The Pakistani army said Thursday during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates that it can't launch any new offensives against militants for six months to a year to give it time to stabilize existing gains.
Because that would mean going into North Wazoo and the "good Taliban".
They managed to say 'stabilize' and 'gains' without their lips falling off?
| Let's wait for the next major Taliban attack against army cantonments or something, and see if the generals still want to consolidate their positions. Gains is a word of fluid meaning for them, along the lines of winning the war. Or at least it's been so until recently... |
The announcement probably comes as a disappointment to the U.S., which has pushed Pakistan to expand its military operations to target militants staging cross-border attacks against coalition troops in Afghanistan. Washington believes such action is critical to success in Afghanistan as it prepares to send an additional 30,000 troops to the country this year.
But the comments by army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas clearly indicate Pakistan will not be pressured in the near term to expand its fight beyond militants waging war against the Pakistani state. Whether it can be convinced in the long term is still an open question.
| *shrug* We've got plenty of Predator missiles begging to be used. You should see how cute they are, wiggling their tails with excitement, when they know they're about to be programmed. |
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