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For over a year, there have been U.S. attacks on Taliban and al Qaeda personnel inside Pakistan, typically just across the border from Afghanistan. Pakistan has protested, and pro-Taliban Pakistani border guards have been reported shooting at U.S. troops and helicopters on the border, often inside Afghanistan. But Pakistan has done little beyond protesting, and ordering its troops to fire on "invading" U.S. forces. Not much has changed on the border as a result of that. Pakistan's lack of real action is apparently due to U.S. officials (some quite senior ) holding several meetings with Pakistani leaders. These were described...

Twenty-seven people have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack at a meeting of tribal elders in a restive region of Pakistan near the Afghan border. Eighty-one people were injured, many of them critically, in the blast in the Orakzai semi-autonomous tribal region. The bomber struck as some 600 people held an open-air meeting to raise a militia to evict Taleban from the area. In recent weeks, tribesmen in the north-west have taken up arms to fight the Taleban alongside Pakistani troops.

Pakistan has dispatched its top finance officials on a mission to raise billions of dollars from its closest allies in a last ditch bid to stave off bankruptcy. Shaukat Tareen, the prime minister's finance adviser, and Shamshad Akhtar, the governor of the central bank, have travelled to Washington to secure £6 billion American and British-backed lifeline. Oil-rich Gulf states have been lined up to match Western funds with extra billions to ensure that the country, which until recently touted itself as the next Asian Tiger, avoids a balance of payments crisis. Mr Tareen, a suave former banker, was appointed this...

Sen. Obama isn't just wrong on the top foreign policy issues of Iraq, Iran and Russia, but also on virtually every other one that comes to mind. His strongest position is on Pakistan, where he advocates launching strikes on terrorists identified in that country if the government is unable or unwilling to go after them. This is an honorable position, although openly stating such an intention has extremely negative diplomatic repercussions and threatens the stability of the Pakistani government, which could allow radical Muslims to have an even greater safe harbor. Such statements are meant to be made in private,...

A U.S. missile attack by a pilotless drone killed at least six people on Thursday, including 3 Arabs, in a Pakistani tribal region regarded as a safe haven for al Qaeda and Taliban militants, an intelligence official said. The target was a house in Tappi, a village 20 km east of Miranshah that has been hit before in recent days, according to an intelligence official in the region.

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) – A suspected U.S. drone fired a missile on Thursday into Pakistan's North Waziristan, a tribal region on the Afghan border regarded as a safe haven for al Qaeda and Taliban militants, a Reuters witness said. "It was a huge blast," said the journalist, who saw and heard the explosion from the rooftop of his house in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, shortly after 10:00 p.m. (1600 GMT). The target was in Tappi, a village 20 km east of Miranshah that has been hit before in recent days. "The drone is still flying in the...

I wasted another evening on Tuesday watching one of the media events ignorant journalists insist on misrepresenting as debates. The candidates repeated the same cliches they used in their first debate. Once again Sen. Barack Obama demonstrated that he is dangerously ignorant in the area of foreign policy and the War on Terror. Once again journalists ignored his mistake. Obama. is apparently incapable of understanding the fact that sending military forces into another country without permission is an invasion. It doesn't matter why the troops enter the country, it is still an act of war. The fact that Osama bin...

At least 20 Al-Qaeda linked militants, eight of them foreigners, were killed when Pakistani helicopter gunships hit rebel hideouts in a tribal region near the Afghan border, officials said. The casualties occurred on Wednesday in the Bajaur region, where Pakistani troops launched a major offensive against Islamic militants in August. "Twelve local and eight foreign militants including their important commanders were killed in the successful airstrike," a security official told AFP.

John McCain’s strategy before yesterday’s second presidential debate in Nashville could be described in three words: stop the bleeding. Trailing in national polls and battleground states, and a distant second choice among voters increasingly worried about the economy, McCain had to accomplish two things. First, he had to reassure voters that he would be a better steward of the economy. Second, he had to spoil the aura of inevitability that is increasingly attached to the Obama campaign. Both were daunting tasks and, in the end, both were beyond McCain’s reach.

Don’t ask about the remotely-controlled American drones armed with missiles that are now hunting across the Pakistani border, searching through the mountain peaks, valleys and dusty villages inside Pakistan ....And certainly don’t ask about the troops on bases here in Afghanistan who don’t wear uniforms, have long beards, tattoos and don’t mingle with regular soldiers. They eat in their own chow halls, plan their own missions and don’t talk much. They don’t talk at all to the media. They’re the men who have been called in to cross into Pakistan when the drones can’t get deep enough. They are elite...

