“In the book of Judges, Gideon asks God how to choose his men for battle. The Lord told Gideon to take his men down to the river and have them drink. The men who flopped on their bellies and drank like dogs were no good to him. Gideon watched as some men knelt and drank with their eyes watching the horizon. Spears in hand. Though they were few, those were the men he needed. Though they were few, those were the men he needed.”
Evolution is one of the most organic things that happen in any civilization. Whether individuals, institutions, or organizations, those who stagnate die.
When we launched CommandEleven on 6th September, 2015, we never explained what our vision or objectives were outside the core leadership team. Publicly, our first objective was to become a voice an opinion makers and policy advisors, as a think tank. Privately, due to our own personal relationships and experience, we built networks.
Initially, these networks were to cross-check and fact-check information that being reported in media circles or discussed by the general public. These networks were also evolved with CommandEleven to become intelligence gathering centers, passing real-time intelligence to CommandEleven leadership to be pushed up the chain to decision makers.
What we learned was that Pakistan’s decision makers don’t believe they can be questioned or better informed than they already are. What we learned is that Pakistan decision makers are only interested in what their favored few tell them, whether factually correct or not, whether realistically achievable or not.
CommandEleven is not, has not, and will never be a songbird in the chorus.
One of our core objectives is to affect change for a better Pakistan, but to achieve that objective, we need to understand that our role as a think tank can no longer limit our analysis to what information is “publicly” available.
Thus, began the transformation from think tank to private intelligence agency.
Please understand that we aren’t saying that we are operating what nation’s call intelligence agencies. No.
CommandEleven is an apolitical private intelligence agency meaning that we don’t care who is in power, who may be harmed by our analysis, nor do we bring our own personal attitudes or objectives into our analysis.
Our sole objective – the betterment of Pakistan for Pakistanis, as a whole.
CommandEleven’s Definition of Intelligence
The word intelligence has become useless since 9/11.
It has been used to fabricate reasons to attack other nations, while also being hidden from the public to protect the lies. It has been used to censor, under the guise of national security, another misnomer since 9/11.
We need to stop using the word intelligence to define the information that is used to form an intelligence position. A memo, a scribbled chit, a passing conversation between individuals means nothing to the common man and is not intelligence. It is information that is heard, seen, and read throughout the course of the normal day.
Intelligence is when you can connect all the dots between the various points to understand the bigger picture. That’s what we have given you over the past six years.
The bigger picture is always a threat to the State of Pakistan, but now it comes in numerous more forms than kinetic, or traditional, warfare.
The mistake that we have made, in Pakistan, is we get all our information in snippets from an over-excited media, whether social or traditional. Those snippets are rarely joined into a cohesive understanding, and with no cohesive understanding, you cannot solve any problem that Pakistan faces.
We, as a nation, have been fed snippets of information without any understanding, explanation or meaning. The information left to be mis-interrupted by a populace who has purposely been denied critical thinking in the education policy.
This is a method to divide us and have everyone running in different directions thinking they are all attempting to achieve a similar objective.
If you doubt the power of what can be done with little pinches that cause division, look at what the CIA was able to achieve with MK Ultra & Operation Mockingbird.
Psychological operations are both real and directly targeting Pakistan’s youth to affect a massive change in thinking that will lead to Pakistan’s destruction.
It is time that we stop pretending that the solution to Pakistan’s problems lie with the politicians and those who occupy the corridors of power. It is these same people who have brought Pakistan to the position it is in today, whether you wish to accept this statement or not.
The solutions lie with an informed public, that understands the facts of the problem and is listening to experts, who are not interested in the winner of the next election, but the betterment of the State of Pakistan.
We need to change.
What does that mean for you, as a reader of CommandEleven?
CommandEleven, for those who have read our analysis over the past 6 years, has never shied from hitting the corridors of power with their failures and missteps, whether domestic or international. The past 6 years have been driven by the intelligence we have gathered outside the “publicly” available.
