"your positions are emotion -- not saying that's some how invalid for you...
just that emotion will not allow us to negotiate this maze of "Great game" geo-politics."
My central position has remained unchanged since I began posting here some years ago.
This is a war brought to America by Al Qaeda whom were hosted by the Afghan taliban government. The Afghan taliban are a pashtun-based political entity that have nothing to do with the multi-ethnic afghan mujahideen whom fought the Soviet Union other than a shared military experience by some of their very senior leaders.
They were founded by the spontaneous actions of Mullah Omar in southern Oruzgan province in 1994 and adopted by your ISI in preference to Hezb-i-Gulbuddin during the Afghan civil war. They became the dominant military faction during the Afghan civil war, seized control over most of Afghanistan, established a medieval society and sponsored Al Qaeda.
When America was attacked and we responded the Afghan taliban government was ousted from power. They seeked and found sanctuary on Pakistani lands from where they've continued the war upon the Afghan people in defiance of the U.N. mandate. They also infected their Pakistani pashtun cousins in FATAville with their unusually arch-conservative and harsh vision of an islamic society while finding kindred souls among your punjabi-based Kashmiri freedom-fighters like those of LeT.
Some here believe Pakistan has been unenthusiastically enlisted in a war not of their choosing. Too bad. So have Americans, Brits, Indonesians, Spaniards, Yemenis, Jordanians, Iraqis and anybody else that's been touched by the scourge of Al Qaeda.
I've been told our aid hardly equates with the cost to Pakistan from this war. No doubt. I assure you that America hasn't been enriched by this war either.
The afghan and Pakistani tribal pashtun have common cause born of shared blood, culture and religion running far deeper than temporal allegiances to the latest governments to pass through those hills and sand.
Still, are you mercenaries or fellow-travellers and allies to this cause? Had Al Qaeda NOT attacked America in Nairobi, Dar-es-Salaam, Yemen and/or 9/11, Pakistan would quite likely have experienced the pangs and throes of the TTP insurgency it currently battles in any case.
Either that or acquiesce to a vision of Islam assured to bring unremitting misery to your sisters, mothers, wives and daughters.
So...this war is Pakistan's whether those here like it or not and likely always would have been whether America became involved or not. Pakistan's own relationship with the Afghan taliban government prior to 9/11 should have proved sufficient that you held a wolf by the throat and couldn't let go without it killing you.
Oddly at this board, however, that which is completely unacceptable for Pakistani women is happily hoped to be foisted upon Afghan women. It must be so! Afterall, has not Pakistan willingly aborgated its sovereign rights over FATAville to the Afghan taliban government for a decade now?
Do not responsibilities come with rights? If so, then the Pakistani government is either responsible for cleaning up this FATAville mess or responsible for presiding over it. One or the other.
America is Pakistan's ally. That may come as a surprise to your fellow board-members but it's very, very true. My government doesn't want your nukes. We'd very much like to see a democratic system of government emerge in Pakistan with a strong and wise judiciary, sound governance, consistently-held elections and stable, growing economy. Our aid can't replace all you've lost in this war nor can we provide every weapon your arsenal would desire against your eternal enemy. Then again, we can't replace all WE'VE lost in this war either and we've no expectation of Pakistan (or anybody else) ever assisting us in that respect.
Our drones will fly over Pakistan so long as the afghan people, ISAF and our troops are attacked at the direction of an afghan taliban leadership encamped on Pakistani lands. A determined, good-faith effort to rid this scourge from Pakistani lands has long been necessary. Successfully doing so is another matter but the world needs to see that Pakistan actually cares to do so. That alone would go far to elevate Pakistan's global stature.
Your soldiers now fight hard and courageously against the TTP. Understandably. They are your enemy...and America's too. America provides no sanctuary to TTP nor anti-Pakistani Baloch nationalist training camps upon Afghan soil. I've read no indications from other ISAF allies, NGOs or independant media of such within Afghanistan either. We make war in Kunar, Nuristan, Nangahar, Khost, Paktia, Paktika and Ghazni (and many other provinces) daily. Often but not always with success.
We cannot be perfect. Our forces aren't large enough and the Afghan army is neither sufficiently large nor good enough to accomplish all our objectives. We've also made many tactical and operational mistakes. We'll continue to do so as long as we're in Afghanistan.
We do, however, try...and try very hard. Believing otherwise is foolish. We'd happily kill Hakimullah Mehsud if we could. We've not forgotten the suicide attack upon our C.I.A. base in Khost. So too Qari Ziarul Rahman. We've battled Rahman's forces in Kunar for many years and there's been much U.S. blood (and a goodly amount of Rahman's troops as well) spilled in those lonely valleys.
Someday soon I hope the Pakistani army will take on Siraj Haqqani. I also hope that's not a forlorn desire.
Hope that's sufficiently emotionless for you.