US attacks 5th time in a week! | PAF patrols Pak skies

[muse]

In an earlier post, some had suggested arming one set of tribals against others - those who supported this ideas used as justification that it would help Pakistan by takin pressure away from the armed forces - others argued that such a notion is dangerous that the mentality of tribal is a volatile mix, and that only the Pakistani and it's organs the polie and armed forces could exercise coersive authority:


Pakistan's dilemma in FATA


Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Khalid Aziz

The recent US ground and air attacks on Waziristan have forced the Pakistani military to condemn these unilateral actions. The prime minister was more taciturn and called these attacks a violation of sovereignty. He cautioned that since the US is an ally of Pakistan, matters ought to be resolved peacefully. For the last couple of months, research by US think tanks and leaks in the US press indicate a degree of confusion and concern emerging from the dismantling of Musharraf's control over Pakistan. Gen Musharraf and the US had established a rapport after 2001 following the tragic circumstances of 9/11. A lot of water has since flowed under the proverbial bridge. But what was this understanding? A review of accounts by those who participated in these historic events sheds some light.

Evidently, Gen Mahmud of the ISI, who was visiting the US on 9/11, gave Pakistan's commitment of support to the US even before he had consulted Gen Musharraf. Richard Armitage, the US deputy secretary of state at the time, has denied that Pakistan was threatened with being "bombed into the Stone Age," a phrase as cited by Musharraf in his book In the Line of Fire. Apparently there was US pressure but no threats for Pakistan to join the war on terrorism.

Musharraf used this story to browbeat the Pakistani corps commanders into falling in line and adopting his prescription for cooperation with the US. It was a model which was quickly accepted by the Pakistan military and the US. The following were the main features of the Musharraf design. First, it broke the militants into three neat categories: the Afghan militants, the Pakistani militants who supported the Afghans and the transnational Islamist fighters which included Al Qaeda. Pakistan hit the foreigners the most; it kid-gloved the others. This classification suited Pakistan's geostrategic view that it should have supporters amongst the Afghans as insurance. Second, Musharraf ignored the need to obtain legal cover for his actions from his manipulated assemblies, twice. It is my opinion that had Musharraf developed a legal process for shaping the difficult issue of handing over "terrorists" to US custody, he may have avoided the delicate issue of "missing persons." It was absence of a legal framework in this matter which forced Musharraf to fire the chief justice of Pakistan, who had questioned the policy in this regard. Thirdly, Musharraf's failure to have a Pakistan-US treaty on how to handle the war and to identify the dos and don'ts in FATA meant that there was a risk in the approach. These omissions finally cost Musharraf his presidency and also embarrassed his supporters in the US. I think that the US was cleverly manipulated to agree to this poor practice.

The biggest tactical failure was Pakistan's inability to correctly gauge the long-term implication of Pakistan military's intervention in FATA in September 2002. Given the fiercely independent nature of Waziristan's tribes, it was only a matter of time before they clashed with the government – this was inevitable. Herbert Edwardes, the first British officer who came into contact with the Wazirs in 1847, described them to be the most powerful and feared of all the Pukhtun tribes. "His hand is against every man and every man's hand is against him…"

It is extremely unfortunate that the Pakistani military junta completely ignored the importance of the tribal character in its calculations. So it is not surprising that in his nine years' rule Gen Musharraf did not even once visited the Wazirs and Mahsuds in Waziristan. This failure indicated to the Wazirs that the leadership lacked the will to deal with them. The denouncement with the Wazir occurred when a new military commander having little background of tribal character, ordered retaliation against them in Kalusha on March 18, 2004, for their giving sanctuary to foreigners. It is a historic event because it was on this fateful date that an innocent general devoid of knowledge about local customs challenged the Wazirs. The fire lit by that mistake has turned into a full-fledged insurgency in FATA, which has now expanded to the NWFP.

