( Cached )

"Since the 1980s, Bangladeshi society has been affected by the rise of Islamic fundamentalism...

"Madrassahs (Islamic schools) and welfare societies have mushroomed, some pushing radical doctrines and attacking secularism and secularists." (Cached )

Photo from Bangladesh: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Homeless_child.jpg

4. Today, in 2008, 60 million of Bangladesh's poor are struggling to feed themselves.

They have to spend about 40% of their tiny income on rice. (The Economist 17 April 2008 A different sort of emergency )

Rice yields are only half what they are in India.

5. There has been a state of emergency since 2007. The people who run Bangladesh are the military.

The two main political parties are (1) Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party and (2) Sheikh Hasina Wajed's Awami League.

Islamists recently went on a rampage to protest against a draft law giving equal inheritance rights to men and women.

The government claims it might prosecute those who sided with the Pakistani army in the 1971 struggle for independence, when 3 million died. A large number of leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, might stand trial, but Saudi Arabia objects to this.

Saudi Arabia helps keep Bangladesh afloat financially.

Bangladesh - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:P1010257.JPG

6. In 'Fulcrum of Evil ISI - CIA - Al Qaeda Nexus' (2006) , Maloy Krishnathe Dhar 'has traced the intricate connectivity between the Pakistan intelligence service ISI, the CIA, Royal Saudi Intelligence and Al Qaeda.' (Fulcrum of Evil ISI - CIA - Al Qaeda Nexus).

Bangladesh is now thought to be part of the nexus.

"Fulcrum of Evil seeks to expose the supposed links between the ISI, CIA, Saudi intelligence and various Islamist outfits linked with Al Qaeda..." Cached

"Monday, 27 August 2007 - Initial investigations into the twin blasts in the southern city of Hyderabad have pointed the finger of suspicion to Pakistan and Bangladesh-based terror groups, according to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy." - Cached

"At least 117 insurgent camps in Bangladesh are being used to train terrorists against India..." -117 terror camps on Bangladesh soil

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