Posted on 11/26/2011 5:57:40 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Such is the state of U.S./Pakistan relations that no one seems fully confident this was accidental. Is there another “alliance” in the world of which that could be said — where one country wipes out two dozen troops from the other and it’s not instantly clear it was a terrible miscalculation instead of a response to some shadowy provocation?
Is it “friendly fire” if the two sides aren’t really friendly?
“It seems quite extraordinary that we’d just nail these posts the way they say we did,” said one senior American official who was in close touch with American and NATO officials in Pakistan and Afghanistan early Saturday. “Whether they were going after people or whether there was some firing from the Afghan side of the border, then the Pakistan side, we just don’t know. It’s real murky right now. Clearly, something went very wrong.”
The American ambassador in Islamabad, Cameron Munter, called an emergency meeting and expressed regret over the Pakistani casualties. And Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, offered condolences to families of the dead and promised an investigation. “This incident has my highest personal attention and my commitment to thoroughly investigate it to determine the facts,” he said in a statement.
The strikes, which Pakistani officials said had involved both helicopters and fighter jets, took place overnight at two military posts in Salala, a village in Pakistan’s Mohmand tribal region near the border with Kunar Province in Afghanistan. At least 40 soldiers were deployed at the posts, which according to Pakistani officials were established to repulse cross-border attacks by Afghan militants and the Taliban. Pakistani military officials said NATO aircraft had penetrated roughly a mile and a half into Pakistan to make the strikes.
If you’re thinking this might be a jihadi operation that Pakistan’s trying to pin on NATO, no dice: A NATO spokesman says it’s “highly likely” that coalition aircraft were responsible. (Why would the Taliban or the Haqqanis want to attack Pakistan at this point anyway?) As punishment for the incident, Pakistani leaders have cut supply lines into Afghanistan and ordered the U.S. to scram from its drone base in southern Pakistan within 15 days. And opposition leaders are already screaming about ending their “support” for the war on terror, so if you’re one of the many people who wonder what things in Afghanistan would look like without Pakistani “help,” good news — we might be about to find out.
I’ll give you three scenarios about what might have happened in the hope/expectation that knowledgeable readers will rule some out in the comments. One: Hot pursuit. NATO was chasing some jihadi outfit, they crossed the border, then we crossed the border after them. It’s happened before and Pakistani troops have ended up dead in the process. But not dozens of Pakistani troops; the sheer volume of casualties plus the fact that NATO surely knows there are checkpoints near the Durand Line makes it hard to understand how this was a case of mistaken identity. Maybe they killed some troops accidentally and then took fire from the others? Or maybe they took fire as soon as they crossed the border? Two: Deliberate targeting. The Times reported six weeks ago about the sustained escalation in mortar fire at American units from across the border in Pakistan. The troops interviewed for the piece made no bones about their belief that the Pakistani military was involved. Ten days after that story was published, the Pentagon made the charge formally. Maybe last night’s attack was NATO’s way of sending a message in the guise of a friendly fire incident. Problem is, doing it this visibly and spectacularly forces the Pakistani leadership to retaliate, as they’ve now done by revoking base rights. Would the White House really risk their drone program just to take out a few Pakistani troops for supporting jihadi mortar fire? Could be that the drone program’s been so successful that they were planning to wind it down anyway, just because there’s almost no one left to target. But Obama’s always preferred stealth operations to spectacles. If he wanted to send a message, he could do it without making Pakistan lose face.
Three: It really was a crazy accident. Gen. Allen met with Pakistani Gen. Kayani on Thursday, just one day before the incident, to discuss greater coordination. Less than a month ago, the White House decided that its (insane) new strategy in Afghanistan was to somehow convince Pakistan to bring the Taliban and the Haqqanis to the bargaining table for talks. If we’re still of the mind that Pakistani cooperation is essential to getting out of the war as quickly and cleanly as possible, mowing down their soldiers en masse seems … counterproductive. So yeah, it probably is an accident — assuming accidents on this scale are even possible. Any Air Force readers willing to weigh in? How likely is it that NATO jets and choppers might not recognize whom they’re engaging on the ground, even when they know there are “allied” checkpoints in the area?
Does Hallmark make a card for things like this?