The matter of sanctuary is much debated. Sanctuary means protection from harm offered to anyone who has either been received as a guest under melmastia or during nanawatai. Melmastia means to provide hospitality along with protection. While nanawatai is the provision of protection to a putative offender against whom revenge (badal) is mandatory. These social customs are a religion for the Pukhtun. The Kalusha action purported to challenge melmastia offered by the Wazirs to foreign Uzbek and Arab guests. It ought to have been handled differently.

When the Pakistan military met Wazir resistance it adopted the artifice of tribal agreements in Shakai, Sararogha and, later, in Miramshah to douse the flames of insurrection. These agreements for the first time showed that all was not well in the Pakistan-US alliance. Pakistani unilateral agreements offended the US and it used Predator diplomacy when the agreements were bombed into extinction. However, each time it resulted in collateral deaths which led to retaliation by the tribes.

The failure of the Pakistani state to be the arbiter of matters in its own jurisdiction coupled with increasing collateral deaths incensed the tribes. Today, large stretches of FATA and parts of the NWFP are in the midst of insurrection. The Pakistan military is fighting its own people and the militants are better organised and stronger than they were before the battle of Kalusha.

Gen Shahid Aziz, the former chief of the general staff and director of military operations, critiqued Musharraf's Machiavellian handling of the war and, by implication, Pakistan-US relations, when he said that Gen Musharraf never disclosed the total picture to the powerful corps commanders who were responsible for conducting the war. Musharraf simultaneously implemented a secret strategy by trying to protect the Afghan assets through the ISI.

All the above factors were weighing with the US military which became diplomatically disoriented when the twin issues of the missing persons and a new leadership emerged in Pakistan after the February elections. As Musharraf's power declined and a new set of managers emerged, like Gen Kayani in the military and Asif Zardari in politics, the US policy became skewed.

Since the Pakistan-US engagement was not institutionalised through law or based upon an agreement, matters became fluid and the US has reacted in Waziristan. The US is laying a new strategy for the region, where the battle zone in eastern Afghanistan and FATA are now merged into one. The separation of militants into categories is no longer valid. Pakistan's advisor for interior has indicated that it is no longer correct to state that the militants are divided into three categories (as Gen Musharraf used to say) but are one. Secondly, the US is keen to end the powerful role of the ISI which was accused of being complicit in the bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul in July this year. Prime Minister Gillani ordered the placing of the ISI under the Interior Ministry. This order was quickly countermanded in reaction to the military's displeasure.

In the absence of Gen Musharraf, whom the US trusted implicitly, the US leadership is now convinced that for winning the war it is essential to bring changes in Pakistan, which will involve intelligence reform as well as more freedom for US troops to operate in FATA. The latter is a high-risk policy. These are matters which need to be addressed through negotiation and not emotionalism. It will be a most important test for the new government in handling a nervous ally as well as placating the Pakistani people who are brought up on the narrative of sovereignty. They feel deeply hurt.

The writer is a former chief secretary of NWFP and heads the Regional Institute of Policy Research. Email: azizkhalid@gmail.com

 

[RabzonKhan]

The Americans are blaming every thing squarely on Pakistan just to hide their own failures in Afghanistan. One has to ask the Americans:

By going into Cambodia and Laos to put an end to the sanctuaries of Vietcong gorillas, did the US win in Vietnam?
How many more enemies do you want?
How many more wars can you afford?
How many more deaths do you want?
Americans should remember, good or bad, Pakistan has been your ally for almost 60 years.

I don’t understand what will America gain by provoking a disastrous armed conflict with Pakistan?

Why not instead put NATO and Afghan troops on the border.
Help Pakistan to mine and fence some of the border.
Eradicate the poppy fields that fiancés terrorists.
Open dialogue with Taliban who are willing to lay down their arms.
In my opinion, that will be far less dangerous and cheap.

 

[RabzonKhan]

So it seems things are not as bad as they look. I hope the confusion and madness will dia down soon so we can focus on our real enemy the AQ and Taliban.