Officially, the central bank holds $8.14 billion (£4.65 billion) of foreign currency, but if forward liabilities are included, the real reserves may be only $3 billion - enough to buy about 30 days of imports like oil and food. Nine months ago, Pakistan had $16 bn in the coffers. The government is engulfed by crises left behind by Pervez Musharraf, the military ruler who resigned the presidency in August. High oil prices have combined with endemic corruption and mismanagement to inflict huge damage on the economy. Given the country's standing as a frontline state in the US-led "war on terrorism",...

FBI Warns of Potential Terror Attacks The FBI and Department of Homeland Security today issued an analytical "note" to U.S. law-enforcement officials cautioning that al-Qaida terrorists have in the past expressed interest in attacking public buildings using a dozen suicide bombers each carrying 20 kilograms of explosives. Authors with the U.S. Office of Intelligence and Analysis added that they have "no credible or specific information that terrorists are planning operations against public buildings in the United States." The FBI and DHS analysts said they were releasing the note because "it is important for local authorities and building owners and...

KHAR, Pakistan - Pakistan ordered the deportation of about 50,000 Afghan refugees in an insurgency-wracked tribal region amid a major military offensive against al-Qaida and Taliban fighters. The government said it was expelling all Afghan refugees in the Bajur tribal region, alleging many of them have links to militant groups. Police in the town of Khar in Bajur arrested 25 Afghans and said they would soon be deported.

The U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, stated this week more troops and economic aid were needed “as quickly as possible” for the seven-year-old counterinsurgency battle. The core of McKiernan’s military aid request is four more combat brigades and helicopters, indicating Afghanistan will have a “surge” of its own.

Taliban ‘upset’ at missile hit Monday, October 06, 2008 DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The Taliban are unusually angry about the latest suspected US missile strike in Pakistan, indicating that a top militant may have died, officials and residents said on Sunday as the death toll from the attack rose to 24. Several Arab militants were said to be among the dead in Friday's strike in North Waziristan. Two Pakistani intelligence officials said that over the weekend two people wounded in the attack died at a hospital in Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan. The officials, who spoke on condition of...

With some overly friendly comments to Gov. Sarah Palin at the United Nations, Asif Ali Zardari has succeeded in uniting one of Pakistan's hard-line mosques and its feminists after a few weeks in office. A radical Muslim prayer leader said the president shamed the nation for "indecent gestures, filthy remarks, and repeated praise of a non-Muslim lady wearing a short skirt." Feminists charged that once again a male Pakistani leader has embarrassed the country with sexist remarks. And across the board, the Pakistani press has shown disapproval.

A few minutes ago I was reading an article about the Taliban in Pakistan and this so-called region of Waziristan. In an effort to geographically orient myself, I decided to type Waziristan into my beloved Google Maps. Unfortunately, Waziristan could not be (properly) located, and I received this response. Waziristan, Pakhistan [sic] ‎Address: Removal requested (No such place) Luckily, one can look up Waziristan elsewhere and find out where the place really is. Wikipedia, for example. I'm not a conspiracy nut or anything like that, but I'd like to throw this question out to everybody reading this post. Who do...

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan - The Taliban are furious about the latest apparent U.S. missile strike in Pakistan, indicating a senior militant may be among two dozen people killed, officials and residents said Sunday. SNIP... "Two residents in the area targeted Friday said Taliban fighters warned people not to discuss the missile strike or inspect the rubble at the site. The residents requested anonymity for fear of Taliban retribution."

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — Intelligence officials suspect a top militant leader may have been killed in an alleged U.S. missile strike because the Taliban are unusually angry about the attack. Amid reports of the death toll rising to 24, informants and agents in the field said members of the Taliban seem particularly incensed by the latest strike. The fury is a sign that a senior Taliban leader may have been killed, though that has yet to be confirmed, the officials said Sunday. The insurgents were using harsh language against locals, calling them "salable commodities" — a reference to people...

We receive alJazeera English in Israel and excluding the jaundiced reports on our country, they do some useful reporting from elsewhere. On Thursday, Oct. 2, late afternoon our time Pakistan Prime Minister Gilani was interviewed by Kamal Hyder, the alJazeera reporter there formerly with CNN. Hyder asked him, do you know where Osama bin Laden is? Answer, No and he may be dead. This is the Pakistan PM with access to their intelligence and I've been waiting for the MSM to publicize this answer. Was he just talking through his hat or is that what the Pakistan government believes? Nothing...

