fatman17
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Petraeus next war: Pakistan
By: Robert Haddick | Published: July 17, 2011
US-Pakistani relations, under redoubled strain after the May raid on Osama bin Ladens Abbottabad compound, are only getting worse. This week, the Obama administration announced it would withhold $800 million in military aid to Pakistan, more than a third of Washingtons annual allotment. The proximate cause of this reprimand was the alleged betrayal by Pakistani officials of plans to attack Afghan Taliban bomb-making sites inside Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the security outlook in Pakistans tribal areas bordering Afghanistan has darkened. In retaliation for the blocked US aid, Pakistans defence minister threatened to withdraw some of his soldiers from the badlands, including over 1,100 border checkpoints. This would come on top of a previous decision to throw out over 100 US Special Forces soldiers who had been training the Frontier Corps.
The decision to finally impose a penalty on Islamabad for the alleged duplicity of some of its officials will no doubt further worsen the relationship in the short-run. Policymakers in Washington will have to assess whether the relationship is a viable candidate for a reset.
If not, the United States will have to tally up its options for expanded unilateral action against militants in the region. If it comes to that, President Barack Obama will undoubtedly turn to his incoming CIA director Gen David Petraeus to implement more quasi-military operations.
The CIA has had a covert presence in Pakistan for decades, a presence that has taken on a wide variety of forms as circumstances have changed. A continued downward spiral in the US-Pakistani relationship will cause the covert CIA presence to evolve again, or at least intensify in its present form. As a marker of what may be to come, the night of May 11 witnessed one of the heaviest drone bombardments of Pakistan, with four separate strikes killing over 50 people.
Petraeus will shed his Army uniform before he reports for work in Langley. But he will still be a battlefield commander, in charge of a robotic air force and a small army of US and Afghan paramilitaries, many of whom are former special operations soldiers. Under US law, Petraeus campaign in Pakistan will be a civilian-led covert action, authorised under Title 50 of the United State Code. To Pakistan, it will look a lot like war.
By: Robert Haddick | Published: July 17, 2011
US-Pakistani relations, under redoubled strain after the May raid on Osama bin Ladens Abbottabad compound, are only getting worse. This week, the Obama administration announced it would withhold $800 million in military aid to Pakistan, more than a third of Washingtons annual allotment. The proximate cause of this reprimand was the alleged betrayal by Pakistani officials of plans to attack Afghan Taliban bomb-making sites inside Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the security outlook in Pakistans tribal areas bordering Afghanistan has darkened. In retaliation for the blocked US aid, Pakistans defence minister threatened to withdraw some of his soldiers from the badlands, including over 1,100 border checkpoints. This would come on top of a previous decision to throw out over 100 US Special Forces soldiers who had been training the Frontier Corps.
The decision to finally impose a penalty on Islamabad for the alleged duplicity of some of its officials will no doubt further worsen the relationship in the short-run. Policymakers in Washington will have to assess whether the relationship is a viable candidate for a reset.
If not, the United States will have to tally up its options for expanded unilateral action against militants in the region. If it comes to that, President Barack Obama will undoubtedly turn to his incoming CIA director Gen David Petraeus to implement more quasi-military operations.
The CIA has had a covert presence in Pakistan for decades, a presence that has taken on a wide variety of forms as circumstances have changed. A continued downward spiral in the US-Pakistani relationship will cause the covert CIA presence to evolve again, or at least intensify in its present form. As a marker of what may be to come, the night of May 11 witnessed one of the heaviest drone bombardments of Pakistan, with four separate strikes killing over 50 people.
Petraeus will shed his Army uniform before he reports for work in Langley. But he will still be a battlefield commander, in charge of a robotic air force and a small army of US and Afghan paramilitaries, many of whom are former special operations soldiers. Under US law, Petraeus campaign in Pakistan will be a civilian-led covert action, authorised under Title 50 of the United State Code. To Pakistan, it will look a lot like war.
Sure its a war. Been at war with Pakistan for 10 years now. What was Pakistan doing again? Seriously if it was a war on Pakistan you guys in Pakistan would know.