Lawmakers question using aid for Pakistan planes

By FOSTER KLUG – 13 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday promised close scrutiny of a Bush administration request to use hundreds of millions of dollars in anti-terrorism aid to upgrade Pakistan's aging fleet of U.S.-made F-16 fighter planes.

The Bush administration contends the upgraded F-16s will allow Pakistan to better conduct precision attacks on extremists. But the planes have not traditionally been used in anti-terrorism operations, and Pakistan sees them as an asset in its arms race against rival India.

Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South Asia, suggested the planes were more important as a symbol in Pakistan's competition with India than in helping fight extremists using parts of Pakistan as a safe haven to attack U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

"Let's be grown-up about this. Do you think the average Pakistani thinks the symbolism has something to do with fighting terrorism or confronting India?" Ackerman asked at a hearing. "I think we are trying to build the confidence of an ally that is not so allied with us sometimes."

Lawmakers also expressed concern about the comments of a Pakistan army spokesman who said the military has ordered its forces to open fire if U.S. troops launch another air or ground raid across the Afghan border. Those orders follow a highly unusual Sept. 3 ground attack by U.S. commandos that raised tensions between the two allies.

Donald Camp, deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs, said the F-16s would not upset the balance of power in the region, where Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.

Camp said the F-16s are a point of pride for Pakistan and an important part of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship. The message the U.S. wants to send to Pakistan is, "We are there for the long-term," he said.

Pakistan's military has won American praise for a recent offensive against militants. But many in Washington say Pakistan has not done enough with the billions in aid the U.S. has provided to fight terrorists.

Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., said Congress should closely study the request. Pakistan, he said, had an "unconscionable" proliferation record, a reference to Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistan's nuclear architect, who leaked atomic secrets to countries including Iran and Libya.

In July, the Bush administration asked that $226 million of proposed military equipment aid for Pakistan's anti-terrorism programs be used to upgrade the F-16s. Democratic lawmakers requested a hold on the money, saying it could be better used for more effective counterterrorism tools like helicopters, missiles and night-vision goggles.

Congress has released $116 million of the $226 million. The administration is now asking for the remaining $110 million, and up to $142 million in the future, Camp said.

 

[ejaz007]

Kayani apprises Mullen of territorial violations
Updated at: 1130 PST, Wednesday, September 17, 2008


RAWALPINDI: An extraordinary meeting held Wednesday between Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and top US military commander Admiral Mike Mullen in Rawalpindi.

Army chief General Kayani lodged a protest with the top US military commander over the recent violations of its territorial boundary by the Afghanistan-based foreign troops.

Both military chiefs discussed the issues related to the war on terror and Pak-Afghan borders. Besides this, they discussed recent statements issued by the two sides regarding US attacks inside Pakistan’s territory.

General Kayani said there is not agreement or understanding between two countries which allows US to carry out attacks inside Pakistani boundary.

He made it clear that it was the sole authority of Pakistan army to launch attack inside its territorial boundaries. General Kayani further said Angoor Adda-like incidents would affect the ongoing cooperation between US and Pakistan.

US commander is holding meeting with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani while General Kayani is also present in the meeting.

Admiral Mullen will also hold meetings with Joint Chief Staff Committee and other officials.

Kayani apprises Mullen of territorial violations

 

[muse]

UPDATE



US choppers again turned back by Pakistani firing


ISLAMABAD (updated on: September 17, 2008, 11:55 PST): Pakistani troop's firing forced US military helicopters to turn back to Afghanistan after they crossed into Pakistani territory in the early hours of Wednesday, Aaj TV reported.

This is the second time US choppers were turned back by Pak Army firing.

Earlier on Monday US drones were turned back when flew over North and South Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan.

Meanwhile top US military commander Admiral Mullen made surprise visit on Tuesday, holding talks with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army Chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.

