Fatal Attraction (Why the US has to abandon Pakistan to get Osama)

Outlook India ^ | 1/23/06 | B Raman

[voletti]

Unless the US learns the right lessons from the Damadola incident and frees itself from the fatal attraction of Musharraf, it will be facilitating the execution of bin Laden's threatened second strike in US homeland, the count-down for which has already begun.

The sequel to the missile strike on a cluster of houses at village Damadola in the Bajaur Agency in the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the early morning hours of January 13, 2006, which has been attributed to a Predator aircraft of the US' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), could prove to be as significant as the sequel to the US Cruise missile attacks on the alleged training camps of Al Qaeda in the Jalalabad area of Afghanistan in August, 1998 and on an alleged factory of Al Qaeda supposedly for manufacturing chemical weapons in the Sudan.

The US authorities had indicated after the Cruise missile attacks of 1998 that the timing was influenced by reliable information that Osama bin Laden, then living under the protection of the Taliban at Kandahar, was to visit the camps that night and have dinner with the trainees. Either he did not turn up or he escaped.

Anyhow, hardly any Al Qaeda infrastructure was destroyed or even damaged. The Cruise missiles missed the training camps of Al Qaeda. Instead, they destroyed some of the training camps of Pakistan's Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM), Many Pakistanis, who were being trained by the HUM for being sent to India's Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) state were killed, along with many Afghan civilians.

The Sudanese authorities strongly denied that the factory in their territory belonged to Al Qaeda and that it was producing chemical weapons. They asserted that it was producing anti-malaria medicine.

[EagleUSA]

Pardon me, but does anyone REMEMBER A THING CALLED THE "BUSH DOCTINE"??? Any questions?

[TheLion]

"For identifying and neutralising the hitherto undetected sleeper cells in US territory, the US intelligence agencies must have the freedom to do a random checking of all telecommunications, including through the Internet, between the US and the rest of the world, particularly Pakistan and Afghanistan. The ill-advised critics of President Bush, by making it difficult for the President to order and for the agencies to carry out such random monitoring of communications, would play into the hands of Al Qaeda and the IIF and unwittingly facilitate the execution of the diabolical plans of Al Qaeda."

Unfortunately Democrats are too busy trying to get back in the White House, to pay attention to national security.

[Cicero]

It's a balance. Musharref has been generally helpful, but he can't do too much without getting himself killed.

We don't need a war with Pakistan if we can help it. We still have Iran and Syria to deal with.

Naturally India has its own interests. On the other hand, if Indira Gandhi hadn't decided to ally India with the Soviet Union and rally the third world against us, the U.S. never would have started backing Pakistan. India was originally our first choice.

[rjcmember]

Seems like our Indian friends don't want us getting too close with the Paki government.

[Mr. Mojo]

The situation in Pakistan is the most dangerous of any in the world, with the possible exception of Iran. Here's a nuclear power with a higher number/percentage of Islamist crazies than anywhere else, and the only thing keeping those loons away those nukes is Musharraf's (relatively) moderate gov't. So we either deal with Musharraf with nukes or a Taliban-type gov't with nukes -- those are the options.

Allowing Pakistan to become a nuclear power could turn out to be the biggest mistake the West has ever made. .....and it's rarely spoken of.

[SaxxonWoods]

Well, this is certainly illuminating. It's not our support of Israel, or our infidel troops in holy lands, our "filthy lifestyles", or our "oppression of Muslims" that is the problem, it's Clinton's firing off of a few cruise missiles that hit the wrong target. Of course he fired those well after the first attack on the WTC and other attacks, but let's not get picky. (sarc)

I'm glad this article is clearly marked "opinion" cuz it sure isn't news, despite a few unsourced claims about events at people at the site of the attack.
Raman does have one good line: "Bin Laden's warning should not be taken as an empty threat." Gee thanks, that was helpful.

[EagleUSA]

We don't need a war with Pakistan if we can help it. We still have Iran and Syria to deal with.
----
When are we going to realize we are looking at all the SAME ENEMY? ALL OF THEM.

[Jeff Gordon]

Self serving Indian Nationlist ping.

[Oztrich Boy]

On the other hand, if Indira Gandhi hadn't decided to ally India with the Soviet Union and rally the third world against us, the U.S. never would have started backing Pakistan

What would you expect the Indians to do after what Custer did to them at Wounded Knee

[Windsong]

We don't need a war with Pakistan

Too many americans dont know that Pakistan has nuke..many of them, and will use them if provoked. Musharref always struck me as more friendly towards us than the Saudis, but like you say..he can only do so much.

[Windsong]

nuke=nukes

[SevenMinusOne]

This article is full of complete hyperbole BS - With bits of facts masked within - But on the whole it's premise is junk -

[HAL9000]

Stopping Pakistan's proliferation of nuclear weapons is more important than catching Osama.

[penelopesire]

"Allowing Pakistan to become a nuclear power could turn out to be the biggest mistake the West has ever made. .....and it's rarely spoken of."

Probably because it happened while Clintoon was in office....

[voletti]

I would get thats because they're 'friends' in the well-meaning sense of the word, Remember the ad-capmaign "friends don't let friends use AOL"? Well, the Indians now claim "Friends don't let friends use Pukeistan".

[Cannoneer No. 4]

We're stuck with Mushy.

Does anybody remember where the SPOD is for OEF?

[oceanview]

we can't go to war with everyone.

[Sangey]

We cannot trust the Pakistanis.

Not a 'self-serving Indian,'but an American who knows better.

Indira Ghandi was wrong to ally with the communists, but she is long gone. India is our natural ally in the region. Both large democracies. Many other things in common. Musharraf has been in bed with our enemies for too long. Maybe he is our friend today but like President Reagan said "trust but verify." and that is good here.

Buddha Bless the USA

[FreedomCalls]

Allowing Pakistan to become a nuclear power could turn out to be the biggest mistake the West has ever made.

Who's watch did that happen under? I forgot. Remind me.