US to focus on Pakistani border
US to focus on Pakistani border
The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has called for a new strategy in Afghanistan which will deny militants bases across the border in Pakistan.
Adm Mike Mullen said he had asked for a "a new, more comprehensive military strategy for the region that covers both sides of that border".
The US must work closely with Pakistan to "eliminate [the enemy's] safe havens", he told Congress.
But Pakistan insists it will not allow foreign forces onto its territory.
"There is no question of any agreement or understanding with the coalition forces whereby they are allowed to conduct operations on our side of the border," said Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
A surge of US attacks in Pakistan's border region over the past week has prompted outrage from the government and army.
Now stating it as a strategy will only add to the pressure on Pakistan's new President, Asif Ali Zardari, as he grapples with the militants, the BBC's James Coomarasamy reports from Washington.
'Inextricably linked'
Adm Mullen was speaking a day after US President George W Bush announced that about 4,500 extra US troops would be sent to Afghanistan by February 2009, boosting the 33,000 currently in the country.
Addressing the House Armed Services Committee, he argued that militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan were waging a common fight.
"In my view, these two nations are inextricably linked in a common insurgency that crosses the border between them," he said.
"We can hunt down and kill extremists as they cross over the border from Pakistan... but until we work more closely with the Pakistani government to eliminate the safe havens from which they operate, the enemy will only keep coming."
Adm Mullen conceded the challenge was great, pointing to Afghanistan's drugs and economic problems, and the "significant political uncertainty" in Pakistan.
The White House said on Wednesday that the failure to capture al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden showed the limitations of US military and intelligence operations.
On the eve of the seventh anniversary of 9/11, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said President Bush would have liked to see the al-Qaeda leader brought to justice, but that the US authorities did not have "super powers".
In another development, Canada confirmed its troops would leave Afghanistan by 2011.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Wednesday that his nation - which suffered significant losses in Afghanistan in recent years - had no appetite for keeping its troops on in Afghanistan past a 2011 deadline imposed in March by parliament.
31 March 2008
3 hours 42 min
What i find most disturbing about it all is the paragraph that I've highlighted
Sky's the limit. True or false?
25 June 2005
7 hours 36 min
Salam
Pakistan to be a third war by the US?
I say that is impossible.
I dont think US can afford to take on more and more wars.
US has not even managed to rap up the last wars it started
in Iraq and before than in Afghanistan.
US cannot afford a war on Pakistan. It would be too expensive for American people.
Therefore, I cant see US putting more burden on themselves.
US economy is already in a very bad shape:
References:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7607872.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7561092.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7529141.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7584472.stm
With America people now really struggling with money, would they
like to pay more tax for a new war in Pakistan?
No chance.
Omrow
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21 November 2006
4 hours 24 min
I think you mean:
Winter is the Springtime of the Muslim. Because Allah (swt) has made the nights long for worship, and the days short for fasting!
25 June 2005
7 hours 36 min
Pakistani army confront US soldiers
Pakistani troops fire shots into the air to stop
US troops crossing into the South Waziristan region of Pakistan, local officials say.
The confrontation began at around midnight, local people say.
They say seven US helicopter gunships and two troop-carrying
Chinook helicopters landed in the Afghan province of Paktika near the Zohba mountain range.
US troops from the Chinooks then tried to cross the border.
As they did so, Pakistani paramilitary soldiers at a checkpoint
opened fire into the air and the US troops decided not to continue
forward, local Pakistani officials say.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7396366.stm
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28 September 2008
9 weeks 3 days
with mr '10 per cent' sardari in power, the americans will somehow get there influence into pakistan.
sardari has already had meetings in downing street and with bush, nd has praised bush for making the world a 'safer' place (dont know where hes been living).
if the regime in pakistan is not changed nd replaced one with the courage and bottle to show the middle finger to america and external powers, then pakistan is heading the same way as iraq.
america cannot afford a out nd out war with pakistan, with it being tied down in iraq and afghanistan, but with the crooks sardari and gilani in power, it wont be long before america has created a ****hole in pakistan.
24 June 2005
2 min 54 sec
My world - With america almost bankrupt, it cannot afford to start too many more wars = safer place.