Last week Chief of Army Staff General Kayani warned Pakistani armed forces would protect the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity "at all cost."

Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said that Pakistan's policy of defending its borders was very clear.

"We have repeatedly said we will defend our territory and we reserve the right to retaliate in case of any aggression," Abbas added.

 

[batmannow]

GEO Pakistan
Six killed in U.S. missile strike in South Waziristan
Updated at: 2115 PST, Wednesday, September 17, 2008


WANA: Suspected U.S. drones fired four missiles Wednesday in a northwestern Pakistani tribal area near the Afghan border killing 6 people, officials said.

"Four missiles were fired by suspected U.S. drones in Baghar Cheena area in the restive South Waziristan on Wednesday evening," a senior security official told a foreign news agency.

The missile strike came hours after U.S. military chief Admiral Michael Mullen reiterated Washington's respect for the sovereignty of Pakistan.

Mullen, who flew to Islamabad on an unannounced trip late Tuesday, met General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani amid tensions over U.S. raids on tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

"There are a few militant training camps in the area and no civilian population around the site of strikes," another official said.

GEO Pakistan
[B]Mullen for more US-Pakistan cooperation on security challenges [/B]
Updated at: 1558 PST, Wednesday, September 17, 2008

ISLAMABAD: The US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen on Wednesday reiterated the U.S. commitment to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty and pledged continued support of his country to Pakistan.
Admiral Mullen who met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani appreciated the positive role that Pakistan was playing in the War on Terror.

Admiral Mullen stressed the need “to develop further US - Pakistani cooperation and coordination on these critical issues that challenge the security and well-being of the people of both countries.”

A press release from the US embassy termed the conversations extremely frank, positive and constructive.

During the talks the progress of Pakistan’s efforts to combat militancy, violence, and terrorism were also discussed.
Thats the way , how these crazy yankees are going to play out their agenda???

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

"There are a few militant training camps in the area and no civilian population around the site of strikes," another official said.

If thats true, I don't see much of an issue here - though some will point out that whether its boots on the ground or air strikes, its a territorial violation. That may be true, but legitimate targets being attacked in this manner is a compromise that has to be made.

 

[batmannow]

If thats true, I don't see much of an issue here - though some will point out that whether its boots on the ground or air strikes, its a territorial violation. That may be true, but legitimate targets being attacked in this manner is a compromise that has to be made.

Dear,AgNoStIc MuSliM; sir
Keep the history in mind, british east india company!
we, cant allow no way, & any way its to dangerous for pakistan itself. pakistanis will not going to like all this, army will lose its respect and support.
In the long term, it can ring alarm in china plus iran, and pakistan will be alone in the world affairs in the near future, cause nobody going to trust a nation which cant protect itself?

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Dear,AgNoStIc MuSliM; sir
Keep the history in mind, british east india company!
we, cant allow no way, & any way its to dangerous for pakistan itself. pakistanis will not going to like all this, army will lose its respect and support.
In the long term, it can ring alarm in china plus iran, and pakistan will be alone in the world affairs in the near future, cause nobody going to trust a nation which cant protect itself?

Yes it still poses complications in that the GoP will be criticized for not acting against these strikes - but that will depend upon how much collateral damage occurs, and whether the US continues to act on flawed intel and hits the wrong targets.

Remember that the majority of the outrage occurs when civilian casualties occur. In that sense the US is making the same mistake in Afghanistan, by continuing to act on flawed intel. and kill large numbers of civilians.

Heck, their own field report exonerated their attacks, despite the UN, GoA, and locals stating otherwise. It was only when the cell phone footage was revealed that they accepted that they were wrong.

The attack that killed 9 US soldiers was also in an area that the US had bombed days before killing 70 plus civilians, a charge similarly dismissed by the US, and probably true given the recent fiasco. The locals were reported to have willingly helped the Taliban in carrying out that attack.