We were the first organization to directly target Husain Haqqani for his anti-Pakistan role throughout his political history, the first to discuss in detail, and repeatedly, the terror and insurgent groups, including recruitment and training methodologies.
What changes?
We will no longer filter information that some would consider matters of national security. The people must be informed to what is national security so they can understand what is being censored.
What that means for you is more analysis, with more vocal positions on what is in the national interest of Pakistan, short, medium, and long-term. That also means that we will clearly point out the failures and missteps taken to bring us to today, whether the mistake happened in a suit, a sherwani, or a uniform.
Our evolution into a private intelligence agency is a realization that we can better explain the intelligence that non-state actors (NSAs), foreign intelligence agencies, or foreign governments, use for their own benefit, so that it can be used for the benefit of the people of Pakistan.
What it also means is that some material will be moved to a premium subscription, which means per article, or monthly payment options. Most of our content will remain free to readers of the platform.
The evolution of CommandEleven has reached its apex. While we will continue to operate as a think tank and policy advisory, we will now be expanding and leveraging in our networks to get more information to better draw the big picture for our readers at CommandEleven.
For those who have been with us over the past 6 years, we say thank you for your promotion, confidence and, most importantly, support. For those who have joined our readership recently, you are in for a rocky ride, but in the end, you will emerge better informed on the core issue that challenge the State of Pakistan, along with realistic solutions that can be implemented immediately.
We close with a quote from the popular Netflix show, The Crown,
“I am sick and tired of those who would seek to rationalize and make excuses for the atrocities committed by the IRA. There’s no such thing as political murder or political bombing or political violence. There’s only criminal murder, criminal bombing, and criminal violence.”
We, as Pakistanis, all need to accept this as a mental reality.
We must stop making excuses for those who commit the crimes, those who are unable to protect us from them, and those who are unable to give us justice for those crimes.
We can no longer allow ourselves to justify what our chosen favorites do as acceptable, while decrying the opponents for doing the exact same. We can no longer allow our nation or our citizens to be held hostage mentally, financially, religiously, or politically.
The choice is yours, as an individual, whether to continue with the status quo or change ourselves.
Change ourselves because Pakistan doesn’t change until we, as individuals, change. There are no fairies that will descend and solve our national problems.
We must do that. And to do that, we need the truth without the spin, without the politics, without the outside interests. We need the truth for Pakistan and Pakistanis.
At CommandEleven, we have evolved.
Will you evolve with us?
Syed Khalid Muhammad, the Founder and Executive Director of CommandEleven, brings over three decades of leadership experience, guiding organizations globally in the realms of security, technology, marketing, and management. Notably, he authored "Agency Rules: Never an Easy Day at the Office," a pioneering espionage novel published in 2013. This novel holds historical significance as the first English-language espionage novel written by a Pakistani, achieving international bestseller status and currently available on Amazon.
Furthermore, Syed Khalid Muhammad has made notable appearances on several international TV channels, providing insightful analysis on security and geopolitics.
Since the establishment of CommandEleven in 2015, Khalid has expanded his expertise to encompass analysis, risk and threat assessment, and consultancy in the fields of terrorism, counter-terrorism, counterintelligence, geopolitics, and cognitive warfare. Within CommandEleven, he has successfully cultivated a comprehensive human and electronic intelligence network spanning the Indian subcontinent. Continuously growing, this network extends into various conflict zones globally, providing CommandEleven with actionable, real-time intelligence that forms the foundation of its analytical endeavors.
CommandEleven currently serves multiple clients, including corporate giants, by assisting them in analysis related to security, threat assessment, and threat mitigation strategies in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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Syed Khalid Muhammadhttps://www.commandeleven.com/author/khalid/
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Syed Khalid Muhammadhttps://www.commandeleven.com/author/khalid/
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Syed Khalid Muhammadhttps://www.commandeleven.com/author/khalid/
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Syed Khalid Muhammadhttps://www.commandeleven.com/author/khalid/