Pakistani villagers have collected the corpses and body parts of at least 20 people killed by a reported US strike. Intelligence officials and villagers said a pilotless drone fired a missile at a house in Mohammad Khel, North Waziristan, near the Afghan border. The dead are said to include several suspected Arab militants. A number of cross-border operations have been undertaken by US-led forces in Afghanistan since late August.

Pakistani villagers collected body parts of at least 20 people, including several suspected Arab militants, killed by a U.S. missile strike on a house in a northwestern tribal area, intelligence officials said on Saturday.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — War has come to Pakistan, not just as terrorist bombings, but as full-scale battles, leaving Pakistanis angry and dismayed as the dead, wounded and displaced turn up right on their doorstep. An estimated 250,000 people have now fled the helicopters, jets, artillery and mortar fire of the Pakistani Army, and the assaults, intimidation and rough justice of the Taliban who have dug into Pakistan’s tribal areas. About 20,000 people are so desperate that they have flooded over the border from the Bajaur tribal area to seek safety in Afghanistan. Many others are crowding around this northwest Pakistani...

A US strike on a Pakistani village near the Afghan border has killed at least nine people including suspected foreign militants, Pakistani sources say. Initial reports said at least 20 people had died when an unmanned aircraft (drone) fired on the village in North Waziristan region. But officials later talked of between nine and 12 deaths. The US military has not confirmed any drone attacks and a Pakistani spokesman said there had been no intrusion. 'Most were foreigners' The missile was reportedly launched in the evening. There is confusion over reports of a morning air strike. The evening targeted a...

US air strikes have killed at least 20 people including suspected foreign militants close to Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, reports say.

With his first entry in an otherwise blank foreign policy ledger, Barack Obama sabotaged America’s operational relationship with Pakistan. On August 1, 2007, during a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, Senator Obama said of Pakistan's border with Afghanistan: "There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again . . . If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will." The statement was swiftly criticized by prominent Republicans and Democrats as inept and harmful to American interests. (It was...

Please, forgive me for presenting this article with my highlights. (I could highlight everything actually). I knew I like Michael Totten, but in this article he exceeded my high expectations. Follow the link to the original to bypass my highlights. Senator Barack Obama said something at the presidential debate last week that almost perfectly encapsulates the difference between his foreign policy and his opponent’s: “Secretary of Defense Robert Gates himself acknowledges the war on terrorism started in Afghanistan and it needs to end there.” I don’t know if Obama paraphrased Gates correctly, but if so, they’re both wrong.If Afghanistan were...

Help Us, Pleads Afghan Government by: Jesse Masai, October 02, 2008 Seven years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan has seen an increase in security incidents that have killed soldiers and civilians, including assassination attempts on President Ahmed Kharzai. While larger parts of the country remain safe and democratization and development continue moving forward, Afghan Minister of Defense General Abdul Rahim Wardak says the rise in violence requires new approaches involving Afghan institutions, regional partners and the international community. Speaking at the Heritage Foundation, General Rahim said Afghanistan has made considerable progress over time, but also suggested that three...

For some reason Barack Obama has never mentioned his three week stay in Pakistan in any of his writings. On the infamous San Francisco trip in which Obama called small town Americans “bitter” he also bragged that he had more foreign policy credentials than Hillary Clinton and John McCain. One of the things he listed on his resume was his extensive foreign travel including a 1981 trip to Pakistan. However since this admission, slip of the tongue, or however you would characterize it, Obama has never mentioned this trip again. Although his campaign manager did discuss it when pressed: As...

Lahore, Pakistan - After the flirtation came the fatwa. ADVERTISEMENT With some overly friendly comments to Gov. Sarah Palin at the United Nations, Asif Ali Zardari has succeeded in uniting one of Pakistan's hard-line mosques and its feminists after a few weeks in office. A radical Muslim prayer leader said the president shamed the nation for "indecent gestures, filthy remarks, and repeated praise of a non-Muslim lady wearing a short skirt."