The enemy of my enemy is my... enemy.
19 August 2007
3 weeks 2 days
What's wrong with Gillani? He's someone who can keep Zardari at bay. Whatever Zardari does, it can't be worse than Musharraf.
Chin up, mate! Life's too short.
24 June 2005
2 min 54 sec
you need to let your hatred of Musharraf slowly but surely seep out of you.
The enemy of my enemy is my... enemy.
24 June 2005
2 min 54 sec
I'll let you be the judge.
Not only has he given permission to the US to attack people on US soil, he has also condemned the recent indigenous uprising in Kashmir as terrorism.
The enemy of my enemy is my... enemy.
31 March 2008
3 hours 42 min
Zardari's messing with the wrong ppl and there's this thing that i don't get, is he doing whatever he's doing for Pakistan and the pakistanis or to sparkle in the eyes of US or just to prove pervaiz wrong?
Sky's the limit. True or false?
19 August 2007
3 weeks 2 days
He doesn't need to give them permission for that. Still what Musharaff did was 50 times worse!
Chin up, mate! Life's too short.
24 June 2005
2 min 54 sec
Which was?
The enemy of my enemy is my... enemy.
19 August 2007
3 weeks 2 days
Well, let's see, where do we start. Suspending the judges for doing stuff that HE didn't like, selling his own people to the CIA, using terrorism as an excuse to bring emergency law, does he remind you of General Zia?
Chin up, mate! Life's too short.
24 June 2005
2 min 54 sec
Suspending the judges = He bad.
Selling people to the CIA = Where's the proof? If so, then v bad.
As for terrorism I assume you mean the same time he got rid of the judges? then it is a part of point one. if you mean Red mosque, that had to be done.
None of that is "50 times worse".
Thing is, 'til about a year before the end of his tenure, he was rather popular amongst the normal people (by which I mean those who were not "party people" of PPPP and PMLN).
As for "being like Zia" a lot of people would see that as a compliment.
The enemy of my enemy is my... enemy.
19 August 2007
3 weeks 2 days
I mean bringing in emergency law, lcoking up political opponents, if you seriously belive that he was that, why didn't his party win? He allegedly "won" a third term, mate, is that even allowed?
If he sees Zia as his role model than that's fine, I don't get why most people will call him a hero. If anyone sees hims as something good then they need to get themselves checked. No offence, but that's so worrying.
If you think he's still a hero then feel free to argue.
Chin up, mate! Life's too short.
24 June 2005
2 min 54 sec
Locking up political opponents: most of them were crooks! (admittedly the "allies" were also crooks...)
A third term is not allowed for the prime Minister. Guess who brought that in?
Members of the cabinet need to have a mandatory minimum level of education, guess who brought that in? (in the past there have been ministers of finance/treasury who used their thumb print to sign as they could not read or write!)
I never said he sees Zia as his role model. I said (or tried to) that many Pakistani's would not see that as a negative thing.
As for why his party did not win - it was because he did not fix the elections. Radical isn't it - for there to be unrigged elections in pakistan.
I am not calling him a hero, just far better than the turd before him and after him (mainly because it is the same lot of turd).
The enemy of my enemy is my... enemy.
19 August 2007
3 weeks 2 days
Doesn't matter who brought a no third term for President in. He broke it.
I don't think most Pakistanis would see Zia as good. Again, I'm not saying that he's the devil while Zardari is an angel, I'm just saying that Zardari is alot better than Musharaff.
Chin up, mate! Life's too short.
31 March 2008
3 hours 42 min
You lot do know that there is a HUGE difference between the two generals?
apart from their names and families and different backgrounds... there is teh critical TIME difference, so is it appropriate to compare em??
Sky's the limit. True or false?
19 August 2007
3 weeks 2 days
Yes. Except Zia was probably worse.
Chin up, mate! Life's too short.
24 June 2005
2 min 54 sec
I am quite sure it was no third term for PM, not president, but I may be wrong.
As for Zia, the supports of PPP tend to hate him, supporters of PML love him.
Reality is probably somewhere in the middle.
