Posted on 11/02/2009 4:21:09 AM PST by TDCAnalyst
The Pakistani military has launched a large offensive involving 30,000 soldiers into South Waziristan, one of the tribal agencies most hospitable to the Taliban and like-minded terrorists. Following frightening Taliban attacks on the Army headquarters and an air base suspected of storing nuclear weapons, the Pakistani government began a belated but aggressive campaign. In order for the Pakistanis to succeed however, the U.S. must demonstrate a similar determination to rout the Taliban in Afghanistan by launching a comprehensive counter-insurgency campaign.
The U.S. has been secretly helping the Pakistanis carry out their offensive, providing them with intelligence from unmanned aerial vehicles and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons and equipment. Up to 150 Special Forces are now in Pakistan training and advising their military, a two-fold increase over the past eight months. This assistance has significantly helped the Pakistanis trying to clear South Waziristan, but the U.S. inability to secure Afghanistan limits any gains.
The Pakistani military has complained that militants will escape into Afghanistan, where they will be able to create springboards back into Pakistan. General Ashfaq Kayani, the chief of staff of the army, has criticized the U.S. decision to dismantle eight checkpoints on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, including four that are adjacent to South Waziristan. The U.S. has responded by saying they were simply restructuring their forces. The specific Pakistani criticism may or may not be valid, but a United Nations assessment from April underscores the problem that the Pakistanis face.
The report shows that in the spring, seven percent of Afghanistan was under Taliban control and an additional third of the country was rated as under “high risk.” This means that the Taliban has a very significant foothold in Afghanistan that the U.S. and Afghan government have failed to dislodge....
(Excerpt) Read more at frontpagemag.com ...
How many of those terrorists will now run to Afghanistan? If Obama had sent more troops they could have been ready for them.
Another opportunity missed?
The American Military is capable of defeating the terrorists
The current American Government is not.
I bet Hussein 0 is about to turn the US’s coat in Afghanistan. He has induced the Paks to get tough finally on the Taliban in their midst. At the same time he is mulling pulling the props out from under our own effort in Afghanistan. Not only will we then return Afghanistan to the jihadis for training and R&R but we put Pakistan in the position of having to take Afghanistan, themselves, or leave it for a safe haven for their own Talibanis. This is at least a two bagger in Hussein’s war against American predominance, give the jihadis back Afghanistane and give them Pakistan and its nukes, too.
Not an “opportunity missed” but rather an opportunity gently carressed.
Do you really think the current government is even interested in defeating those folks?
Obama officials are openly hinting that Gen. McChrystal should pull the US listening posts off the Afghan-Pak border. So there’s absolutely no evidence that Obama has the stomach for a fight.
Of course! Our current government would like to see their bloody humiliating defeat.
Wait by “those folks” you mean the US military right?
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