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America’s warning
[DAWN] A SEMI-ANNUAL Pentagon report to the US Congress on the security situation in Afghanistan has included a troubling assertion about Pakistain-US ties. The report has warned that the US is prepared to take "unilateral steps" in areas where Pakistain differs with the US in how to address the regional militancy threat.While the report has also stressed the need for dialogue and cooperation with Pakistain, the mere suggestion of unilateral military action inside Pakistain by the US against holy warrior targets is likely to be met with hostility. The presidency of Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... has already upended many diplomatic norms, while a more militarised approach against holy warrior threats that America perceives globally suggests a willingness to redefine red lines in ties with other countries. Pakistain must respond carefully to any invasive tactics that the US might attempt. The triangular relationship between Pakistain, Afghanistan and the US has had both legitimate and less legitimate complaints on all sides. With Pakistain continuing to suffer terrorist attacks, and credible intelligence suggesting that many of these originate in sanctuaries that anti-Pakistain snuffies have found in Afghanistan, it is clear that Pakistain itself faces a serious threat. Meanwhile, ...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's knife out of his hand...... the repeated attempts to pin blame on Pakistain for failures of the US and Kabul overlook a fundamental reality: eventually, there will have to be a political settlement in Afghanistan. Threatening Pakistain with unilateral action against holy warrior networks that Pakistain is also expected to help bring to the negotiating table makes little sense. Where intelligence is shared with Pakistain of the genesis of certain attacks inside Afghanistan being traced back to its soil, Pakistain has for some years expressed a willingness to act. It has never been clear why that offer has not been taken up earnestly by Afghanistan or the US. In Afghanistan, the Trump administration seems destined to allow the US military greater leeway for at least the next two years, perhaps for the entire term of the current presidency. Posted by: Fred 2017-12-20 |
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