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| India-Pakistan |
| U.S. military wrestles with the problem of the Afghan-Pakistani border region |
| 2008-05-21 |
| Pakistan's ungoverned tribal region has been both a Taliban haven and a constant headache for nato partners throughout the war here. But their frustration with the area is growing, as cross-border attacks coming from the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas of Pakistan, commonly known here as the fata, doubled from 20 in March 2007 to 41 in March 2008 in eastern Afghanistan alone. U.S. forces drove home that displeasure last week with a Predator attack—the fourth since January—on what U.S. officials described as an al Qaeda and Taliban sanctuary. Among U.S. troops, too, frustration with cross-border movement of the Taliban is increasing, along with the movement itself. "Between this year and last, it was significantly worse this year," says former State Department official Daniel Markey, now senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. Col. Bill Carranza, the staff judge advocate at the U.S. military's Combined Air Operations Center, says he is getting "a lot of questions" passed up through commanders from troops on the ground about rules of engagement along the border—how to respond to attacks, whether to pursue for potshots. "But a border's a border," he says. "Commanders tend to be very cautious around them." So, too, are U.S. officials "They have been deeply reluctant to go into tribal areas," says a U.S. military analyst, who adds that Special Operations forces "have been begging for sustained operations" in the fata, so far to no avail. They are lobbying because every major insurgent group "has a command-and-control structure on the Pakistan side of the border," says Seth Jones, an Afghanistan analyst at the Rand Corporation. A highway that runs from Quetta, Pakistan—the epicenter of Taliban operations—to Kandahar, Afghanistan "has been a major route for weapons and fighters. You can basically jump on it and drive a truck all the way through. When I was there, there wasn't a lot stopping you. It's been a complete sieve," says Jones. "It is a tremendous source of sanctuary," agrees Lt. Col. Bill Pinter, strategist for the Combined Air Operations Center. Though "lots of operations occur on the border, they are highly restricted," he says. Predators fly just inside the Afghan border area "constantly," adds a U.S. military official. Even while flying within the constraints of the border, the official adds, "We can see pretty well into" Pakistan. In the meantime, border incursions will be one of the major problems facing U.S. marines as they attempt to clear contested areas of southern Afghanistan's Helmand province in the weeks to come. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 Does India want to add to their muslim population, esp as theres probably a much larger share of folks who cant get along with Hindoos in Pakistan than among Indian muslims? And to give the NWFP to Afghanistan would swing the pop bal in Afghan toward the Pashtuns, which is why it was pushed pre-1977 by the old Afghan monarchy - but today, all the non-Pashtun folks in Afghanistan are represented, and would oppose it. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-05-21 15:36 |
| #7 Divide pakistan up between Afghanistan and India. It was stupidity in the first place to give these idiots their own "country". Time to prove that what's given can be taken away. It would also send a clear message to the "palestinians" and hezbullsh$$ that we're a bit tired of THEIR game, too. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-05-21 14:02 |
| #6 procop has what may well be the right idea, but I think the problem is that Helmand prov simply doenst enough friendly tribesmen at this point, and afghans from elsewhere (even pashtuns) couldnt do the job (theyd stick out to much) |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-05-21 09:10 |
| #5 If you want to play the 'Great Game', then you need to be willing to 'allow' the Afghanies to cross the border the other direction to grace the tribal areas with the same hospitality it has visited upon the Afghan's towns, villages, clans, and family. The key is to have transit areas that are open for our side but still hostile to the other to insure its not exploited by them. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-05-21 08:39 |
| #4 Sounds like Cambodia, 1967-72, doesn't it? Send John Kerry, he has the experience. |
| Posted by: Menhadden Snogum6713 2008-05-21 07:32 |
| #3 Its in Pakistans interest for the unrest to continue ie.Pay cqs from the West!!!! |
| Posted by: Paul 2008-05-21 06:45 |
| #2 I think a 10km wide zone dusted with cobalt 60 might do the trick. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-05-21 01:42 |
| #1 Hit and Run? (Un)Plausible Deniability? |
| Posted by: Hupager Lumumba5246 2008-05-21 01:25 |