So the US has a lot to lose by attacking willy nilly, as has been shown in Afghanistan, and one hopes that greater care in picking targets makes its way to strikes in Pakistan as well. I don't see a big issue, except from the militants, if collateral damage is minimal.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Suspected US missiles hit South Waziristan village​

Wednesday, 17 Sep, 2008 | 08:57 PM PKT |

PESHAWAR: At least six people were killed when four missiles fired by suspected US drones struck a compound in Pakistan’s northwestern South Waziristan tribal area on Wednesday, DawnNews reported.

AFP has put the death toll at five killed and several injured.

‘Five people including foreigners were killed and three others injured when the missiles hit a compound in Baghar Cheena area in the restive South Waziristan region,’ a security official told AFP.

Nationalities of those killed in the strike were not immediately known. ‘There are a few militant training camps in the area and no civilian population around the site of the strikes,’ another official said.

He said the Baghar Cheena area was the stronghold of local Taliban commander Maulvi Nazeer. But it was not immediately clear whether he was in the area at the time of the strike.

‘Two missiles directly hit the compound while the other two fell in the surrounding area,’ the official said, adding that the strike completely destroyed the compound.

DawnNews quoted a senior official as saying that the missile strike was the result of shared US-Pakistan intelligence.

Defence Minister Chaudhry Mukhtar told DawnNews that Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani would issue a policy statement on cross-border attacks on Thursday. The minister declined to confirm the attack in South Waziristan, but said that if the attack did take place it would be condemned.

The latest strike came hours after US military chief Admiral Michael Mullen reiterated Washington's respect for the sovereignty of Pakistan.

DAWN.COM | NWFP | Suspected US missiles hit South Waziristan

-------------------------------------------

If the part in bold is true, then I believe the chances of striking the wrong targets will be minimized, and should be the way forward.

The US may not want to share intel, but then there is little reason for cooperating on the WoT - the two sides have to get beyond the lack of trust factor.

 

[batmannow]

Dear AgNoStIc MuSliM; sir
you are right, but if you check past records of the allied bommbings or air raids in eight years, i am confident that you are going to,find.. that most of targets hit by them(USAF) were TOTALY WRONG.
The question comes, in the mind of pakistanis that if , it is going to happen them in the future then, its better to fight it alone, and bythe way, why then we have army for?
sory to say... defence minster has just denied any information, PM of pakistan has denied any information about the attack, they all condemed it. DAWN. NEW. TV. JUST NOW...

 

[Neo]

After vows to respect sovereignty, U.S. strikes in Pakistan​

By Saeed Shah, McClatchy

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A U.S. missile strike Wednesday in Pakistan further inflamed relations between the two anti-terrorism allies, just hours after the American military chief vowed to "respect Pakistan's sovereignty."

The strike against suspected militants in Pakistan's tribal area, which runs along the Afghan border, is thought to be the sixth such attack this month. It came as Washington is demanding that Islamabad do more to prevent Taliban and al Qaida extremists from using its territory.

Pakistani leaders have condemned the U.S. military interventions, which include the first documented American ground raid in the country earlier this month. The strikes have caused an uproar in Pakistan .

Four missiles were fired from unmanned U.S. aircraft Wednesday at a suspected militant hideout at around 7 p.m. local time in a village in South Waziristan , killing at least six people, according to a local security official, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because he isn't authorized to talk to journalists.

American strikes were used infrequently in the tribal area in the past, but there's been an intensified bombardment over the last few weeks. Washington thinks that Taliban and al Qaida fighters allied against the coalition in Afghanistan are using Pakistan's tribal territory as a refuge. Some analysts think that the Bush administration is trying to land major al Qaida scalps before the end of his term. Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al Zawahri , are thought to be most likely hiding in the tribal area.

The target of Wednesday's strike is thought to be a compound used by Taliban and the Hezb-i-Islami, a militant group fighting in Afghanistan that's associated with the notorious veteran jihadist Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The previous aerial assaults have killed militants, including senior al Qaida commanders, but also dozens of civilians.

