American forces gain access after Pakistan-Taliban ceasefire

http://www.india-defence.com/reports/2469 ^

[Srirangan]

With the recent Pakistan-Taliban ceasefire along the Afghan border, General Abizaid seems to have gotten what he wanted from Musharraf - Pakistani withdrawal opening up the restive tribal regions to American forces.

Sources in Rawalpindi - the Headquarters of the Pakistani Army - indicate that the plan was directly dictated by Abizaid during his recent visit to Pakistan, and is said to put both the Musharraf Regime and War Against Terror in more secure positions.

At face value, the Musharraf regime gains as the ceasefire between Taliban and Pakistan Army will ensure that Pakistan Army will not be internally seen responsible for 'Muslims killing Muslims'.

It will also absolve Musharraf if and when U.S. forces, which have been granted "hot pursuit" rights, eventually capture Osama Bin Laden and Mullah Omar along the same border.

[Roy Tucker]

This would be very good news indeed.

Reliable source?

[gatorbait]

Thanks for this posting. :-) Good news for all of our countries .

[Srirangan]

Reliable .. but it was published under 'intelligence reports', so you may just take it with a slightpinch of salt.. :-)

But then you wouldn't expect such news to be publicized in an unstable country like Pakistan.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Hopefully soon, the US forces will capture OSBL ( if he is still alive ) ,,,,

but ? ,

all we will hear from the MSM/Democrats:

" We question the timing of this just before the November elections, this is nothing more than political games and shenanigans by the Republicans "

[Roy Tucker]

Yup, the proof will be in the pudding.

[Srirangan]

Hmm .. perhaps this story finally explains this: United States cautiously welcomes Pakistan-Taliban ceasefire agreement

Been following this for a while .. Everybody keeps telling that whenever General Abizaid visits Pakistan, something big tends to happen.. ;-)

[Roy Tucker]

No indication in the article that Pakistan will allow US troops to attack in Waziristan in hot pursuit of Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

State Dept is cautious as it looks as if this arrangement is to shore up Musharraf's weak religious flank domestically more than any new deal to root out Al Qaeda, which clearly resides and is now centered in Pakistan.

I'll wait and see if any good comes from it. I hope your first source is right.

[prisoner6]

Keeping tabs on this bumpers.

prisoner6

[Fred Nerks]

Very interesting, thanks for posting.

[IrishMike]

I like it.

[Steel Wolf]

Even a blind eye from Pakistan would be an improvement; we've shot at each other several times now in border incidents during our 'hot pursuits'.

Since we can't really trust anyone in Pakistan besides Pervez Musharaff (and we want his hands where we can see them), moving their army out of the way is a plus for us. Even if there's no explicit permision for us to do cross border ops, in the event that they 'happen', it won't be such a big deal.

[fortheDeclaration]

At face value, the Musharraf regime gains as the ceasefire between Taliban and Pakistan Army will ensure that Pakistan Army will not be internally seen responsible for 'Muslims killing Muslims'.

like the Iraq-Iran war?

What is meant is that they can't be viewed killing Muslim's terrorists for the West.

[Santiago de la Vega]

Rango,

Thanks for posting this.

I completely missed the point.

All I saw was the cease-fire, not the Hot Pursuit issue.

Death and destruction, boys, death and destruction.

Please keep us informed.

[Recon Dad]

Most important story of the day if true. No longer will the rats have a hole to hide in.
If it is true I expect the pace of things to pick up very fast as Bin Laden and his crew start to bug out of the area.
We should start watching Somalia closely.

[gotribe]

Hopefully soon, the US forces will capture OSBL

I'd like to see the beheading video with US special forces chanting

U S A ... U S A ... U S A!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Fred!

Pakistani withdrawal... is said to put both the Musharraf Regime and War Against Terror in more secure positions.

[COBOL2Java]

Well, Mad Maddie notAlbright believes the Bush Administration already has OBL under lock and key somewhere in the Pentagon.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Actually this was what I thought would be the result of this "ceasefire".

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Or in that warehouse in the movie ( Indiana Jones - Raiders of the lost Ark ).