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2008 – NATO’s top military commander in Afghanistan said today he is “cautiously optimistic” regarding recent Pakistani military efforts to rein in insurgent activity in areas near the border with Afghanistan. The Pakistani leadership now appears to be acting against terrorist sanctuaries located in the country’s remote federally administered tribal area, Army Gen. David D. McKiernan, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, told Pentagon reporters. Pakistani leaders may recognize that those militant bases pose “an existential threat” to Pakistan‘s future, McKiernan said. “I am encouraged by the military actions that the Pakistani army and frontier corps...

Pakistani tribesmen supporting a government assault on Islamist militants near the troubled Afghan frontier have killed 13 Taliban insurgents, officials said Wednesday. The role of the Pashtun tribal fighters in the operation in the volatile Bajaur region has drawn comparisons with the so-called "Sunni Awakening" in Iraq in which tribes fought Al-Qaeda militants. "Thirteen Taliban militants were killed in fighting with tribal forces overnight," a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. He said one tribesman also died in the clashes which erupted when Salarzai tribesmen set fire to about a dozen militant hideouts and houses in revenge for...

Text of report by private Indian television channel Zee News website on 1 October Jammu [non-valley region adjoining Indian-administered Kashmir], [Wednesday] 1 October: In yet another ceasefire violation, Pakistani troops Wednesday fired from across the border to push in armed militants in Jammu and Kashmir, the BSF [Border Security Force] said. "Pakistani Rangers opened fire on Tent Post along the International Border in Kanachak sub-sector of Jammu frontier in the wee hours today," a BSF spokesman said.

Pakistani police capture al Qaeda's Karachi commander By Bill RoggioSeptember 26, 2008 10:57 AM Pakistani police detained a senior leader af al Qaeda's network in Karachi during raids in the southern city as more information on al Qaeda's network inPakistan comes to light. Police captured a senior terrorist leader named Rahimullah during a early morning raid in the port city. Rahimullah's capture led to a follow-on raid that targeted a suicide bombing cell. Three terrorists were killed during the raid after throwing hand grenades at the police. A gun battle and an explosion was reported. Police indicated the bombers blew...

On the front lines of the battle against terrorism, one need drive only 15 minutes from the military's headquarters to hear the militants' small-arms fire. Pakistani alleged Taliban supporters chant anti-US slogans as they gather at the site of a US... Pakistani alleged Taliban supporters chant anti-US slogans as they gather at the site of a US missile strike in Damadola village in the northwestern Bajaur tribal district which borders Afghanistan's volatile Kunar province, on May 15, 2008. Pakistani militants on May 15 accused the United States of carrying out a missile strike in the country's lawless tribal region and...

Does it bother anybody else to hear Obama pronounce Pakistan & Taliban? MSM AnalysisI don't think he's a jihadi or anything. I'm just sayin'... he sounds like a jihadi...

(CNN) -- The leader of Pakistan's Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, is dead from kidney failure, sources told CNN. Baitullah Mehsud speaks to reporters in the tribal district of South Waziristan near the Afghan border in May. The Pakistan government blamed Mehsud for the December 27, 2007, assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. An unnamed Islamabad-based source with connections within the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan said Mehsud died about 1 a.m. Wednesday. Military officials in the field confirmed to CNN that Mehsud had died. -snip-

Today we look at the latest moves from Al Qaeda, Pakistan sacks its Pro-Taliban ISI boss and finally a look at the role that Sharia Banking may be playing in the home mortgage crisis in America. That plus the latest in the Somalia Piracy Case, including the latest in the mysterious Iranian frigate-- does it have a nuke on board, plus the latest from the world of transnational gangs and Border Security. Running time 60 Minutes.

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) - A missile strike by a suspected US spy drone hit a house in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan, killing at least four people and wounding nine, security officials said Wednesday. The attack is the latest in a string of incidents on the rugged frontier that have raised tensions between Islamabad and Washington, including a clash between Pakistani troops and US-led forces in Afghanistan. It happened shortly after Pashtun tribesmen shot at three drones circling the village of Khusali Toorikhel in North Waziristan, a known haunt of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants. "After the drones came under...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's army chief named a general considered a hawk in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban to head the country's powerful spy agency, asserting his control at a time of U.S. concern that rogue operatives are aiding Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha oversaw military offensives against militants in the lawless border regions with Afghanistan in his most recent job as director general of military operations. His appointment as head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, the country's main spy agency, was part of a broader shake-up of army top brass announced...