Earlier in the day, U.S. Adm. Mike Mullen , the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was making a surprise visit to Pakistan , said in a statement released by the American Embassy in Islamabad that he "reiterated the U.S. commitment to respect Pakistan's sovereignty and to develop further U.S.-Pakistani cooperation" after talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani , and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani . A separate statement from the Pentagon made no mention of respecting Pakistani sovereignty.

Mullen's arrival appeared to be a reaction to the furor caused by the American ground incursion.

It was Mullen's fifth trip to Pakistan since he took the top military job last October, not counting a leaked secret meeting at sea with Kayani last month.

"I have been encouraged by what General Kayani and the Pakistani army have been willing to do in the border regions," the Pentagon quoted Mullen as saying. "They recognize the threat they face internal to Pakistan and are improving their counterinsurgency capabilities. This is a critical part of the world."

The Pakistani army has been engaged since early August in what looks like its strongest operation against militants in another part of the tribal area, Bajaur, where it claims that more than 500 extremists have been killed.

" Pakistan would not allow anyone to take action on its soil, as it has capacity to deal with the terrorists," said Pakistan's defense minister, Ahmed Mukhtar , who spoke before the fresh strike. "But we can't pick up guns and say, 'We're coming.' We have to proceed diplomatically."

Without Pakistan's help, U.S. and coalition forces have little hope of stemming supplies and militants crossing into Afghanistan from the tribal area, analysts think. There also are signs that the American assaults could trigger a mass uprising by moderate tribesman living in the tribal territory.

"It's a very fundamental issue of Pakistani sovereignty," said Talat Masood , a retired Pakistani general turned analyst. "This just cannot be tolerated, that there are continued violations and we are still called an ally. I think this will have to be reviewed for the sake of both sides."

The United Nations mandate for Afghanistan , under which U.S. and other international forces operate, doesn't extend to Pakistan . Pakistan has tolerated occasional American missile strikes in its tribal areas for several years, but the scale of the current attacks, along with the first American boots on Pakistani soil, has pushed relations to a crisis point.

 

[ejaz007]

Teritorial violation in whatever manner that is should be contested and if possible stopped by force. Todays its their drones, tommorrow helicopters and then troops. This should be stopped at the drone level.

Also we should ask USA whether we are their ally or target. Its time to clarify this so that we may proceed accordingly.

 

[muse]

Ejaz

Americans complain about ambiguity they see in the roles Pakistan state organs play, however; it is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

It's a ****** name and the American thinks the Pakistani was born yesterday. Reality is that for the U.S. we are both ally and target - the so called alliance is without substance, it is entirely tactical, which does not mean it can not serve Pakistani interests as well.

The larger problem is this WOT - inside this WOT you will note a lot of confusion - it's does not have a frame work on hich the effort can continue. Illegal prisions, entirely unethical methods, shady tactical deals, the use of WOT to further narrow strategic objectives - all these serve to deny the effort the broad public support the effort needs.

Terror is a serious problem, however; their must be a clear line between the good guys and the bad guys.

 

[batmannow]

GEO Pakistan
Seven killed in U.S. missile strike in South Waziristan
Updated at: 0041 PST, Thursday, September 18, 2008

WANA: Suspected U.S. drones fired four missiles Wednesday in a northwestern Pakistani tribal area near the Afghan border killing 7 people while 3 others were injured, officials said.

"Four missiles were fired by suspected U.S. drones in Baghar Cheena area in the restive South Waziristan on Wednesday evening," a senior security official told a foreign news agency.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has claimed that U.S. led coalition forces carried out drone strike on an ammunition storage facility of Taliban, in which one al-Qaeda member and 3 Taliban militants were killed. The U.S. authorities said they shared the news with Pakistani officials after conducting the strike.

U.S. operated spy planes continued their flights in Wana and other territories.

