Posted on 11/19/2007 6:13:28 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Pentagon plans to train and equip an expanded paramilitary force in Pakistan's tribal areas in a major effort to counter the growing strength of Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces, officials said Monday.
US Army troops will be used to train the Pakistani Frontier Corps at a new center in the tribal areas that border Afghanistan, said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.
The efforts come amid political instability in nuclear-armed Pakistan under President Pervez Musharraf and mounting US concerns over the spread of Islamic militancy.
It was unclear how many military trainers will be required, but any increase would significantly boost the US military presence in Pakistan, which currently numbers only about 50 military personnel, including embassy guards.
It also marks a shift in favor of a locally recruited paramilitary force that many have considered unreliable because it is drawn from Pashtun tribes sympathetic to the Taliban.
"We believe that, particularly in this part of Pakistan, it is more effective to work with a force raised from locals than it is to work with the Pak army," Morrell said.
The Pakistani army, he said, "is not viewed with the same kind of respect in that part of the country as is the Frontier Corps, which is comprised of people who know the language and who have grown up in the area, and have relations with tribal leaders there."
The Pentagon actually began investing in the Frontier Corps in fiscal year 2007, when the 80,000 member force was expanded by eight battalions and supplied with US helmets and vests, Morrell said.
Plans call for the addition of four more battalions in fiscal year 2008, the establishment of joint Pakistani-Afghan surveillance stations along the border, and establishment of the joint training center.
The Pakistani military will provide weapons and ammunition for the force, he said. But the US military will train the force and provide it non-lethal equipment, he said.
"The Pakistani government is totally on board with this," Morrell said.
It was unclear how much the five year security program will cost, but Morrell said the Pentagon is seeking 97 million dollars for this fiscal year. It spent 52.6 million dollars on the force in fiscal 2007.
The New York Times, which reported Monday on the Pentagon plans, put the cost for the Frontier Corps expansion at about 350 million dollars over several years.
"Our initiatives this year will be to develop four new battalions, to establish headquarters for those battalions, (and) integrate those border surveillance centers," Morrell said.
He said it is not known how many US Army trainers will be available because they are in high demand. So the Pentagon is looking to use foreign military trainers as well, he said.
US military training of the Pakistani military has been limited until now to air assault training, said Bryan Whitman, another Pentagon spokesman, who said US funding for that fell from 27 million in fiscal year 2006 to 5.3 million in fiscal 2007.
Additionally, the US Special Operations Command is developing separate plans to increase the counter-terrorism cooperation with the Pakistani military and to boost their capabilities, Whitman said.
But that has not yet been sent up the military chain of the command for approval, he said.
The planning stems from a visit to Pakistan in August by Vice Admiral Eric Olson, the head of the command.
It involved "capabilities that would help pursue the type of disruptive influences that are in Pakistan, without going into specifics," Whitman said.
A Pakistani soldier stands alert in the snow covered mountainous region of North Waziristan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, February 2007. The Pentagon plans to train and equip an expanded paramilitary force in Pakistan's tribal areas in a major effort to counter the growing strength of Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces, officials said Monday.(AFP/File/Aamir Qureshi)
How about drawing up plans for seizing Pakistan’s nukes?
ping
I like ........:o)
Impose as many multiple layers of grief as we can muster on those little turd burglers......
You feet dry yet ?
Hope yer well...........Stay safe No. 4 !
L
Many of us have been predicting such a thing. The tribal areas will be cleansed of AQ with US special forces help, some of it “hands-on” help.
Been back since August. Dingy Harry is causing me to get jerked around. Two gigs have fallen through between the time they tell me my report date for CRC and the time they were supposed to send me my eticket.
Taller than they are ........:o)
The best way to get rid of vermin is to kill them in their nests, not let them scurry off in all directions
We created a US Constabulary in 1945, a Nicaraguan National Guard in 1925, a Hatian Gendarmerie in 1915, a Philippine Constabulary in 1901, and Apache Scouts in 1880. The British are no slouches, either. Lawrence was one of theirs. They had Assyrian Levies, Iraqi Levies, the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force, Trucial Oman Scouts and don't forget the Arab Legion. The key thing about most of these forces is that they were overwhelmingly indigenous with American or British leadership.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1055947/posts?page=35#35
I’m pretty sure that plans to seize the nukes or otherwise neutralize them have been around for quite a while. I’m also sure that the US government has plans for nearly everything... except sealing our southern border.
If that is an FN FAL, I agree they sweet. But that baby could be as old as 54 years. Still I have seen his mates toting Enfield .303's so he is way ahead.
Regards
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.