As the Taliban and al Qaeda insurgency rages in northwestern Pakistan, the Pakistani government has stepped up its efforts to engage the local tribes to battle the extremists. The effort to gain the support of the Pashtu tribes in northwestern Pakistan was highlighted when General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, the Chief of Staff of the Pakistani Army visited the Bajaur tribal agency, where a two-month old offensive against the Taliban is still underway. Kiyani "expressed his satisfaction that local tribesmen have risen against miscreants and are fully supporting the Army," Geo TV reported. Miscreant is a term often used by Pakistanis...

Several times NGO and human rights defenders are interrupted and fought at the UN when they dare criticize the conditions of minorities and women in the muslim world. Here is a video of how a NGO speaker was fought several times by Pakistan and Egypt who hijacked the discussion at the UNHRC.

Excerpt - ISLAMABAD, Sept 29: In a major reshuffle in the army’s top command, Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Monday brought in a new head of the all-powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), changed four of the nine corps commanders and appointed a new chief of general staff, besides giving key postings to a few others. The shake-up is the most wide-ranging since Gen Kayani took over as the COAS and perhaps even more significant since the former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf stepped down as the country’s controversial president. The move came within hours of the...

KHYBER AGENCY: The abducted Afghan ambassador designate to Pakistan, Abdul Khaliq Farahi Monday reached Peshawar after being released, official sources said. Earlier, the Afghan Embassy had also confirmed his release. The Afghan envoy was kidnapped on September 22 from Hayatabad area in Peshawar. His driver was killed by the kidnappers.

Militants in Pakistan pose a threat to the country's existence, according the the American General, David Petraeus. Speaking in London after meeting the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, the commander of US Central Command said Pakistan had to deal with the problem. He went on to say he would help Pakistan make a a sustained commitment to deal with the militants. His comments come amid tension between the US and Islamabad over American attacks on militants inside Pakistan. 'Existential threat' US forces in Afghanistan have conducted a number of cross-border operations targeting militants based in neighbouring northwest Pakistan. The Pakistani...

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan has appointed a new chief for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate, months after U.S. officials had questioned the reliability of the military's premier spy agency in the war against terrorism. In a statement released late Monday, the military said Lieutenant-General Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, formerly head of Military Operations, had been appointed Director-General of the ISI, replacing Lieutenant-General Nadeem Taj. Often referred to by critics as a "state within a state," the ISI is feared by neighboring Afghanistan and India, as well as Pakistan's civilian politicians whose governments have been overthrown by military coups. U.S. fears that...

WASHINGTON: If the United States forces in Afghanistan continue to suffer casualties inflicted by insurgents crossing over from Pakistan, the next administration, whether Republican or Democratic, will come under tremendous public pressure to make direct strikes on Pakistani targets, according to three South Asia experts. The observation came at a meeting organised by Khawaja M Ashraf, president of the Pakistani-American Congress, here on Sunday. The three experts who spoke on the prevailing situation in the region were, Walter Andersen of the Johns Hopkins University, Rodney Jones, who runs a local consultancy, and Jonathan Landay of McClatchy Newspapers, who has extensive...

As Pakistani investigators hunt the terrorists behind the massive Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad, FBI agents in the U.S. have begun aggressively hunting for Americans who have recently returned from trips to Pakistan where they may have trained at al-Qaida camps, WND has learned. A coast-to-coast dragnet has been launched partly in response to leads developed in the arrest of one of al-Qaida's "fixers" in the U.S., say FBI officials. They report the bureau is in a race against time to identify Pakistan-trained sleeper cells and disrupt a possible pre-election "October surprise." For the first time since 9/11, counterterrorism field...

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari would have expected that his interactions with American leaders in New York this week could bring trouble at home. After all, relations between the two countries are as tense as they've ever been, erupting into an exchange of fire between U.S. and Pakistani forces along the Afghan border on Thursday. But the meeting that appears to have gotten the Pakistani leader into more trouble than any other was a brief encounter with Republican vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. Zardari met Palin on Wednesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, where Zardari was making...

He's a gentle man, lean and soft-spoken, careful to begin his lecture with an explanation of principles like the right to counsel. The passion in Frank Lindh builds only when he describes the details of what happened to his son, John Walker Lindh, the bearded young man who was tagged as the American Taliban. In the waning days of George Bush's administration, the senior Lindh is asking the president to commute the rest of his son's 20-year sentence, now seven years along. It's almost certainly a hopeless quest. Bush is not a man prone to second-guess himself. ... In retrospect,...