The missile strike came hours after U.S. military chief Admiral Michael Mullen reiterated Washington's respect for the sovereignty of Pakistan.

Mullen, who flew to Islamabad on an unannounced trip late Tuesday, met General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani amid tensions over U.S. raids on tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

"There are a few militant training camps in the area and no civilian population around the site of strikes," another official added.


September 18, 2008 Thursday Ramazan 17, 1429
Drone attack belies Mullen’s assurance: Six killed in S. Waziristan village
Dawn Report


WANA / ISLAMABAD, Sept 17: Hours after the American military commander had assured Pakistan’s political and military leadership that the United States would respect the country’s sovereignty, missiles were fired from US drones on a house in South Waziristan, killing six people and injuring three others.
The unmanned aircraft which entered the tribal area from Afghanistan fired four missiles on the house in a village near Angoor Adda which is close to an allied forces’ base across the border. The same area had recently experienced an attack by US commandos.

Before the missile strike, media reports were focusing on a meeting between Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, where the admiral reiterated the US commitment not to violate Pakistan’s sovereignty. Admiral Mullen had arrived in Islamabad on an unannounced visit on Tuesday.Wednesday’s missile attack was 14th by US predators in the tribal agency.

A security official in Peshawar said: “We don’t know who were killed. But there are reports that some of them were low-profile foreigners… nobody of any significance.”
The sources said the drone fired missiles on the house in the Baghar Cheena village, about two kilometres east of Angoor Adda and 30 kilometres west of Wana.

The sources said that the house belonged to supporters of pro-government militant ‘commander’ Maulvi Nazir.


The missile attack also destroyed a container of arms and ammunition.

An APP report about the Islamabad meeting quoted officials as saying that Prime Minister Gilani and the US commander had discussed measures to defuse tension between the two countries.

According to a statement issued by the US embassy, Admiral Mullen acknowledged the positive role Pakistan was playing in the war on terror and pledged continued US support. He reiterated the commitment to develop cooperation and coordination with Pakistan on critical issues that challenged the security and wellbeing of the people of both countries.

“The conversations were extremely frank, positive and constructive,” the statement said.
The progress of Pakistan’s efforts to combat militancy, violence and terrorism was also discussed. Officials said the two sides discussed the military operations in the region bordering Afghanistan and ways of making them more result-oriented.

Agencies add: A Pakistani official said the attack on a container loaded with ammunition and explosives was the result of better US-Pakistani intelligence sharing and both countries had worked together on the attack.
The missile strike came at dusk. Three of the dead were Arabs, according to a Pakistani intelligence officer who declined to be identified.

Intelligence officials said the missiles had hit a compound used by Taliban militants and Hezb-i-Islami.

They said informants in the area had reported that six people were dead and three more wounded. Their identities were not immediately clear.


September 18, 2008 Thursday Ramazan 17, 1429
PM condemns attack
dawn news

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the missile attack in the Baghar village of tehsil Barmal of South Waziristan area on Wednesday.—APP


September 18, 2008 Thursday Ramazan 17, 1429
dawn news
Pakistan needs to deal with militants: US
By Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON: Militants hiding in the tribal areas are not a threat to Pakistan alone but also to the entire world and Pakistan needs to deal with them, a State Department official said on Wednesday.[/SIZE]“We do make clear that there is an important security interest, not only for the United States and the region but for the globe, regarding the security in those border areas,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a briefing in Washington.“This is Pakistani territory, Pakistan sovereign territory. So they need to address those issues.”

The briefing was held against the background of a missile strike on a village near Angoor Adda in South Waziristan.

Pentagon officials also confirmed the media report, attributed to Pakistani military officials, that the missile strike which killed a number of militants and destroyed a container of arms and ammunition was the result of US and Pakistani intelligence sharing.

A spokesman for the US Central Command, which oversees US military operations in Afghanistan, told Dawn that the United States always consulted Pakistan before conducting such operations.

