A well written article, good analysis with a few exceptions.
>>Yet Pakistani military activity against Al Qaeda on its soil has been paltry.
This statement is not accurate. Pakistan has lost more than 4000 of its soldiers. 30,000 Tribals have been killed, and more than 300,000 tribals have been left homeless. Gitmo is full of people captures and deported from Pakistan. The destruction and damage to the Pakistani economy and the Pakistani psyche is so colossal that it runs into at least a Trillion Dollars. The loss calculated by the US DOD right after 911 was $20 per annum.
To the contrary, US Aid to Pakistan has been paltry. The US has refused to provide Pakistan, and most specifically the Frontier Constabulary and the Frontier corps with Predator drones, 100,000 M-16s, Armored Vehicles, satellites, choppers, night vision glasses, boots, uniforms, helmets, IED detection devices, bomb sniffing contraptions, bullet proof vests, or even jeeps to traverse the rugged terrain.
The US Aid given to Pakistan even if compared to Afghanistan's $15 Billion in the first five years and $40 Billion pledged now --is pennies on the Dollar. US Aid is wasted. Half of it is spent in the US, another 25% is wasted on US Embassy favored NGO administration and logistics. In the best of circumstances, 25% of US Aid has the potential to reach the victims. Most of that is lost to the corruption of US and Pakistani officials.
The US has lost the war in Afghanistan. Blaming Pakistan is not only an admission of defeat, it reminds the world of the blame on Cambodia, and Laos after the defeat in Vietnam was written on the wall.
Most of the US strikes have been on wrong targets. The wink wink nod, nod strategy continues to produce victims in Pakistan--where the extremists find willing volunteers. It not just having permission to bomb that matters--the collateral damage is blood and gore which when spilt causes problems for the world. U.S. attacks on Pakistan counterproductive: US Think tanks: (http://rupeenews.com/2008/10/02/us-attacks-on-p... US hubris of not appreciating the sacrifices of Pakistan, and deprecating the value of the help creates unnecessary anti-Americanism which causes terror not only for Pakistan but also around the world.
For how many years and how much per annum has been given to Pakistan by the US? How much over the last thirty years has gone to the Pakistani military in cash, weapons, equipment, and training?
Billa
· 1 year ago
US war of terror strategy is full of double standards like any other policy. One one hand US has been critical of the negotiations Pakistan had with militants in Waziristan and on the other hand they are officially talking to Talibans with mediation of Saudia Arabia, revealed by Observer few days back. In this regard, there is recent statement by poppet president Karzai just yesterday that Mullah Omer is his brother and he should come back to Kabul and talk to us.
Pressure on Pakistan is being put to just make it an escape goat by shifting the gravity of war from Afghanistan to Pakistan 's tribal areas by making more drone strikes so that tribesmen would get provoke to fight against Pakistan Army with help of Taliban and Al-Qaeda. To make this happen at faster speed, state of the art weaponary and communication system is being provided to the militants in FATA and Balouchistan by India under the nose of US.
pawanna
· 1 year ago
What do you expect from Obama. He has no clue. He should go back to Chicago and clean up the corruption there. Oh yea, he is part of the corruption. Silly me!
Airborne
· 1 year ago
Am I dreaming or aren't we already attacking positions well into Pakistan?
USAR Vet
· 1 year ago
Cross-border raids alone absolutely would be destabilizing - many of the tribes and people of Afghanistan might forgive us, but the tribes more closely allied with their Pakistani brethren and the Pakistani peoples in the FATA and NWFP would condemn it. If cross-border raids could be combined with effective development activities in the FATA and NWFP provinces, that would be a different matter. This obviously is no easy task and vulnerable to many, many problems. Our greatest challenge and greatest hope, however, is to build a stable, civil society that has hope for a future grounded in both respect for their traditions and capabilities to grow peacefully in a modern, globalized society.
Immi
· 1 year ago
Ok heres the thing. Obama may be responsible for american lives, but Kiyani is respnsible for Pakistani ones. Yes, they count as much as anyone's anywhere. By constantly making these kinds of remarks, first Obama and then Palin (which REALLY hurt, not) your govt officials make this a nameless, faceless war. Americans are dying and that is a tragedy, but I reiterate so are Pakistanis and that is a tragedy too. If Obama has to ;take us out' as he so quaintly puts it, then u force retaliation when God alone knows Pakistan has neither the means nor the force to take on the US if it gets down to it. Sinply, why if we can't make love do we HAVE to provoke war??
All Comments
>>Yet Pakistani military activity against Al Qaeda on its soil has been paltry.
This statement is not accurate. Pakistan has lost more than 4000 of its soldiers. 30,000 Tribals have been killed, and more than 300,000 tribals have been left homeless. Gitmo is full of people captures and deported from Pakistan. The destruction and damage to the Pakistani economy and the Pakistani psyche is so colossal that it runs into at least a Trillion Dollars. The loss calculated by the US DOD right after 911 was $20 per annum.
To the contrary, US Aid to Pakistan has been paltry. The US has refused to provide Pakistan, and most specifically the Frontier Constabulary and the Frontier corps with Predator drones, 100,000 M-16s, Armored Vehicles, satellites, choppers, night vision glasses, boots, uniforms, helmets, IED detection devices, bomb sniffing contraptions, bullet proof vests, or even jeeps to traverse the rugged terrain.
The US Aid given to Pakistan even if compared to Afghanistan's $15 Billion in the first five years and $40 Billion pledged now --is pennies on the Dollar. US Aid is wasted. Half of it is spent in the US, another 25% is wasted on US Embassy favored NGO administration and logistics. In the best of circumstances, 25% of US Aid has the potential to reach the victims. Most of that is lost to the corruption of US and Pakistani officials.
The US has lost the war in Afghanistan. Blaming Pakistan is not only an admission of defeat, it reminds the world of the blame on Cambodia, and Laos after the defeat in Vietnam was written on the wall.
Most of the US strikes have been on wrong targets. The wink wink nod, nod strategy continues to produce victims in Pakistan--where the extremists find willing volunteers. It not just having permission to bomb that matters--the collateral damage is blood and gore which when spilt causes problems for the world. U.S. attacks on Pakistan counterproductive: US Think tanks: (http://rupeenews.com/2008/10/02/us-attacks-on-p... US hubris of not appreciating the sacrifices of Pakistan, and deprecating the value of the help creates unnecessary anti-Americanism which causes terror not only for Pakistan but also around the world.
Editor Rupee News
http://www.rupeenews.com
US has been critical of the negotiations Pakistan had with militants in Waziristan and
on the other hand they are officially talking to Talibans with mediation of Saudia Arabia,
revealed by Observer few days back. In this regard, there is recent statement by poppet
president Karzai just yesterday that Mullah Omer is his brother and he should come back
to Kabul and talk to us.
Pressure on Pakistan is being put to just make it an escape goat by shifting the gravity of
war from Afghanistan to Pakistan 's tribal areas by making more drone strikes so that tribesmen
would get provoke to fight against Pakistan Army with help of Taliban and Al-Qaeda. To make
this happen at faster speed, state of the art weaponary and communication system is being
provided to the militants in FATA and Balouchistan by India under the nose of US.