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| India-Pakistan |
| US drones keep up heat on Haqqani group |
| 2010-09-22 |
| [Dawn] Apparently frustrated over Pakistain military's inaction against the Haqqani network, the United States has this month unleashed a relentless wave of dronezaps in North Wazoo, hoping to downgrade the operational capabilities of the group it considers to be the most lethal thug outfit in Afghanistan. Since Sept 2, there have been 13 strikes by unmanned Predator drones in North Wazoo -- the highest number in a month since the US began using them to hit targets in Pakistain in 2004. The number of dronezaps this year has already crossed 70 -- the highest figure for a year. According to military sources, an operation in North Wazoo got delayed because the army was preoccupied with fighting militancy in other tribal areas and flood relief. This window was fully exploited by the group to intensify its activities, defence analysts believe. "The Americans want to check that freedom of space available to the Haqqanis through intensified dronezaps," a source said. There are few takers for the Pak explanation in the US and many describe the delay as tactical. Besides, Pakistain had in June initiated efforts to secure a place for the Haqqanis in post-war Afghanistan by working out a rapprochement between the group and the Karzai government. US opposition to the initiative halted it. Sources suggest that Pakistain would make fresh moves to discuss peace with the Haqqanis, in the context of the overall reconciliation plan, during Afghanistan's Caped President Hamid Maybe I'll join the TalibanKarzai's current visit to Pakistain. The pattern of the attacks this month shows that the primary target is the Haqqani network, even though his host Hafiz Gul Bahadar and foreign Orcs and similar vermin of Al Qaeda have also been targeted. The strikes this month have predominantly been in Miramshah sub-division, where the Haqqani network's headquarters are based and where the group carries out its financial dealings, acquisition of weapons and strategic planning. Five of the attacks occurred in Datakhel tehsil, which is home to Gul Bahadar's clan Uthmanzai Wazir. Dandi Derpakhel, the scene of another attack in Miramshah, is where members of Jalaluddin Haqqani's family live. Gul Bahadar, who leads the other major thug grouping in North Wazoo, is more than a host for the Haqqanis. He not only provides them with the tribal support the Haqqanis lack, but also gives them passage to the border. The only attack this month outside Miramshah was in Shawal, where foreign fighters loyal to Al Qaeda have sanctuaries. The US, while targeting the Haqqanis, is pursuing the 'hammer and anvil approach'. Alongside the spike in the dronezaps, US Special Forces have launched an intense operation against the group in eastern Afghanistan, killing a number of its 'commanders'. The Haqqani network has been the focus of US action for the past two years. However, The infamous However... after the Dec 2009 suicide kaboom on the Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, a key facility of the CIA, the network again came under renewed focus. In this unprecedented intense bombardment by drones, military officials see a shift in US policy in Afghanistan from counter-insurgency to counter-terrorism. They say the US, notwithstanding international denunciation of the dronezaps, feels encouraged because the strikes in the past took out second- and third-tier leadership of thug groups. Philip Alston, a UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, has criticised the attacks as 'licence to kill' that creates a 'major accountability vacuum'. Analysts opine that the dronezaps have been counter-productive, providing Orcs and similar vermin with an effective recruitment tool and inflaming opinion against the US and an embattled Pakistain government, which has lately gone silent on the attacks. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Keep zapp'n those devils! |
| Posted by: Uleger Barnsmell4617 2010-09-22 23:55 |
| #1 As winter approaches, this network sancuary escalation may have resulted in an early reduction of the seasonal fighting in Afghanistan. There may yet be hope for victory. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-09-22 08:07 |