“We have always said in conducting our operations we do work with the Pakistani government and we do consider them an ally in the war against terror,” said Lt Commander William Speaks.

At the State Department, spokesman McCormack said that the US was “happy to talk about” such operations with Pakistani officials and “we are happy to cooperate to the extent that cooperation is welcome.”

Mr McCormack, however, acknowledged that the question of militancy in the tribal areas had more than one angle. “You have to address the security angle. You have to address the political angle and the economic angle,” he said.

He said that the United States also had more than one channel for discussing this issue with Pakistan.

“We do have a close working relationship, not only through military-to-military channels but political-to-political channels with the leadership of President Zardari and his government, as well as with the military,” he said.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen’s visit to Islamabad on Tuesday was an example of US efforts to stay engaged with the political and military leadership in Pakistan, he said.

While both Pakistani and US officials are reluctant to go beyond guarded response to day-to-day developments, diplomatic sources in Washington say that the two governments do have an understanding on Predator strikes.

But they also say that the Sept 3 attack by US ground forces inside Pakistan was an “anomaly” and is unlikely to be repeated. The Predators strikes will continue.

“The Predator is weapon often deployed with Pakistan’s consent,” said one such diplomatic source who did not want to be identified.

The sources explained the Predators were directly controlled by CIA and not the Pentagon and the CIA had coordinated a number of these attacks with the ISI.
“The Predator will remain a mystery element in this war,” said a source. “But ground troops may not be used again, at least not in the near future.”The sources noted that an unusually strong reaction in Pakistan to the Sept 3 attack had alarmed the US administration which was willing to take immediate steps to deescalate the situation and that’s why Admiral Mullen was sent to Islamabad.

“The Americans concede that the political reaction in Pakistan went totally out of control,” said one diplomatic source.
But the sources said media reports that the Pakistani military had decided to shoot at US troops or helicopters that cross into Pakistan did not depict the real picture.

“That’s never an option,” said the source. “Relations between the two militaries remain strong and Pakistan does not want to jeopardise it.”A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Mark Wright, told Dawn that the Pentagon stayed in touch with the Pakistani military at a regular basis and often coordinated its actions along the Pak-Afghan border with the Pakistanis.“No, I do not foresee tensions between the two militaries,” he said.

Diplomatic sources said that while the Americans had agreed not to conduct operations that infuriated Pakistani public opinion, the Pakistanis also understood that they could not afford to provoke America too much.

“A happy medium is being found,” said one such source. “You will see Americans showing respect for Pakistan’s sovereignty and Pakistanis showing respect for American concerns against the Jihadi groups.”

What a mess, what pentagon is sharing?
thats why our PM, condemed it?
these unnamed sources, and unidentifyd security officials, are more important then the PRIME MINSTER & DEFENCE MINSTER OF PAKISTAN, thats why pentagon keep in touch , with them?
Again , what a selection of targets! wow!
hiting a pro.govt head of tribe.

I guss, new plan has been in discussion, bascicly ASIF(gahadari) gave, the permission for all these drone attacks, but at the same time his poor, prime minster, defence minster dont had any clue of it.
For now, after strong objections from COAS, the ground commando raids on pakistani soil has been cancelled for time being. at the same time , our COAS knows, that we doesnt have the capability to identify these drones, whenever they cross in our air space. so the situation is getting down a bit.

But surly, new game of political chess has been started, inside whitehouse, the pentagon, pakistani presidential palace, armyhouse, gen.headquaters.

Anyhow, its clear now that, there is nothing been shared, this time or many time before, it is just a lip sync, to cool down the rising tempreature, which was agreed by our president ASIF(gahadari) by his own, silently.but there is very positive out come from all that, which is that, our dear COAS is 1000% convinced that, pakistani political leadership cant be tursted, any more.(specialy on the security) issue.
It is the very reason, he has planned his chinese trip to early.
I wish him very good luck.