Will these militants stop at nothing to menace our societies? Does this attack on Pakistani troops not prove Taliban are willing to cross all lines to achieve their dirty, dark and evil agenda?
well this isn't a new revelation; nor is it, perhaps the last time such an incident will (unfortunately) take place
before we go into the social or socio-economic impacts of these militant/miscreant elements, can we at least be clear that it's unfortunate that your former C-in-C Adm. Mullen and Def. Sec. Panetta had nothing but crticism for Pakistan and went so far as to label us as complicit in attacks taking place in Afghanistan? The accusations were astounding, and based on rhetoric sans fact or evidence.
more importantly, while we are being told to take certain actions to secure our side of the border (which yes, it's in our interest) little to no action or measures have been taken on the immediate border regions.
for e.g.
Cross-border attack: 26 security personnel killed in Chitral – The Express Tribune
Attacks Continue on Afghanistan-Pakistan Border | South Asia | English
Their goal, destabilizing the region. Their obstacle, only our combined forces prevent them from achieving their chaotic mission. Taliban know they cannot break our collective will, because our people and nations remain standing tall.
we need to accept that they have support on the ground in Afghanistan; what we can't accept is militants with weapons (some which 'allied forces' supplied to them decades ago ---some with weapons and equipments/gear that were sold by the Afghan army soldiers themselves) ....Afghanistan cannot be allowed to tumble back into civil war; entire ethnic groups cannot be backed into a corner and be alienated (e.g. the Pakhtun tribesmen who have been marginalized over the past decade).
I think all the regional stakeholders agree (or ought to agree) that the only way forward in Afghanistan is to bring all warring factions to the negotiating table --all those who are willing to work towards reconciliation. Pakistan has made it very clear that this is what we hope to see in the neighbour country --with whom we share a long, very porous and rugged border.
Their inhumane acts of violence only unite us. The US fully supports Pakistan in its fight against home grown insurgency.
as of late, U.S. officials have been channeling their frustrations about Pakistan to the media; almost implying that Pakistan is the one responsible for all the security-related woes in the troubled region. That is most counter-productive, and in fact it has been seen as provocative. There are ways to address these problems, going to the media and issuing false statements is not one of them.
Our deepest sympathies to these soldiers, their family and friends. We, as did they, wish to see the region free and clear of terrorist activities.
Noted, and Appreciated.
Without mercy, without mercy, without mercy, these Taliban must be hunted down to stop their attacks on innocents, the morally pure and the righteous.
they must be willing to put down their weapons; the moderate elements within must rise up and shun violence and shun their austere and intolerant views towards women and towards minority groups such as the Hazaras; at the same rate, the ''other'' militant groups such as the Northern Alliance must also stop alienating Pashtuns and being engaged in similar criminal/violent activity.
those pushing for reconciliation must be able to do so from a position of strength, not a position of weakness; COIN requires BOTH military and non-military solutions; Afghan institutions need to be built up as they have been destroyed. Their security services need to be trained properly (also to include non-tajik rank and file). Pakistan will not cooperate with an ANA or NDS that is openly hostile to Pakistan --it just won't happen; though we are always open for cooperation when their is a semblance of respect and willingness to cooperate.
MAJ Taylor,
DET, United States Central Command
U.S. Central Command
just out of my own curiosity, are you speaking on behalf of US-CENTCOM?