How about a radar directed strike against mortar fire which, oops, happened to be coming from the Pakistani base ?
`We’re so very sorry for your loss,
We say that, man-to-man.
But it seems that very recently
We can’t tell you from the Taliban.’
How about video proving that, do you have a link.
Yeah, it reads....”This is Big Duke Six, clear the area I’m comin’ in myself. Don’t these people ever give up?”
Nuke them from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
Seriously though, this is the usual posturing by the government there to assuage the populance. A few riots, a few attacks on Americans or American interests in Pakistan and this will soon be forgotten and the base will stay operational - or close in name only and remain operational.
.
_______________
JIHAD PER TV REALITY SERIES!!
“ALL AMERICAN MUSLIMS”
TLC SUNDAY, 9 PM CST
Pam Gellar:
“All American Muslims” is an attempt to manipulate Americans into ignoring the threat of jihad and to bully them into thinking that being concerned about the jihad threat would somehow victimize these nice people in this show.
The problem people have with Islam is its teachings of violence against and the subjugation of unbelievers. It is with the supremacist ideology and the fervent believers in those noxious doctrines of warfare and subjugation. The ultimate danger posed by a program presenting the “normal” side of life for American Muslims is that it isn’t’t accurate.
The danger is in the deception and obfuscation of the truth which results in the intellectual disarming of the American people.”
_______________________
Email TLC.
Protest
Boycott
Get up a petition.
They will destroy all we have done to alert America to the danger of Islam
This atrocity MUST be stopped!
.
From ‘Bare naked Islam’
http://barenakedislam.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/tlcs-all-american-muslim-series-sponsor-boycott-list/
Here’s a simple email form to send: TLC SPONSOR LETTER
http://florida-family.org/take_action_form.php?message=51
“ALL AMERICAN MUSLIMS” SPONSORS:
SWEET & LOW
CLINIQUE
JOHN FRIEDA HAIR CARE
WAL-MART
K-MART
PET SMART
DYSON VACUUMS
AMWAY
STOP & SHOP
CHASE BANK
T-MOBILE
HTC RADAR PHONE
CENTRUM
HOME DEPOT
SONIC
TIME WARNER CABLE
NBC NEWS
PRO-ACTIV
AIRBORNE SUPPLEMENTS
LION KING
KETTLE CHIPS
TRUE BLUE TEST
KAYAK.COM
KAHLUA
TRUMOO
KINECT
BOB’S FURNITURE
FREE COUNTRY CLOTHING
NORTH SHORE/LIJ HOSPITAL
LEAP FROG
FACEBOOK Boycott TLC here: BoycottTLC
https://www.facebook.com/BoycottTLC
.
Just for the record, I like the show. The folks in it are no threat to me.
Are you serious? You like the show!!?
I did like the two shows I saw. I grew up in Dearborn and it seems pretty authentic.
Theory #4: Our “allies” tried to ambush US troops and found out why that is a BAD idea!
You’re manning a Pakistani outpost on the Afghan border, when you spot some NATO helo gunships. Do you c) fire warning shots at them? (msnbc.msn.com)
The folks in it are no threat to you? You want to bet your life on that? If they are muslims following the koran and sharia they are 100% entitled and encouraged to deceive westerners by any and all means until the ‘time’ comes. The ‘fooled’ westerners are gonna be the first ones with their heads sawed off when the SHTF here. But then again....maybe you have another reason to be so trusting?
Just for the record, I like the show. The folks in it are no threat to me.
_______________________
I cannot believe you said that.
‘All American Muslim’ is Muslim propaganda.
Islam is a threat to you and to all of us.
Withdraw all aid? Hell yes, yesterday was not soon enough. But don't expect Hussein to do it. He is far too cozy with the moslems.
This "country" sheltered Bin Laden for years. They created the taliban. They are at war with us.
I’ve lived and worked among Muslims and Muslim Americans most of my life. My experience is that they reject fundamentalist extremism and love this country. Have there been exceptions? Sure, just as there are among any group. I grew up in Dearborn and the show does capture the town’s reality.
OK, so what if they’re not “true Muslims” in your eyes? What if they are in fact “moderate” in their beliefs? Will you admit that they don’t deserve your attacks?
Ah, the Nick Berg approach to islam.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.