Apart from death, there are very few absolutes in the real world. People do good things and bad things.
(and I would class you as PPP or PPP influenced. Am I wrong? I could be wrong as your hatred of Musharraf seems to be closer to the PML people... either way not impartial)
The enemy of my enemy is my... enemy.
19 August 2007
3 weeks 2 days
Well, I don't like Musharaff, Nawaz or Zardari that much to be honest. If I was voting in Pakistan it would probably be the PPP, all I'm trying to say is Zardari might be an idiot but he's alot better than Musharaff.
Chin up, mate! Life's too short.
21 November 2006
4 hours 24 min
I don't know much about Pakistani polotics, but Zia looked like Dracula!
Winter is the Springtime of the Muslim. Because Allah (swt) has made the nights long for worship, and the days short for fasting!
31 March 2008
3 hours 42 min
sorry that was well funny!
Sky's the limit. True or false?
24 June 2005
2 min 54 sec
and I totally disagree
The enemy of my enemy is my... enemy.
28 October 2005
5 hours 37 min
neither do i lets just sit on the sidelines heckling, it will help you get rid of your nostalgia of watching parliment.
People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid.
19 August 2007
3 weeks 2 days
Well feel free to do that. Out of the three parties PML(Q) got the least votes.
Now we have Hitler moustaches, Stalin moustaches and Zia moustaches. On Worms I've got a Dictators team and all three are members of it.
Chin up, mate! Life's too short.
24 June 2005
2 min 54 sec
You really don't see how wrong Zardari's words were?
The current uprising is the first in a couple of decades that you can say hand on heart without any doubts that it is totally 100% indigenous. The protests have generally been peaceful (fro the protestors that is) with no elements of gunning people down, blowing things up.
Zardari has gone to the US and called that terrorism. Even Musharraf defended at the UN the right of Kashmiris to demand freedom.
He has also given permission to the US to carry out attacks on Pakistani Soil, something even the military was not (publically) aware of.
Both acts are something none of his predecessors have ever allowed.
I spoke to a person who is sort of PPP and he suggested that the doctors reports filed when trying to get Zardari out of corruption charges in the UK were probably accurate - that he has lost his mental faculties.
A third major problem with him is that he has fractured/damaged the Pakistani alliance with China. While china may not be perfect, its goals as to Pakistan align pretty well - it needs a peaceful stable Pakistan that can be a route to purchasing goods from the Middle East. There is also other cooperation between the two, but Zardari (and the PPP as a whole) has put this on a back burner and have even refused a nuclear cooperation deal with China, trying to get the USA to offer the same sort of deal it offered to India (which allows India to use all its own nuclear material for military aims and get nuclear material for the civilian use from abroad - giving its nuclear ambitions a major boost).
The enemy of my enemy is my... enemy.
19 August 2007
3 weeks 2 days
While Zardari let the US shoot down Kashmiris, Musharaff tortured and kidnapped people to give them to the CIA.
Chin up, mate! Life's too short.
24 June 2005
2 min 54 sec
That does not make Zardari a better person.
(and he did not let the US shot down Kashmiris. He betrayed them allowed the US to shoot at things on Pakistani soil, mostly on the other side of the country).
As for the CIA kidnappings - very serious allegations. I would want a proper investigation to see what was happening and who did/knew what - I doubt they were given any authority from the Pakistani side and have kidnapped from other countries (Italy and Germany come to mind as other victim countries) and have said they feel they are allowed to from others (using the UK as an example over some fraudulent bankers or something.)
The enemy of my enemy is my... enemy.
25 June 2005
7 hours 36 min
Salam
U.S. is in deep shit now. Afghans are not a forgiving type.
On 22 August 2008, U.S. planes killed 90 civilians in a village of Azizabad in Afghanistan.
U.S. should pay them money to lessen their anger.
Otherwise, I am affraid that the relatives of these
victims are going to make life hell for the American troops in Afghanistan.
Ofcourse, the military did not deliberately target the innocent people.
Here is the full story of the tragedy:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/09/afghanistan.usa
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKTRE497ASN20081009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7660356.stm
Omrow
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